Youtiao
Encyclopedia
Youtiao - also known as you char kway in Hokkien
, yau ja gwai in Cantonese
, and Chinese oil stick, Chinese donut, Chinese cruller, fried bread stick- is a long, golden-brown, deep fried
strip of dough
in Chinese cuisine
and other East
and Southeast Asian cuisines and is usually eaten for breakfast
. Conventionally, youtiao are lightly salted and made so they can be torn lengthwise in two. Youtiao are normally eaten as an accompaniment for rice congee
or soy milk
.
(燒餅; lit. roasted flatbread) to make a sandwich
known as shāobǐng yóutiáo (燒餅油條). Youtiao wrapped in a rice noodle roll
is known as zháliǎng
. Youtiao is also an important ingredient of the food Cífàn tuán in Shanghai cuisine
.
Tánggāo (糖糕), or "sugar cake", is a sweet, fried food item similar in appearance to youtiao but shorter in length.
In Thailand, youtiao ("patongkoh" in Thai) are eaten for breakfast with sweetened condensed milk and coffee.
. In Min Nan
-speaking areas, it is known as iû-chiā-kóe (油炸粿), where kóe (粿) means cake or pastry, hence "oil-fried cake/pastry". In Cantonese-speaking areas this is rendered as yàuhjagwái (油炸鬼), where gwái literally means "devil" or "ghost".
, who is said to have orchestrated the plot to frame the general Yue Fei
, an icon of patriotism
in Chinese culture
. It is said that the food, originally in the shape of two human-shaped pieces of dough but later evolved into two pieces joined in the middle, represents Qin Hui and his wife, both having a hand in collaborating with the enemy to bring about the great general's demise. Thus the youtiao is deep fried and eaten as if done to the traitorous couple. In keeping with the legend, youtiao are often made as two foot-long rolls of dough joined along the middle, with one roll representing the husband and the other the wife.
(khao jii). It is also eaten as an accompaniment to chicken noodle soup.
and Malaysia, it is known in English as you char kway, you char kuay, or u char kway, transliterations of its local Hokkien (Minnan) name (油炸粿 iû-chiā-kóe). It is rendered in Malay
as cakoi, an alteration of the Minnan term, "char kway". The Malay version comes with various fillings, which are either sweet, such as red bean paste or savoury, such as sardines fried in tomato sauce. The plain version is usually eaten with coconut and egg jam kaya
. Cakoi is usually sold in morning street markets or "pasar malam" night markets.
It is also normally served with Bak kut teh
or rice congee
, sliced thinly to be dipped into the broth/congee and eaten. Usually Malaysians and Singaporeans like to serve together with coffee or soy milk for breakfast.
Malaysian Indians calls it by the name "aathe kaale" or kaki kambing and usually ate for breakfast. It serves well together with 'kopi o' and ate with 'dhal curry'. This spectacular Chinese dish are sold about RM 0.50 per piece in the northern region of Peninsular Malaysia.
(Burma) where it is called e kya kway. It is usually eaten with steamed yellow beans (with salt and oil). It is also usually dipped into coffee or tea. E kya kway is also eaten with rice porridge, or cut into small rings and used as a condiment for mohinga
.
Tea culture is very prevalent in Myanmar, and every shop will serve e kya kway for breakfast.
Some shops stuff meat into the youtiao and deep fry it over again. It is called e kya kway asar thoot - stuffed e kya kway.
, the youtiao is called bicho (pl
. bicho-bicho) although this name can also refer to sweetened, fried dough balls similar to the buñuelo, also called cascaron. In the Visayan region, they call it "sia-koy".
, the food is known by the Hokkien (Taiwanese) name 油炸粿 or by the Standard Mandarin 油條 .
, youtiao is generally called pathongko due to a confusion with a different kind of dessert. Pathongko is a Thai corruption of either Teochew Minnan beh teung guai (白糖粿; Mandarin: bái tángguǒ) or Cantonese
of baahktònggòu (白糖糕; Mandarin: bái tánggāo). However, both possible original names are different desserts, not to be confused with the real white sugar sponge cake (白糖糕)
. It was previously sold together with youtiao by street vendors
who normally walked around and shouted both names out loud. However, Thai customers often mistakenly thought that the more popular youtiao was "pathongko". Eventually, the real pathongko disappeared from the market because of its unpopularity. Ironically, the disappearance of real "pathongko" leaves youtiao being called under the former's name, but the latter's real name is generally unknown amongst the Thais. But the original white sugar sponge cake can still be easily found in Trang Province
in Southern Thailand
under its original name. Both Thailand and Cambodia are relatively neighbors to each other. So this is how they both have similar cuisines in ways.
