Homemade Cahkwe or Chinese doughnut stick (Youtiao, 油条)
Youtiao, is a long golden-brown deep-fried strip of dough commonly eaten in China and (by a variety of other names) in other East and Southeast Asian cuisines. Conventionally, youtiao are lightly salted and made so they can be torn lengthwise in two. Youtiao are normally eaten at breakfast as an accompaniment for rice congee, soy milk or regular milk blended with sugar. Youtiao may be known elsewhere as Chinese cruller, Chinese fried churro, Chinese oil stick, Chinese doughnut, Chinese breadstick, and fried breadstick,
In Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore, they are called You Char Kway, Cakwe, Cakoi, Kueh, Kuay. In Philippines, it is called Bicho/Bicho-Bicho or Shakoy.
I N G R E D I E N T S
- 500gr all-purpose flour 10-11% Protein
- 10gr baking soda
- 5gr baking powder
- 300ml water at room temperature
- 1tsp salt
- 1tbsp sugar
H O W T O P R E P A R E
- out (from the measured water) 50ml (~3 tbsp) water and add into to each bowl. Stir well to dissolve.
- Place the flour in a large mixing bowl. Add salt and sugar. Mix well. Make a well in the middle and pour the liquids from the bowls and the rest of the water into the well. Stir well with a spatula until the flour absorbs all the liquid. Then knead with your hand for just 1 to 2 minutes until a rough dough is formed. Cover and let it rest for 20 minutes.
- After resting for the first time, take out and knead for 1-2 minutes. The surface of the dough becomes smoother, but still not 100% smooth. Cover and let it rest for another 20 minutes for the second time.
- Repeat the process one more time: take out and knead for 1-2 minutes. The surface of the dough now becomes very smooth. Cover and let it rest for another 20 minutes for the third time.
- Take out and knead for a few more strokes. Then roll the dough flat to a thickness of 1cm (1/2 inch). Cover with a slightly damp a cloth and let it rest for 4 hours. Make sure you let it rest long enough (minimum 2.5 hours and maximum 4 hours)
- After resting 4 times, roll the dough flat to a thickness of 0.5 cm (1/4 inch). Cut into 8-10cm (3-4-inch) bands, and then cut each band into 2.5cm (1-inch) strips.
- Dip a bamboo skewer in water and press down in the middle of each dough piece lengthwise. Do that for just half of them, and then stacked the other pieces on top to form pairs. Then use the same skewer to again press down in the middle of the pieces on top lengthwise.
- Fill a large wok/frying pan with at least 2-inch vegetable oil. Heat the oil to 180°C/360°F, or until you stand a dry wooden chopstick in the center of the wok and see bubbles appear steadily around it. Lower the heat to medium and start deep-frying.
- Quickly pick up one dough pair (use both hands to hold near the ends), stretch out to double the length and carefully drop into the hot oil. The dough will float to the surface in a second. Use chopsticks or tongs to keep flipping the dough until it puffs up into the shape of the fried breadstick that we normally see. Deep-fry until it turns golden brown. Then let it rest on a rack or paper towel to drain off the excess oil. It’s easier to manage if you fry one at a time. If the pieces stick too tight together, use chopsticks to loosen a little, so that it has enough room to rise and puff up.
N O T E S
If you want more crispy breadsticks, use 5g baking soda and 5g baking ammonium to REPLACE the baking soda and baking powder in the recipe.
Dapur Kornhills 