← Nouns Cooking · Chinese

Ingredients

• 250 g plain flour
• 1½ tsp Baking powder
• ½ tsp Bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 Eggs
• 120 ml water, at room temperature
• 1 tbsp oil, plus extra for the worktop
• 1.5 l vegetable oil, for deep frying

Method

1. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Beat the egg with the water and stir it in with the tablespoon of oil to make a soft, sticky dough.
2. Knead in the bowl for 1 minute, cover and rest for 10 min, then knead briefly again until smoother. Cover tightly and leave at room temperature for 3 hours (or in the fridge overnight) until soft and slack.
3. Oil the worktop and stretch the dough gently into a rectangle about 10 cm wide and 1 cm thick. Cut across into 2 cm strips.
4. Lay one strip on top of another and press a chopstick firmly down the middle lengthways to join them. Repeat with the rest.
5. Heat the oil to 200°C (390°F). Stretch a pair of strips to about 25 cm and lower it into the oil. Keep turning it with chopsticks as it puffs, and fry for 1–2 min until deep golden.
6. Drain on kitchen paper and fry the rest. Eat warm, with soy milk or congee.

Tips

• If the dough tears when you stretch it, it needs more resting time.
• Day-old youtiao re-crisp in a 200°C (390°F) oven or air fryer in about 4 minutes.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Omnivore's Cookbook MyKitchen101en