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.
Nobody has published a youtiao recipe yet. The page stays out of search until one exists, which is the rule for every thin page here.