Soy milk and the devil fried in oil.

Locals put fried dough sticks, shredded pork floss, and spices into a bowl of soy milk, mix it all together, and drink it like porridge. If you want to try this dish, you have to go in the morning, as most Taiwanese breakfast shops close after noon.

I stopped by YongHe Soy Milk King near the MRT station and bought a cup of hot soy milk with fried dough sticks, which was quite good for around 20 NT$ (about 15,000 VND). Here, you can choose from a wide variety of traditional Taiwanese breakfast foods, such as egg roll crepes and sticky rice rolls. Savoring the hot, fragrant fried dough sticks mixed with soy milk in the cool morning air of Taipei gives you a very relaxing feeling. I love lazy days like these, without having to jostle through crowded tourist markets, just leisurely enjoying local life.

Fried dough sticks are easy to make. Mix flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and water together, then knead with an egg. Let it rest for about an hour, then roll the dough into long strips. Join two strips together and fry them to make golden, crispy, and savory "fried dough sticks."

The name "yàuhjagwái" (fried dough sticks) originates from a historical story where the brilliant military strategist Yue Fei was betrayed by the treacherous Qin Hui and his wife. Angered by this, the people molded dough into the shapes of the couple and fried them in oil, symbolizing the demons who would be punished in a cauldron of boiling oil in hell. From this, the dish "yàuhjagwái" was born.

Interestingly, in each country, the fried dough sticks (quẩy) have different variations. In Taiwan, fried dough sticks are mixed with shredded pork, onions, and spices with hot soy milk like porridge. In Singapore, there's a version stuffed with fish, sometimes squid (sotong), served with mayonnaise. In Vietnam, I eat quẩy with hot pho (Hanoi style). In Thailand, Laos, China, and other countries, you'll find even more variations of quẩy.

Text: The Bamboo Trees Photos: Thanh Liem

The Thanh