Dish · chinese
Youtiao
A pair of dough sticks pressed together and deep fried until airy and hollow inside, eaten for breakfast with congee or soy milk.
Where it comes from
Youtiao are twisted into a pair before frying so they puff up hollow; a folk story claims the shape was meant to symbolically fry the corrupt Song dynasty official Qin Hui and his wife, though the tale is apocryphal.
What cooks argue about
Cooks argue over the leavening: alum and baking soda in the traditional dough versus baking powder in home versions, since the choice decides whether the stick puffs light or stays dense.
Versions
Nobody has published a youtiao here yet. When somebody cooks one from a video and publishes it, their version appears in this list, with a link back to the original.
What goes in it
Each one opens everything else made with it.
all purpose flour
baking powder
vegetable oil