In Cambodia, it is also used for the cultural delicacies. It is used in rice porridge or noodle soup. The noodle soup is actually like Vietnamese pho. This fried delicacy is dipped into the noodle soup. Most of time this "you tiao" is dipped into the pho. In Thailand, pathongko is also dipped into condensed milk or, in the South, eaten with kaya.
.
it is sometimes called chopstick cake by some Cambodian
Chinese immigrants because of its resemblance to a pair of chopsticks
. In Indonesia
it is called cakue or cakwe .
Hokkien
Hokkien is a Hokkien word corresponding to Standard Chinese "Fujian". It may refer to:* Hokkien dialect, a dialect of Min Nan Chinese spoken in Southern Fujian , Taiwan, South-east Asia, and elsewhere....
, yau ja gwai in Cantonese
Standard Cantonese
Cantonese, or Standard Cantonese, is a language that originated in the vicinity of Canton in southern China, and is often regarded as the prestige dialect of Yue Chinese....
, and Chinese oil stick, Chinese donut, Chinese cruller, fried bread stick- is a long, golden-brown, deep fried
Deep frying
Deep frying is a cooking method in which food is submerged in hot oil or fat. This is normally performed with a deep fryer or chip pan; industrially, a pressure fryer or vacuum fryer may be used....
strip of dough
Dough
Dough is a paste made out of any cereals or leguminous crops by mixing flour with a small amount of water and/or other liquid. This process is a precursor to making a wide variety of foodstuffs, particularly breads and bread-based items , flatbreads, noodles, pastry, and similar items)...
in Chinese cuisine
Chinese cuisine
Chinese cuisine is any of several styles originating in the regions of China, some of which have become highly popular in other parts of the world – from Asia to the Americas, Australia, Western Europe and Southern Africa...
and other East
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
and Southeast Asian cuisines and is usually eaten for breakfast
Breakfast
Breakfast is the first meal taken after rising from a night's sleep, most often eaten in the early morning before undertaking the day's work...
. Conventionally, youtiao are lightly salted and made so they can be torn lengthwise in two. Youtiao are normally eaten as an accompaniment for rice congee
Rice congee
Congee is a type of rice porridge popular in many Asian countries. It can be eaten alone or served with a side dish. Names for congee are as varied as the style of its preparation...
or soy milk
Soy milk
Soy milk and sometimes referred to as soy drink/beverage is a beverage made from soybeans. A stable emulsion of oil, water, and protein, it is produced by soaking dry soybeans and grinding them with water...
.
Culinary applications and variants
At breakfast, youtiao can be stuffed inside shāobǐngShaobing
Shaobing or huoshao is a baked, layered flatbread with or without sesame on top, in Chinese cuisine. They can contain a variety of stuffing which can be grouped into two main flavors: savoury or sweet. Examples of fillings are red bean paste, black sesame paste, stir-fried mung beans with egg and...
(燒餅; lit. roasted flatbread) to make a sandwich
Sandwich
A sandwich is a food item, typically consisting of two or more slices of :bread with one or more fillings between them, or one slice of bread with a topping or toppings, commonly called an open sandwich. Sandwiches are a widely popular type of lunch food, typically taken to work or school, or...
known as shāobǐng yóutiáo (燒餅油條). Youtiao wrapped in a rice noodle roll
Rice noodle roll
A rice noodle roll is a Cantonese dish from southern China and Hong Kong, commonly served as a variety of dim sum. It is a thin roll made from a wide strip of shahe fen , filled with shrimp, pork, beef, vegetables, or other ingredients. Sweet soy sauce is poured over the dish upon serving...
is known as zháliǎng
Zhaliang
Zhaliang is a kind of food in Cantonese cuisine of China. It is made by tightly wrapping rice noodle roll around youtiao . It is most popular in the Guangdong province of southern China, as well as in Hong Kong....
. Youtiao is also an important ingredient of the food Cífàn tuán in Shanghai cuisine
Shanghai cuisine
Shanghai cuisine , also known as Hu cai is a popular style of Chinese cuisine. The city of Shanghai itself does not have a separate and unique cuisine of its own, but modifies those of the surrounding provinces, is Jiangsu and Zhejiang coastal provinces. What can be called Shanghai cuisine is...
.
Tánggāo (糖糕), or "sugar cake", is a sweet, fried food item similar in appearance to youtiao but shorter in length.
In Thailand, youtiao ("patongkoh" in Thai) are eaten for breakfast with sweetened condensed milk and coffee.
China
Although generally known as yóutiáo in Standard Mandarin throughout China, the dish is also known as guǒzi (果子) in northern ChinaNorthern and southern China
Northern China and southern China are two approximate regions within China. The exact boundary between these two regions has never been precisely defined...
