Quzhou Fried Dough Twist
Strands of dough twisted into a rope and deep-fried until dry and crunchy, sold sweet or lightly salted and eaten as a snack or packed as a gift to take home.
How to eat it
Break a twist in half with your hands; a good one snaps cleanly and does not bend. Eat it dry with tea, or dip the end briefly into hot soy milk or rice porridge if you want it softer, as older people in the city often do. It is dense and quite sweet, so one or two pieces are enough. Keep the bag sealed once opened; the twists lose their crunch quickly in humid weather. If a piece feels greasy or bends rather than breaks, it is stale or badly fried.
The story behind the dish
Fried dough twists are made all over China and no single city can claim them, but Quzhou has kept a small-scale tradition of hand-twisted, egg-enriched versions that are drier and finer than the thick northern kind. They were a festival food in the countryside, fried in large batches before the New Year because they keep for weeks, and later became a shop product in the city. Today they are sold largely as a souvenir and as an accompaniment to tea, and the older shops still twist them by hand in the front window.
For reference
Every kitchen does it its own way. What follows is the typical version — ingredients, heat and price shift from city to city and from one restaurant to the next, so take it as a guide rather than a fixed recipe.
If you have an allergy or something you can't eat, check with the staff before you order.