Shuangbaotai

Shuangbaotai or horse hooves is a sweet Taiwanese fried dough food with chewy dough containing large air pockets on the inside and a crisp crust on the outside. Its taste is slightly sweet and is made by twisting two small pieces of dough together and frying them, thus causing them to separate slightly while remaining connected.

Names

The Mandarin Chinese name of this food, "shuāngbāotāi" (雙胞胎) meaning "twins", is derived from the fact that the dish is two pastries twisted slightly together as if conjoined twins. The Taiwanese Minnan name is 馬花糋 ("bé-hoe-chìⁿ"), which roughly means "horse-hoof cake", also in reference to its shape. Another Minnan name is 雙生仔 ("siang-siⁿ-á") meaning twins.

Regional

In Taiwan, shuangbaotai are a type of "xiaochi" typically sold by hawkers at street stalls or in night markets, but not in regular restaurants or bakeries.

Comparisons

It is similar in taste and texture to a New Orleans-style beignet from the United States.

ee also

*Ox-tongue pastry
*Youtiao

External links

* [http://www.ytower.com.tw/prj/prj_339/p1.asp YTower] — A famous maker of shuangbaotai zh icon
* [http://www.tbocc.gov.tw/tast1-detail4.asp?SysID=2007130225939753444849 Shuangbaotai] at Chiayi Tourism Bureau website — includes photos of shuangabotai zh icon