The story of Mantou

Mantou (also known as Chinese Steamed Buns) is a staple food in Northern China, because the main harvest is wheat, rather than rice. In the past, mantou referred to all steamed buns (with or without filling), but today, it is only used for steamed buns without filling. 

The name “mantou” actually has a really interesting story. It was given by a famous war tactician ZhuGe Liang during the Three Kingdoms period. One day, when he was leading the Shu army to cross Lu River, he noticed the river had particularly strong currents that prevented his army from crossing… after many failed attempts, he consulted the barbarian king MengHuo who was local to the area.
MengHuo told him, in order to appease the river god, he needed to sacrifice some men and offer their heads to their river god by throwing them into the river. However ZhuGe Liang thought that was too cruel, so he ordered his men to wrap meat into dough and shape them into human heads, which were thrown into the river instead as offering.
After successfully deceiving the river god and crossing, ZhuGeLiang named his creation “mantou” – meaning “deception head” or “barbarian head”, but the modern term “mantou” merely sounds the same, but no longer shares the meaning.

Feeling hungry? Click here for the recipe, so you can make your own delicious Chinese steamed buns (mantou)!