Halal Sweet · Ming-Era Snack
Ai Wowo (Stuffed Glutinous Rice Balls)
Photo: Erell / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
A Ming-era palace eunuch's memoir, Zhuozhong Zhi, already describes glutinous rice balls stuffed with sesame and sugar, long predating the popular story tying the name to a Qianlong-era figure.
Steamed glutinous rice rolled in cooked flour and wrapped around a filling of sugar, sesame, walnuts, melon seeds and hawthorn cake, giving a snow-white ball.
Why it's made this way: Counted among the 'thirteen wonders' of old Beijing snacks, it is traditionally sold by halal snack shops from before Spring Festival until early autumn.
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Part of World of Street Food — 3439 dishes from 118 countries.
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