Homemade/DIY Chinese Dough Fritters (You Tiao):

servings – 4

Ingredients

  • 2 ½ cups wheat flour
  • 1 tsp instant dry yeast
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • ¾ cup water

Seasonings

  • ½ tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp salt

Method

  1. Mix sugar with instant dry yeast and water (¼ cup); leave to ferment for 5 minutes.
  2. Sieve wheat flour into a mixing bowl, then add water (½ cup), salt and the above mixture; knead into a smooth dough and cover with a cloth for 15 minutes.
  3. Sprinkle baking soda over, knead the dough until well blended and allow to ferment another 15 minutes.
  4. Spread vegetable oil (1 tbsp) over the dough, knead well again and cover for 30 minutes; repeat once.
  5. Roll out the dough into a long rectangle dough sheet (thickness: 0.5 cm, width: 10 cm, length: flexible); cover for another 30 minutes.
  6. Heat oil (adequate oil for deep-frying) in a skillet and cut the dough sheet into 2.5 cm wide strips.
  7. Formation: gently press a dent in the middle of one dough strip with a soaked bamboo skewer; take another dough strip, stack on top and press a dent in the middle with a chopstick; pinch both ends, lengthen the stacked strips, dip into the hot oil, roll it with a pair of wooden chopsticks, fry until golden brown, remove and drain on paper towel. Repeat this step until all the dough strips are used up.
  8. Enjoy!