Chinese Donuts (Yao Tiew) on a Sunday Afternoon

Chinese Donuts Recipe

A lazy day. I blog-surfed and came across Evinrude’s blog and 15 seconds after reading her post about nostalgic foods, I gracefully glided to the kitchen tripped over my kid’s !@*?/#% toy train to make Chinese donuts (Yao Tiew).

To an obsessed cook, which is more convenient?

A) Clean kitchen, lug out the 20lb KitchenAid, mix dough, knead dough, let rest, knead more, let rise, roll out, cut, shape, rest, lug out deep fryer, heat up fryer, stretch donut, fry donuts, let cool, dust with powdered sugar, spoon granular sugar (to dip in – because you can never have too much sugar with donuts), heat up espresso machine, make espresso. Eat.

or B) Get in car. Drive 3 blocks to gas station at corner. Buy Krispy Kreme donut and cheap coffee. Eat. I was so lazy that I just couldn’t get myself to get into the car and drive.

Chinese Donuts Recipe

Not from scratch – I used a Thai box mix called Tippy Patangco. It was easy- add water and oil. Looking back, I should have just made it from scratch – but I was too lazy to call my Mom for the recipe. If you are brave enough to make from scratch – check out Lily’s site

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Did you try this recipe? Please leave a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a review in the comment section! I always appreciate your feedback and I know other readers do, too!

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26 Comments

  1. using CMS provides you with a principal command over the written content

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  2. I just love to eat chinese donut (Yaotiew) can I have a recipe please

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    • You might want to do a search online for Yao Tiew recipe – I don’t have a recipe.

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  3. I love making donuts from scratch at work; want the recipe?

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  4. depends on dialect. I’m Cantonese. Prounciation in Manderin is You Tiao.

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  5. i thought is was called YOU TIAO? no?

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  6. Yum! I love yao tiews with congee (what I like to call rice soup) and esp mixed in with dried shredded pork wrapped with sticky rice!!

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  7. This might be a silly question, but why when reading blogs do people leave the edited lines in, meaning when they decide to correct something, rather than deleting it and replacing it with the improved text, they just keep the old text and show it as crossed out. Is this a limitation of the software or a stylistic choice? Sorry about being so ridiculously off topic.

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  8. Sue Ann- OMG…talk about calorie overload!!! Ok ok ok…focus…back to diet….grapefruit is good…grapefruit is good….

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  9. Did you know that Thai people eat those donuts with “Sweetened Condensed Milk” drizzled all over it and then crushed peanuts are sprinkled on top of that!!!!! YUM! Not good for the diet!

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  10. MrsHBT- you are so kind!! I don’t remember if it had ammonia smell. I don’t generally snort my premix (just kidding!! haha!) Seriously, I don’t remember.

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  11. p/s Do you remember if the Yu Tiao you made from the premix had an ammonia smell?

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  12. I gave up making Yu Tiao (from scratch) after failing twice. I have seen the Premix before. I will buy the box, the next time I come across it at the Chinese Grocery.

    You have a rare talent and I am afraid that someone will snatch you away and you won’t have time to maintain a blog anymore.

    If that happens, please don’t erase your blog because I am not done reading yet.

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  13. Anh – it was a so-so mix. Not light and airy inside like how its supposed to be. but it made a good stand in since I don’t know how to make it from scratch.

    Lizzy- EXACTLY!!! when i mess up then i get so frustrated! and end up making chocolate cake and eating the whole thing.

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  14. I have seriously been in that same dilemma before and also opted to stay home and make homemade something instead of going out. Ha! It’s always more work, but sometimes worth it. Unless I mess up. Then it’s not.

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  15. How do you say you are lazy? I was about to buy the same mix last weekend. But after reading the instructions, my laziness took over. Didn’t really cook a lot lately. Lazy me!

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  16. Eliza – I think the weird chemical thing makes it holey, airy and light inside. Ammonium Bicarbonate or something like that. Thought it sounds like something you’d find in a high school chemistry class.

    Amy-I definitely will order that in Shanghai!!!

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  17. I LOVE you tiao! Those look sooooooo good *drooling all over* I’ve never tried to make them at home because it required some weird chemical, ammonium something. Make sure to get some in Shanghai when you go in Oct. Breakfast was sometimes my favorite meal: a few baskets for XLB, you tiao, soy milk, and sheng jian bao. Being in Shanghai made me look forward to getting up early every morning. *nostalgic sigh*

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  18. i don’t make yao tiew at home either, too much preparation and no wok in my house would be able to fry those long donuts! 🙂 do you know that yao tiew uses a chemical leavening which is hard to find (at least for me here)?

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  19. Piegirl- no recipe! I just followed the instructions on the boxed mix!

    Tigerfish- well I would make them longer but my deep fryer is small, so I made mini ones.

    Ady- yes, they are greedy!

    Catherine- I’ve linked to a place that sells online. It should be the last sentence in the post. Thanks for visiting!

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  20. Looks DELICIOUS! Reminds me of the yeo tiao that I grew up with having alongside a big, steamy bowl of fresh soy milk. Breakfast of champions if you ask me.

    If you’re telling us that we can actually buy the mix at the market, then you’ll HAVE to share the grocer’s name with us. But if you’re too lazy to type, don’t worry I’ll just surf the web for it. :-p

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  21. Jaden you are so smart, your Chinese Donuts are greedy.
    I think It’s very difficult for me to find “Thai mix called Tippy Patangco”, I will eat them with my eyes…….

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  22. You are an obsessed cook, it was still a DIY somehow…even if it was a mix you used. And other than the length (real Yao Tiew is longer, right?), everything else looks perfect! The color, the crispiness…oh, I could have this with freshly brewed coffee too!

    I’m da real lazy cook who will opt for option (b) if there is a KK nearby 😛

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  23. I really enjoy your sense of humor, Jaden….so lazy you couldn’t bring yourself to get in your car and drive to Krispy Kreme!

    I don’t think I’ll ever make my own you tiao after trying to fry tempura and hating the lingering smell of grease in our tiny apartment. But just in case I get inspired, are you planning to post your recipe…? 🙂

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Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. Eating Out Loud » Blog Archive » Creamy congee (jook) is so comforting - [...] on hand. It’s a long fried salty donut called Yao Tiew — SteamyKitchen has a great pic of them.…
  2. Beef Congee (Rice Porrdige) | Jaden's Steamy Kitchen - [...] Another wonderful side dish for congee is Chinese Donuts, or Yao Tiew. [...]

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