Youtiao
“Long golden-brown twins of deep-fried dough, airy and hollow inside with a crackly crust. The cornerstone of a Chinese breakfast, torn and dunked into soy milk or congee.”
Where it comes from
Youtiao (literally 'oil strip') is a long deep-fried strip of wheat dough eaten at breakfast as an accompaniment to congee, soy milk, or sweetened milk.
On the plate
It crackles when you tear it, then collapses into a chewy, airy interior laced with hollow tunnels. On its own it is faintly salty and almost flavorless, but dragged through warm soy milk it goes soft and slippery. Breakfast in a single golden stick.
How it works
The overnight rest and twin alkaline leaveners (baking soda plus ammonia) generate gas rapidly in very hot oil, blasting the dough open into a hollow, lacy structure. Pressing two strips together forces them to puff against each other and stay joined as they expand.
Variations
Wrapped in cheung fun (zhaliang), stuffed into shaobing, sweet sugar-coated versions
On the Palate
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
7 steps · Show ↓20 min active · 480 min waiting
How it's made
7 steps · Show ↓- 18 min
Mix flour with baking soda, baking ammonia and salt, then knead in water to a soft dough.
- 2480 min
Rest the dough covered overnight in the refrigerator to relax the gluten.
- 34 min
Roll the dough into a long rectangle about one centimeter thick.
- 45 min
Cut into strips, stack two together, and press a chopstick down the middle to bind them.
- 54 min
Heat oil to 200C until very hot.
- 63 min
Gently stretch each pair and lower into the oil, turning constantly.
- 76 min
Fry until puffed, hollow and deep golden, then drain on a rack.
