Nowadays, the snowballing snack in Beijing is an improved practice after the Qing Emperor Kangxi. It was once the exclusive tribute point of the court. Later, some royal chefs brought this snack to the people when they retired from their hometown.
When Emperor Taizu Nuerhachi of the Qing Dynasty conquered the world, soldiers liked to eat sticky bean buns and bean flour cakes. These two kinds of pasta were made of yellow sticky rice, glutinous rice and soybeans, which were all specialties in Northeast China, and their calories were much higher than ordinary food. What won the soldiers' favor most was that they were not easy to get hungry and felt full after eating. It is said that those Batulu who were brave and used to fighting under the Eight Banners report in the Qing army only needed a full meal every day, and they were invincible wherever they went. After eating sweet and sticky food, their arms were strong enough to pull a hard bow and swing a heavy bow to win the general's head among thousands of troops. The brave and tough Qing army finally defeated the Ming Dynasty. It can be seen how important food with high energy is in the era of cold weapons, so it was passed down that Manchu people liked sticky and sweet food best.
Although the method of bean flour cake is simple, it needs to work hard to knead the steamed dough until it is full of viscosity, not as people imagine, it can be coated with stuffing and rolled up. Water for kneading dough should also be in place. Too much water will make dough too soft and difficult to form, and less water will make it taste bad and will harden in a short time. Generally, the amount of water used to make this kind of snacks is 500 grams of flour, and 650 grams of water is needed. Jiang rice flour or glutinous rice flour is very draught, which is different from ordinary wheat flour. As long as the amount of water is mastered, it is actually very simple to make steamed dough in place.