Mantou

Mantou or man tou () are the steamed buns typically served in Northern Chinese cuisine. Made with milled wheat flour, water and leavening agents, they are similar in nutrition and eating qualities to the white bread of the West. In size and texture, they range from 4 cm, soft and fluffy in the dantiest restaurants, to over 15 cm, firm and dense for the working man's lunch.

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Traditionally, mantou and wheat noodles were the staple carbohydrates of the Northern Chinese diet, analogous to the rice which forms the mainstay of the Southern Chinese diet. Mantou are also known in the south, but are more likely to be eaten as a treat in a restaurant. Fancy restaurant mantou are often smaller and more delicate and can be further manipulated, for example by deep-frying and dipping in sweetened condensed milk.

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They are often sold pre-cooked in the frozen section of Asian supermarkets, ready for preparation by steaming or in the microwave oven.

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A similar food, but with a filling inside, is baozi.

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Steamed: Redirect Steaming...

Bun: A bun is a sweet or plain small bread or a round roll. It can be designed to be cut in half and filled with ingredients, to be made into a sandwich or can be consumed "as is". "Bun" can also refer to a kind of filled dumpling, such as Chinese baozi....

Chinese cuisine: China has one of the richest culinary heritages on Earth. Solid Chinese food is eaten with chopsticks, and liquid with a wide, flat-bottomed spoon (usually ceramic). Chinese consider having a knife at the table barbaric, so most dishes are prepared in smaller pieces, ready for direct picking and ea...