Getting a taste for hometown bobos

Two bobo cooks show their works in Wendeng city of East China's Shandong province. [photo by Ju Chuanjiang]

I was still a little boy when I left my hometown in Wendeng, a city on the Jiaodong peninsula. Although I have eaten many steamed buns and breads made by factories during the past few decades, I can never forget the memory of bobo, a traditional food for festivals in my hometown.

Bobo are wheat buns that are four or even six times larger than Chinese staple, the mantao. Skilled housewives can make bobo into the shape of different animals and figures with various poses, and ornament them with red jujubes and colorful flowers. Local people call them "big bobo" and "flower bobo". This kind of plump bobo looks like pieces of exquisite handicrafts, showing food culture and aesthetic pursuit of local people.

In Wendeng, people like to steam bobo for Spring Festival and other holidays, or to celebrate a daughter's marriage or child's birthday as the word for "steam" is pronounced "zheng" in Chinese, a word that also indicates life's fortune will rise.

When I was young, my mother always gave my relatives a big bag of bobo and fish during Spring Festival. In return vshe received different kinds of bobo made by my grandma and aunts. In January, I can always eat flower bobo, indicating best wishes for wealth and prosperity.

As the pace of urbanization in China continues to accelerate, people who can make flower bobo gradually decrease. Now, bobo has become a rare food for city people.

During tomb-sweeping holiday I went to my hometown to interview several people with flower bobo making skills. It gave me a chance to see wonderful flower bobo again.

I visited the bobo shop of Lin Rongtao, he and his mother Liu Fanrong were busy with making a peach bobo for a customer to celebrate an elderly person's birthday. With a diameter of 60 cm, the peach-shaped bobo, on which was written the Chinese characters "Fu" and "Shou" - happiness and long life – was surrounded by 12 small peach-shaped bobo. They were fresh out of the pot, each exuding fragrant and sweet smells.

A cook shows off her bobo creations. [photo by Ju Chuanjiang]

"This was bought by a customer for his 80-year-old mother's birthday celebration, that was made to celebrate a baby's 100-day birthday," Lin Rongtao said pointing to another creation, "we make different bobo for different festivals."

"This craft of making bobo is handed down from generation to generation. People now use it for birthday and wedding. It is very happy!" the 68-year-old Liu Fanrong said.

Liu used scissors to cut dough into a little hedgehog. In 10 minutes a bobo in the shape of a lifelike hedgehog was ready. Two small black beans became it eyes. Then Liu made dough into shapes of other animals such as rabbits and birds.

It is hard to know when Jiaodong bobo first appeared. In ancient times it was used for worship. It is still very popular in the rural areas of Weihai, Yantai and Qingdao. It is full of distinctive local characteristics and signifies best wishes for life. In 2009, flower bobo folk in Wendeng were included in the Shandong provincial intangible cultural heritage list.

Now "Wendeng flower bobo" has become a 'calling card' for Wendeng, and has been named a provincial excellent tourist commodity. Every year Wendeng holds a tourism commodity contest which provides a chance for bobo makers to display their unique skills.

Liu said: "Every household here will steam bobo during the Spring Festival indicating good luck for the next year."

"In the early years, mothers would steam bobo in the shape of a child's zodiac to celebrate children's birthdays. In this way, she hopes the children are healthy, strong, and clever." Liu said.

Lin Rongtao, 46, following his mother to make bobo when he was 10 years old, learned a good skill. In 2010 he was awarded "inheritor of Jiaodong flower dough modeling craft" by Shandong Provincial Department of Culture for his superb dough making skill.

Over thousands of years Wendeng bobo has changed into dough figurines, with different shapes of dragon, tiger, flowers, birds, insects and fish, which are both edible and ornamental.

"The bobo with shape of goldfish and the worm means 'May there be surpluses every year', tiger head means "tiger angry", the little hedgehog, the little mouse, little peach-shaped bobo, small gourd, dragons and other novel and unique style, are the children's favorites. And bobo with shapes of "phoenix", "three rams bringing bliss", "fortune" are loved by consumers.

The 40-year-old Sun Yishu opened a flower bobo shop in the downtown in 2000. The shop is not very big, but it has a great reputation. Now, she has two such shops and sold more than 1,000 boxes of bobo during Spring Festival.

Two cooks check their bobos. [photo by Ju Chuanjiang]

"My bobo is good-looking and delicious. Lots of South Korea people like it," Sun said. Many South Korean bosses who open factories here will buy my flower bobo to take home."

"It is used in traditional craft and made by hand. It does not add any pigment and all raw materials are natural ingredients," Sun said, "making such bobo has to use Jiaodong's particular big steaming pot with diameter of more than 100 cm. It tastes very good!"

The color of bobo is made by different types of food. The pumpkin is used for the color yellow, spinach for green, purple sweet potato for purple. Black bean and red bean noodles both can be made to decorate the bobo.

"A local government delegation brought my bobo for state gifts when they visited South Korea. In 2013, my bobo was presented to the Taiwan panda baby," Sun said proudly.

Business people have found the cultural influence and business opportunity of "Wendeng flower bobo". Many restaurants use bobo to attract customers. Jiang Qingyuan, an inheritor of bobo, has participated in many food expos in Yantai, Qingdao, Ji'nan with his flower bobo.

Now, "Wendeng flower bobo" have also been put on the table of residents of many big cities including Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Changchun.