Youtiao

Youtiao is a long strip of leavened dough twisted and deep-fried until hollow and crisp outside, soft within. It's the fried dough stick eaten with congee or soy milk, and it's specifically there for the crunch — breakfast's textural counterpoint to the smooth, soft porridge it's almost always served alongside.

What it actually is

A simple wheat flour dough, leavened with baking powder rather than yeast for a faster rise, rests briefly before stretching and twisting into a long double strip. It drops into hot oil, where it puffs up dramatically, expanding hollow inside as it fries, the outside turning deeply golden and crisp while the interior stays airy and soft, almost bread-like once torn open.

The inside has to stay hollow and airy, not dense. A youtiao that fries up solid and heavy has missed the leavening's whole job — the dramatic puff and the resulting hollow, light interior are what separate a proper youtiao from a dense fried breadstick.

How it's served

• Hot, torn into pieces, dipped into congee or soy milk.
• As a breakfast food, sold fresh from street stalls in the morning.
• Plain, without any filling or coating, the crisp-outside-soft-inside contrast being the whole point.

Writing it on a menu

• Flag gluten from the wheat-flour dough.
• Say that it's naturally vegan and vegetarian.
• Note what it's traditionally served with — congee or soy milk — since it's rarely eaten entirely on its own.
• Mention that it's best eaten fresh and hot, since it loses its crisp texture as it cools.