. In Min Nan
Min Nan
The Southern Min languages, or Min Nan , are a family of Chinese languages spoken in southern Fujian, eastern Guangdong, Hainan, Taiwan, and southern Zhejiang provinces of China, and by descendants of emigrants from these areas in diaspora....
-speaking areas, it is known as iû-chiā-kóe (油炸粿), where kóe (粿) means cake or pastry, hence "oil-fried cake/pastry". In Cantonese-speaking areas this is rendered as yàuhjagwái (油炸鬼), where gwái literally means "devil" or "ghost".
Folk etymology
The Cantonese name yàuhjagwái literally means "oil-fried devil" and, according to folklore, is an act of protest against Song Dynasty official Qin HuiQin Hui (Song Dynasty)
Qin Hui or Qin Kuai was a Chancellor of the Song Dynasty in China, who is widely regarded as a traitor of the Han race for his part in the political execution of General Yue Fei...
, who is said to have orchestrated the plot to frame the general Yue Fei
Yue Fei
Yue Fei , style name Pengju, was a military general of the Southern Song Dynasty. His ancestral home was in Xiaoti, Yonghe Village, Tangyin, Xiangzhou, Henan...
, an icon of patriotism
Patriotism
Patriotism is a devotion to one's country, excluding differences caused by the dependencies of the term's meaning upon context, geography and philosophy...
in Chinese culture
Culture of China
Chinese culture is one of the world's oldest and most complex. The area in which the culture is dominant covers a large geographical region in eastern Asia with customs and traditions varying greatly between towns, cities and provinces...
. It is said that the food, originally in the shape of two human-shaped pieces of dough but later evolved into two pieces joined in the middle, represents Qin Hui and his wife, both having a hand in collaborating with the enemy to bring about the great general's demise. Thus the youtiao is deep fried and eaten as if done to the traitorous couple. In keeping with the legend, youtiao are often made as two foot-long rolls of dough joined along the middle, with one roll representing the husband and the other the wife.
Indonesia
In Indonesia, the fried dough is famously known as cakwe. It's commonly chopped or thinly sliced then eaten for breakfast with Bubur Ayam (chicken porridge) or eaten as snacks with local version of chilli vinaigrette.Laos
In Laos, the youtiao is generally called pah thawng ko (cf. Thai patongkoh) and is commonly eaten with coffee at breakfast in place of a baguetteBaguette
A baguette is "a long thin loaf of French bread" that is commonly made from basic lean dough...
(khao jii). It is also eaten as an accompaniment to chicken noodle soup.
Malaysia and Singapore
In SingaporeSingapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and Malaysia, it is known in English as you char kway, you char kuay, or u char kway, transliterations of its local Hokkien (Minnan) name (油炸粿 iû-chiā-kóe). It is rendered in Malay
Malay language
Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It is the official language of Malaysia , Indonesia , Brunei and Singapore...
as cakoi, an alteration of the Minnan term, "char kway". The Malay version comes with various fillings, which are either sweet, such as red bean paste or savoury, such as sardines fried in tomato sauce. The plain version is usually eaten with coconut and egg jam kaya
Kaya (jam)
Coconut jam, Srikaya, or Kaya is a food spread, a fruit curd in the general sense, consumed mainly in Southeast Asia and made from a base of coconut and sugar.-Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore:...
. Cakoi is usually sold in morning street markets or "pasar malam" night markets.
It is also normally served with Bak kut teh
Bak kut teh
Bak-kut-teh is a Chinese soup popularly served in Malaysia, Singapore, Mainland China and Taiwan and also, neighbouring regions like Riau Islands and Southern Thailand.The name literally translates as "meat bone tea", and, at its simplest, consists of meaty pork ribs simmered in a complex broth...
or rice congee
Congee
Congee is a type of rice porridge popular in many Asian countries. It can be eaten alone or served with a side dish. Names for congee are as varied as the style of its preparation...
, sliced thinly to be dipped into the broth/congee and eaten. Usually Malaysians and Singaporeans like to serve together with coffee or soy milk for breakfast.
Malaysian Indians calls it by the name "aathe kaale" or kaki kambing and usually ate for breakfast. It serves well together with 'kopi o' and ate with 'dhal curry'. This spectacular Chinese dish are sold about RM 0.50 per piece in the northern region of Peninsular Malaysia.
