CHINESE DONUT STICK RECIPES

Steps:

• In a big mixing bowl, add the following ingredients: 250 grams of all-purpose flour, 6 g of baking powder, 3 g of baking soda, 3 g of salt. Stir to incorporate everything.
• Add 10 grams of vegetable oil into 165 grams of water and give it a nice stir. Then pour it into the flour.
• Mix the flour and water into a rough dough. Then go in with your hand and fold it 3-5 times until you don’t see any dry flour bits. Cover it with plastic wrap. Leave it to rest for 20 minutes.
• 20 minutes later, apply 1 tsp of vegetable oil all over your hands and the working surface to prevent stickiness. Transfer the dough onto the working surface, and start shaping it into an almost rectangle sheet. Fold the left side to about 1/3. Flip the right side over just like how you fold a blanket.
• Continue to press and enlarge the rectangle. Repeat the folding process for 3 times in total. Wrap the dough with plastic wrap. Let the dough sit at room temperature for at least 2 hours.
• Lightly dust the working surface and your hands with some flour. Transfer the dough onto the working surface and stretch it into a long rectangle shape; The size should be about 20 inches by 3 inches.
• Divide it into 12 little slabs, each one is about 1.5 inches wide. Dust more flour on the cutting board. Lift each piece and flour the cut surface to prevent stickiness.
• Wet the chopstick to make a water line right through the center on every other piece. Then stack 2 pieces together. Use your chopsticks to press at the middle.
• Gently stretch the youtiao until the length becomes 2-2.5 times longer. Put it in 400 F degree oil. Don't rush to add the second piece of youtiao. Use a pair of chopsticks to move and rotate the first one as fast as possible before the surface turns into a brown color.
• Once the Youtiao has turned into light golden color, that means the outside is set. It will not get any bigger; you can stop rotating it. Let it sit in the oil until golden brown. Flip it every 10 seconds 3-4 times to reinforce the crust.
• Since you don't need to babysit it, you can stretch the second piece at this moment and put it in the oil. Do the same thing to fry the rest.
• Serve with soy milk, soup, or congee.
• Video Link - https://youtu.be/r3lfns1vvAw