There is a deep fried bread I used to have as a child. It is long in length
and fried golden brown on the outside. It is moist and fairly airy on the
inside. Sometimes it is sprinkled with sesame seeds. I remember sometimes we
dipped them into our "jook" (rice gruel).

What is the Chinese name for it? Would anyone have a recipe for this bread?

"SB" wrote in message
...

"RLK" dashes_ wrote in message
...

What is the Chinese name for it? Would anyone have a recipe for this
bread?

Hello,

The Cantonese name is "yau tiu" ("oily sticks") or "yau ja gwai"
("oil-fried
ghosts" - there must be some crazy story behind this name!). It's strange
that I don't know anybody who makes it, and a quick search on Google did
not
uncover any recipes for this common breakfast food. Very strange. I
would
also like to know how they give it the elasticky texture. If there is a
Chinatown where you live, you can probably buy some in the morning since
yau
tiu are served with the breakfast congree (porridge).


I'd searched further, and found a recipe that appears authentic. One can
Google it in the groups archives "crispy chinese crullers (you tiau)",
originally posted by Rona Y. I know that high protein flour would give it
the elastic structure as well as a somewhat long proofing time... but I have
never used baking soda and baking powder for my breads.

Crispy Chinese Crullers (You Tiau)

6 cups (1 1/2 lbs) high protein flour
2 c. water
2 teaspoons ammonium bicarbonate or 1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons alum* (food grade)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
oil

Place the ammonium bicarbonate e(or baking powder), baking soda, alum,
and salt in a mixing bowl; add water and stir until the ingredients have
dissolved. Add flour and mix well; let stand for 15-20 minutes. Use your
hand to take some dough around edges and drop it into the center of the
dough; let stand for 15-20 minutes. Continue to drop the dough in the
center of the bowl 3 or 4 times until the dough is elastic and smooth. Turn
the dough over and lightly coat the surface with oil so that the dough will
stay moist. Let it stand for 1 hour. remove the dough from the bowl and
place it on a sheet of plastic wrap; wrap the dough and form it into a
rectangular shape. Let it stand for 4 hours. If a large batch is made, cut
the dough into several 1 1/3 lbs. pieces then wrap each piece in a sheet of
plastic wrap.
Unwrap the dough. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough and stretch it
into a long strip. Roll the dough into a rectangular shape, 3" wide and
1/16" thick. Crosswise cut the rectangular shaped dough into strips 1/3"
wide. Put two strips on top of each other. Use a thin rod (skewer) or the
back of a cleaver to press lengthwise in middle of the strips; this will
attach them securely to each other. Follow the same step for the other
strips. Heat the oil for deep-frying; pick up a strip from the ends and
gently stretch it to make it longer. Carefully drop it into the hot oil and
turn it over continuously with chopsticks until the cruller expands and
turns golden brown; remove.
The hot crullers may be placed in split "Flaky Sesame Flat Breads" (Shau
Bing) or served with "Salty or Sweet Soy Bean Milk."
*Alum may be omitted if it is unavailable.

"SB" wrote

The Cantonese name is "yau tiu" ("oily sticks") or "yau ja gwai" ("oil-fried
ghosts" - there must be some crazy story behind this name!).

As the story goes, in the Sung dynasty there was a evil politician,
Chun Kui, who plotted with his wife to have the people's hero, Yue
Fei, condemned and executed. In revenge, the locals made this two
sticks of dough representing Kui and his wife and fried them in oil
(one of the tortures of Hell). When he got word and tried to persecute
them, the locals said "No no, you misheard, we are making deep fried
Gwai, not Kui!"

I'd searched further, and found a recipe that appears authentic. One can
Google it in the groups archives "crispy chinese crullers (you tiau)",
originally posted by Rona Y. I know that high protein flour would give it
the elastic structure as well as a somewhat long proofing time... but I have
never used baking soda and baking powder for my breads.

