Asian Churros

Youtiao are classic items found on the breakfast tables of many Asian households and they’re often accompanied by a hot bowl of rice porridge or a steaming cup of slightly sweetened soy milk. The crispy outside, contrasted by the incredibly light and airy interior, readily absorbs the liquid from the porridge and soy milk to transform the treat into an entirely new flavor and texture.

Youtiao are also known to many as Chinese donuts, a name that’s perplexed me for a long time now. When I think of a donut I immediately think of a glazed and overly sweet fried piece of dough, in either a bar or circle shape. Needless to say, a youtiao isn’t necessarily the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of a donut.

This name did lead me down a path of wanting to incorporate more sugar into the dish and give it new life as a dessert though. The general stick shape reminded me of a really fat churro and that’s how I came about with this creation, the asian churro.

Churros are sticks of fried choux pastry covered liberally with cinnamon sugar. Since a youtiao is a classic dish enjoyed in Asian cuisines, I wanted to do something different than just coat it with cinnamon sugar and apply an Asian twist to the treat in the form of matcha sugar! The matcha sugar gave these fried dough sticks a sweet, yet slightly bitter and earthy flavor, as well as a bright green shimmering exterior. Thus the asian churro was born!

Asian Churros

ryanllee FacebookTweetPin Youtiao are classic items found on the breakfast tables of many Asian households and they’re often accompanied by a hot bowl… Recipes Asian Churros European Print This

Prep Time: 20 minutes Cooking Time: 15 minutes 15 minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 1 voted )

Ingredients

Youtiao

• 2.5 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 egg

Matcha Sugar

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp matcha powder

 

Instructions

1. In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and sugar
2. Then add in the egg and water and mix until there are no more streaks of flour in the dough
3. Knead by hand for ~3 minutes, adding a tablespoon of flour at a time if the dough gets too sticky
4. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest at room temperature for 30 minutes
5. Punch down the dough with your knuckles and then form it into a ball
6. Cover the dough ball completely with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight
7. The next morning, remove the dough from the fridge and let it rest at room temperature for 2 hours
8. Roll out the dough, onto a lightly floured surface, into a long rectangle
9. Fill a pot with oil (so it's at least 3 inches from the bottom of the pot) and heat to 350F
10. Cut the dough into strips, depending on the size you want your churros to take
11. Stack each strip with another strip of dough on top, and using a chopstick, press down, lengthwise, on top of the two pieces of dough to stick them together
12. Once the oil is hot enough, pinch both ends and gently stretch the dough strips lengthwise before dropping it into the hot oil
13. Roll the dough frequently in the oil to ensure all sides are being fried equally, then remove and drain slightly on a wired rack before coating in matcha sugar