How to make Yao Tiao- Chinese Doughnut

Normally Cakue / Cakweh/ Yao Tiao: which ever you call them, is a cheap food sold by street vendor.But here in Toronto, it means 15 minutes walk to subway and 30 minutes more ride when finally my taste bud can devour this crunchy doughnut. Last week I was craving for this crunchy salty bits after I saw bunch of posting on the blog about how to make them. I decided since it doesnt worth the travel to chinatown, I might as well try how to make them properly to gain some personal satisfaction!
So... so many blogs are talking about  how simple yet how  hard it is to make this doughnut. It is because the authentic ingredients require alum which is really hard to find(possible but hard) .  After reading lilyng2000 and resepcampur blog, which were experimenting on using yeast vs. baking soda, I decided to do the trial and error myself. So after 4 times trying, I came up with this yeast and baking soda combination which works best and work well without the alum. I got the holes in the fried dough and crunchier texture than the rest of the trials.

So here is the recipe if you want to try it yourself.

• 1 tbsp of sugar
• 3 tsp of yeast
• warm water ( see instant yeast instruction) approximately 1 cup
• 2 cups of flour
• 1tsp of baking soda
• 1tsp of salt
• 1 cup of oil for  frying

The first step is to make sure the yeast is done properly. In a bowl put the sugar and yeast, mix in a warm water . Stir until yeast dissolves and leave for about 10 minutes until the sugar is broken down. You can tell this by the gas bubbles appearing on the surface of the mixture.This is very important step to generate the holes and airiness of the doughnut. Once the yeast is reaedy, mix the flour , salt, and baking soda and pour it into the yeast mixture. Work the mixture until it forms a sticky dough. You can put a little oil in your hand to make the dough less sticky .You should spend enough time (5-8 min) to kneed and then cover them with moist towel and keep them in the warm place for an hour.Repeat the kneeding and leave in warm place for another few hours. Refrigerate the dough to stop the process and to make the shapes easier for half an hour. Flour your pastry board and start forming and cutting. This you need to practice and practice. The dough will expand width wise so you want your shape to be lean and long.Fry untill golden brown and serve however you like it!!

Important note:

 While you are working on this recipe it is super important  to keep the temprature of the dough warm all the time) I would normally turn my oven and work on top of the stove while kneeding and  turn off the oven wait for few minutes  untill the oven cool down a little. Then I will  put the dough covered with moist cloth in the oven with oven lights on, just to keep the warmth.

Good luck good eat:

Passion + Patience *Gastrobutterfly* A food to your soul.