The ammonium bicarbonate and alum will give it a crispness and that
texture you're talking about (plus that funny smell they always have).
I'd really try to get the ammonium bicarb before making it, I don't
think the soda will do the same thing. You can find it in asian
groceries or online at king arthur flour.

regards,
trillium

cyan wrote:

The ammonium bicarbonate
snip
You can find it in asian
groceries or online at king arthur flour.

German food stores carry it around these parts.
blacksalt

"RLK" dashes_ wrote
There is a deep fried bread I used to have as a child.

"Mark Wilson" wrote
Sounds like Prawn Toast without the prawns....

no, prawn toast (or shrimp toast) is made with slices of pre-baked
loaf bread and is crunchy. This is made from dough.

To make shrimp toast, put mashed and/or a whole shrimp on a piece of
day-old (dryish) bread and deep fry it. When my mom made it she used
whole shrimp (with a bit of mashed shrimp to stick it to the bread),
but nowadays, if we can even find it, restaurents use a mixture of
which maybe only 1% is shrimp! (with other stuff added in like corn
starch, mashed potatoes, fish flakes, even pork...).

On Sun, 4 Jan 2004, RLK wrote:


"SB" wrote in message
...

"RLK" dashes_ wrote in message
...

What is the Chinese name for it? Would anyone have a recipe for this
bread?

Hello,

The Cantonese name is "yau tiu" ("oily sticks") or "yau ja gwai"
("oil-fried
ghosts" - there must be some crazy story behind this name!). It's strange
that I don't know anybody who makes it, and a quick search on Google did
not
uncover any recipes for this common breakfast food. Very strange. I
would
also like to know how they give it the elasticky texture. If there is a
Chinatown where you live, you can probably buy some in the morning since
yau
tiu are served with the breakfast congree (porridge).


I'd searched further, and found a recipe that appears authentic. One can
Google it in the groups archives "crispy chinese crullers (you tiau)",
originally posted by Rona Y. I know that high protein flour would give it
the elastic structure as well as a somewhat long proofing time... but I have
never used baking soda and baking powder for my breads.

Crispy Chinese Crullers (You Tiau)

6 cups (1 1/2 lbs) high protein flour
2 c. water
2 teaspoons ammonium bicarbonate or 1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons alum* (food grade)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
oil

Place the ammonium bicarbonate e(or baking powder), baking soda, alum,
and salt in a mixing bowl; add water and stir until the ingredients have
dissolved. Add flour and mix well; let stand for 15-20 minutes. Use your
hand to take some dough around edges and drop it into the center of the
dough; let stand for 15-20 minutes. Continue to drop the dough in the
center of the bowl 3 or 4 times until the dough is elastic and smooth. Turn
the dough over and lightly coat the surface with oil so that the dough will
stay moist. Let it stand for 1 hour. remove the dough from the bowl and
place it on a sheet of plastic wrap; wrap the dough and form it into a
rectangular shape. Let it stand for 4 hours. If a large batch is made, cut
the dough into several 1 1/3 lbs. pieces then wrap each piece in a sheet of
plastic wrap.
Unwrap the dough. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough and stretch it
into a long strip. Roll the dough into a rectangular shape, 3" wide and
1/16" thick. Crosswise cut the rectangular shaped dough into strips 1/3"
wide. Put two strips on top of each other. Use a thin rod (skewer) or the
back of a cleaver to press lengthwise in middle of the strips; this will
attach them securely to each other. Follow the same step for the other
strips. Heat the oil for deep-frying; pick up a strip from the ends and
gently stretch it to make it longer. Carefully drop it into the hot oil and
turn it over continuously with chopsticks until the cruller expands and
turns golden brown; remove.
The hot crullers may be placed in split "Flaky Sesame Flat Breads" (Shau
Bing) or served with "Salty or Sweet Soy Bean Milk."
*Alum may be omitted if it is unavailable.

Compare with the original:

http://www.nativetech.org/food/frybread.html

baking powder was never designed to be baked, after all...

Lena