Myanmar
The youtiao is also a popular breakfast food in MyanmarMyanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
(Burma) where it is called e kya kway. It is usually eaten with steamed yellow beans (with salt and oil). It is also usually dipped into coffee or tea. E kya kway is also eaten with rice porridge, or cut into small rings and used as a condiment for mohinga
Mohinga
Mohinga is Rice noodles in fish soup and considered by many to be the national dish of Burma. It is readily available in most parts of the country. In major cities, street hawkers and roadside stalls sell dozens of dishes of mohinga to the locals and passers-by...
.
Tea culture is very prevalent in Myanmar, and every shop will serve e kya kway for breakfast.
Some shops stuff meat into the youtiao and deep fry it over again. It is called e kya kway asar thoot - stuffed e kya kway.
Philippines
In the PhilippinesPhilippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, the youtiao is called bicho (pl
Plural
In linguistics, plurality or [a] plural is a concept of quantity representing a value of more-than-one. Typically applied to nouns, a plural word or marker is used to distinguish a value other than the default quantity of a noun, which is typically one...
. bicho-bicho) although this name can also refer to sweetened, fried dough balls similar to the buñuelo, also called cascaron. In the Visayan region, they call it "sia-koy".
Taiwan
In TaiwanTaiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, the food is known by the Hokkien (Taiwanese) name 油炸粿 or by the Standard Mandarin 油條 .
Thailand
In ThailandThailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, youtiao is generally called pathongko due to a confusion with a different kind of dessert. Pathongko is a Thai corruption of either Teochew Minnan beh teung guai (白糖粿; Mandarin: bái tángguǒ) or Cantonese
Standard Cantonese
Cantonese, or Standard Cantonese, is a language that originated in the vicinity of Canton in southern China, and is often regarded as the prestige dialect of Yue Chinese....
of baahktònggòu (白糖糕; Mandarin: bái tánggāo). However, both possible original names are different desserts, not to be confused with the real white sugar sponge cake (白糖糕)
White sugar sponge cake
White sugar sponge cake is a type of Chinese pastry. It is one of the most common pastries in Hong Kong. Overseas, however, it is much more rare in Chinatown bakery shops....
. It was previously sold together with youtiao by street vendors
Hawker (trade)
A hawker is a vendor of merchandise that can be easily transported; the term is roughly synonymous with peddler or costermonger. In most places where the term is used, a hawker sells items or food that are native to the area...
who normally walked around and shouted both names out loud. However, Thai customers often mistakenly thought that the more popular youtiao was "pathongko". Eventually, the real pathongko disappeared from the market because of its unpopularity. Ironically, the disappearance of real "pathongko" leaves youtiao being called under the former's name, but the latter's real name is generally unknown amongst the Thais. But the original white sugar sponge cake can still be easily found in Trang Province
Trang Province
Trang is one of the southern provinces of Thailand, at the western shore of the Malay Peninsula to the Andaman Sea. Neighboring provinces are Krabi, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phatthalung and Satun....
in Southern Thailand
Southern Thailand
Southern Thailand is a distinct region of Thailand, connected with the Central region by the narrow Kra Isthmus.-Geography:Southern Thailand is located on the Malay Peninsula, with an area around 70,713 km², bounded to the north by Kra Isthmus as the narrowest part of the peninsula. The...
under its original name. Both Thailand and Cambodia are relatively neighbors to each other. So this is how they both have similar cuisines in ways.
In Cambodia, it is also used for the cultural delicacies. It is used in rice porridge or noodle soup. The noodle soup is actually like Vietnamese pho. This fried delicacy is dipped into the noodle soup. Most of time this "you tiao" is dipped into the pho. In Thailand, pathongko is also dipped into condensed milk or, in the South, eaten with kaya.
Vietnam
In Vietnamese cuisine, it is known by a name that is a mix of Sino-Vietnamese and native Vietnamese to achieve a pronunciation similar to the Cantonese name, as dầu cháo quỷ or giò cháo quẩy. 油 ("Dầu/giò") 鬼 ("quỷ/quẩy") coming from Sino-Vietnamese (the differences between the two coming from differing dialects dating to before the standardization of Vietnamese) and "cháo" coming from the Vietnamese native word for congeeCongee
Congee is a type of rice porridge popular in many Asian countries. It can be eaten alone or served with a side dish. Names for congee are as varied as the style of its preparation...
.
Other countries
In AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
it is sometimes called chopstick cake by some Cambodian
Demographics of Cambodia
This article is about the demographic features of the population of Cambodia, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.-Population:...
Chinese immigrants because of its resemblance to a pair of chopsticks
Chopsticks
Chopsticks are small, often tapered, sticks used in pairs of equal length as the traditional eating utensils of China and its diaspora, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and Northern provinces of Laos, Thailand and Burma. Generally believed to have originated in ancient China, they can also be found in some...
. In Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
it is called cakue or cakwe .