The inspiration behind this dessert!
The first dessert item on our Bao Bae fast food menu! Freshly fried youtiao with homemade soy milk ice cream.
This dessert is inspired by the classic Chinese breakfast duo – youtiao and freshly made soy milk.
Youtiao aka 油条 is a Chinese deep fried savoury doughnut. It’s generally shaped in a long shape, and when you bite into it, it’s crispy on the outside yet fluffy on the inside. Popular pairings with youtiao include congee and soy milk.
The first time I had youtiao and soy milk combo was in Guangzhou, China. I studied there for a few years during primary school, and through this experience, I was exposed to so many Chinese dishes I’ve never had before.
Because Bao Bae is an Asian-fusion fast food brand, I wanted to reimagine this classic youtiao and soy milk combo into dessert form! A lot of you commented that youtiao was a big part of your childhood, so I hope this recipe brings back a lot of childhood memories.
Tips for this dessert!
After recipe testing this, I’ve noted 3 key things for it to taste great:
- The youtiao needs to be freshly fried and enjoyed right after it cools down slightly. If the youtiao has gone cold or room temp, when it is mixed with the ice cream, it’ll taste soggy and a bit tough. The key is to have it warm so you can enjoy the contrasting temperatures of the youtiao and the ice cream. Think warm churros with ice cream.
- If you’re making youtiao purely for this recipe, I’d suggest for you to make the youtiao slightly crispier. You can achieve this by deep frying it for slightly longer, or by making the youtiao smaller and therefore crispier. I think a crispier texture (like churros) would go better with cold ice cream, but regular youtiao will also be nice – I just personally prefer it crispier.
- You can add your own preferred toppings, such as chocolate sauce, biscoff spread, strawberry jam, fruits etc. The world is your oyster! But also note that if you do want to add sweet toppings, you may need to adjust the sugar levels of the soy milk ice cream so that it’s less sweet.
How to enjoy youtiao!
If you want another way to enjoy youtiao, you can have it as a savoury option! You can enjoy freshly deep fried youtiao as is, which is very fragrant and delicious on its own, or you can also make my Prawn Youtiao Nuggets!
Some tips for frying youtiao
Here are some tips if you’re deep frying youtiao for the first time!
- Use the widest pot you’ve got: because you will need to stretch out the youtiao dough before placing it into the oil, and the dough expands once it’s being cooked, so it’s best to have a pot that is wide enough so the youtiao can be long.
- Once you place the youtiao into the oil, gently toss it with tongs or chopsticks so that it deep fries evenly. This will also ensure that the youtiao expands in size evenly. But be careful not to squeeze the youtiao too much when you’re trying to flip it, or else the centre will be smaller/thinner that the ends (see above pic).
- The best oil temperature for deep frying youtiao is 204°C or 400°F. If you don’t have a kitchen thermometer to measure the temp (just like me), I’d recommend test frying smaller bits to see if the oil sizzles. If it does sizzle, then it’s hot enough for frying. But also be careful that the oil isn’t too hot to avoid overcooking the youtiao.
Packaging inspiration
The packaging was inspired by traditional Chinese designs. I drew red borders around the cup and cut out a ‘V’ shape, to be consistent with our lucky red pocket 红包 theme. If you want to recreate this, you can use a paper cup and decorate it accordingly.
But I would suggest making the ‘V’ less deep than what I made, because I noticed the ice cream coming out.
Youtiao & Soy Milk Ice Cream
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Add all ice cream ingredients into a Ninja Creami pint.
- Stir thoroughly until fully combined and smooth.
- Place the lid on and freeze upright for at least 12 hours (overnight is best).
- In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a separate bowl, mix the cold milk with the oil. Pour this into the dry ingredients.
- Knead in the bowl until a dough ball forms. Cover and rest for 30 minutes.
- Lightly oil your work surface.
- Transfer the dough onto the surface and gently press it into a rectangle.
- Fold the left side into the centre, then fold the right side over it. Flatten into a rectangle again.
- Repeat this folding process two more times.
- Cover and allow the dough to rest for 1.5 hours.
- Remove the frozen pint from the freezer and let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes.
- Place into your Ninja Creami and process on Lite Ice Cream mode.
- If needed, re-spin until smooth.
- Return to the freezer while you fry the youtiao.
- Lightly dust your bench or mat with flour.
- Transfer the rested dough onto the surface. Gently flatten and stretch it into a long rectangle.
- Cut into 10 rectangles, each about 3–4 cm wide.
- For 5 pieces only, run a faint line of water through the centre using a wet chopstick.
- Place the remaining 5 pieces directly on top to form pairs.
- Press a chopstick gently down the centre of each pair to seal only the middle. Note: the sides should remain separated so they can puff.
- Heat vegetable oil in a wide pan to 200°C / 392°F.
- Take one dough pair, stretch it to twice its length, and gently lower it into the oil.
- Fry, rotating continuously with chopsticks or tongs so it puffs evenly.
- When lightly golden, remove and drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining pieces.
- Add 2 scoops of soy milk ice cream to a serving cup or bowl.
- Add a piece of freshly fried youtiao on top.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
- Optional toppings: chocolate sauce, strawberry jam, pistachio spread, peanut butter, condensed milk, or honey.
