yau cha guai (tips to THE chinese crullers) 自制放心油条 (｡´∀｀)ﾉ

over the weekend, i was most fortunate to find out the secrets to making very good chinese crullers from a veteran chinese chef (高级面点师傅）.. ｡^‿^｡ apparently many chinese locals have asked him for advice on making THE crullers at home… most specifically, their complaints being that homemade crullers waste too much oil (太费油） (waste, meaning they can no longer re-use the oil as it’d turned totally dark brown after frying); crullers are instant soft （油条变皮）after leaving it to cool, or crullers are no longer crispy after 3 days （油条3天后不脆）…  and so, the chef imparted his knowledge, so behold ლ(⌒▽⌒ლ)…

Ingredients (makes 10 crullers ～ ingredients below are based on per catty)

250g all purpose flour (普通粉）
250g very strong bread flour (富强粉）
4g baking soda
4g baking powder
16g salt (the reason for the high amount of salt here, is not only for seasoning purpose. apparently the salt adds texture of the cruller. so do use good sea salt)
15g oil
1 egg, slightly beaten
250g warm water

Directions (hand knead where possible)

– mix all dry ingredients together in a bowl, and then make a well in the middle

– add in egg, and mix everything together. Add water in a little at a time (using one hand), whilst working on the dough using the other hand

– continue kneading the dough until it comes together

– at this point, prepare a bowl of water. just a bit will do

– clenching your palm in a fist, dip your knuckles and first portion of your fingers (i.e. where the fist is) into the water, then start punching water into the dough. this process is called 扎水. the chef did not mention how many times to do this, but i repeated this process for 3x, i.e. kneading the dough for a total of 20 mins (from the time you start adding water at stage 2)

– let the dough to rest for 20 mins, then add in the oil and incorporate well

– immediately, knead the dough out into a long sheet, with a 0.5cm thickness. then, slice into portions which is about 2 fingers wide

– stack one portion on top of the other (i.e. each cruller is made of 2 portions of dough, stacked up) and press a chopstick in the middle of the dough (NOT TOO HARD ~ make sure the sides of your dough are not sticking together)

– heat oil till it’s about 70% heated

– holding on to both ends of the dough, slowly dip the dough into the oil and start to swirl it gently to and fro you (like the action you do when you try to cook a piece of meat quickly in steamboat/hotpot). just swirl it a few times, then allow it to fry

– make sure you use a pair of chopsticks to roll the cruller over and over again in the oil so that it browns evenly

– remove when golden brown and serve when it has slightly cooled

– ENJOY!

Personal notes:

– if you do not have very strong bread flour, you can use the flour that is used for making steamed mantou or dumpling skin

– i made 2 batches of these ~ one batch with 14g sea salt (which is salty enough ~ some may find it on a bit salty); and second batch with 8g salt. the second batch was bland

– the chef recommended not throwing the oil away and you can reuse it for frying ~ it is pretty fragrant due to the addition of the egg to the cruller. and i have to give this to the chef, the oil was really SPOTLESS! like it has never been used….

– if i were to do this again in the future, i will attempt air frying ~ but i will have to cut it into really small portions

good morning Beijing -(๑☆‿ ☆#)ᕗ

Pollution index: 55 (good)