Youtiao
Yóutiáo (), sometimes called
fried bread stick, is a long, golden brown deep fried
dough in
Chinese cuisine. In Cantonese speaking areas it is known locally as
yau ja gwai (油炸鬼 ;
Cantonese pronunciation: yau4 ja3 gwai2
?;
lit. oil-fried devil). It is also known as
yóuqì (油器, Cantonese yau4 hei3) in
southern China, and
gu'zi (果子) in
nothern China. In
Singapore it is known by its
Hokkien name,
u char kway (
Pe̍h-ōe-jī: iû-chia̍h-kóe). It is a popular breakfast in
Myanmar (
Burma) and called
e kya kway.
Conventionally,
yóutiáo are lightly salted and made so they can be torn lengthwise in two, and are usually eaten in breakfast in China. Yóutiáo are normally eaten as an accompaniment for
rice congee or hot sweetened soy milk.
The Cantonese name
yau ja gwai literally means
oil-fried devil and, according to tradition, is an act of protest against
Song Dynasty official
Qín Huì (秦檜, Cantonese: Chun Kui), who is said to have orchestrated the plot to frame the general
Yue Fei (岳飛), an icon of
patriotism in Chinese culture. It is said that the food represents Qin Hui and his wife, both having a hand in collaborating with the enemy to bring about the great general's demise. Thus the yóutiáo is deep fried and eaten as if done to the traitorous couple. In keeping with the legend,
youtiao are often made as two foot-long rolls of dough joined along the middle, with one roll representing the husband and the other the wife.
The word
yau ja gwai is believed to be a corruption of
yau ja Kui (油炸檜,
Mandarin pronunciation: yóuzhá Huì;
lit. oil-fried Qin Hui), possibly because the population were afraid to openly declare their contempt towards the corrupt official, or the food became a tool of expressing contempt.
At breakfast,
youtiao can be stuffed inside
shaobing ('餅,
pinyin: shāobǐng;
lit. sesame flatbread) to make a sandwich.
Yóutiáo wrapped in a
rice noodle roll is known as
ja leung (炸兩;
Cantonese pronunciation: ja3 leung5
?;
Mandarin : zháliǎng
?lit. fried double ) and is served cut into pieces which are sprinkled with
soy sauce and dipped in
hoisin or a
sesame paste to the likes of
tahini as
dim sum or a breakfast dish.
Cow-tongue pastry (牛脷酥) is similar but elliptical in shape like ox tongue and tastes sweet, whereas
yóutiáo is consumed with both sweet and savory foods such as
sweet soy milk or
congee. Like
yóutiáo, cow tongue pastry is a popular breakfast food.
Besides,
youtiao is also an important ingredient of the food
cí fàn tuán in
Shanghai cuisine.
It is sometimes called
chopstick cake by some
Cambodian-Chinese immigrants in Australia, because of its resemblance to a pair of
chopsticks*
Fried dough foods
