Asian Fried Dough Foods

Youtiao is one of the most popular breakfast foods in China, consisting of Chinese breadsticks that are fried in pairs and connected in the middle. The result is a puffy snack that is crispy on the exterior and tender on the interior. Youtiao date... READ MORE

This internationally known, decadent, and sugar-packed dessert is usually made with a mixture of flour, sugar, yeast, and salt, which is deep-fried and then bathed in syrup or honey. The origin of lokma fritters is ancient but often debated. It is... READ MORE

Karipap or curry puff is a small, deep-fried or baked pastry shell filled with thick chicken and potatoes curry. It is believed that the flavorful snack was invented by the Malays from the Malay Peninsula and parts of Sumatra and Borneo. ... READ MORE

Khaja is a traditional dessert consisting of flour, sugar, and ghee-based dough that is deep-fried in oil until golden and crispy. After the preparation, khaja is sometimes soaked in sugar syrup, depending on the regional variation of the recipe. ... READ MORE

Cireng is a popular Indonesian street food snack made from fried tapioca flour dough, known for its crispy exterior and chewy, elastic interior. The name cireng is a shortened form of aci digoreng in Sundanese, which ... READ MORE

Qottab is a delicate filled pastry from Yazd, a historic city in central Iran known for its confectionery and unique architectural heritage. This sweet is made from a thin dough encasing a mixture of ground almonds or... READ MORE

Paçanga böreği is a Turkish börek variety that's especially popular in the region of Anatolia and in Istanbul, where it's regarded as a traditional Sephardic Jewish specialty of the city. It's made by stuffing yufka or ph... READ MORE

Hailing from Erzurum, kadayıf dolması is a Turkish dessert made with thin shreds of kadayıf dough that are wrapped around a nut filling. The dough is flattened and stuffed with roughly chopped or ground nuts before it is rolled into small... READ MORE

The hole-less, jelly-filled sufganiyah is a descendant of the German krapfen, which was imported to Israel by German Jews who fled the Nazi regime, although some sources claim that sufganiyah appeared much earlier, in the 1920s. Tradition... READ MORE

Pa thong ko is the Thai take on popular Chinese crullers called youtiao. To make the crullers, a mixture of flour, yeast, baking ammonia, alum powder, lukewarm water, salt, sugar, and some baking powder is formed into a dough, which is th... READ MORE

Bhatura is a deep-fried, leavened bread with North Indian origins and a light, fluffy texture. Its unique texture is achieved by letting the dough ferment for almost one hour. The dough consists of flour, oil, baking powder, and yogurt. After the ... READ MORE

This traditional Middle Eastern dessert is often enjoyed on Iftar (a fast-breaking meal) during the holy month of Ramadan. The dish is made with thin sheets of phyllo dough that are wrapped into small elongated rolls while the center is filled wit... READ MORE

Awameh is a sweet Syrian dish consisting of small balls of dough which are fried in hot oil and soaked in honey, cinnamon, or sugar syrup. Sometimes, awameh is sprinkled with sesame seeds. The name of the dish means floater in Arabic, ref... READ MORE

Curry beef triangle is a pastry originating from Hong Kong. In order to prepare it, the dough is shaped into a circle, then usually filled with a combination of ground beef, onions, garlic, curry powder, and peas. It is then folded into a triangle... READ MORE

Panada is an interesting Indonesian take on Spanish and Latin American empanadas. These deep-fried, crescent-shaped pastries consist of leavened dough and a fish-based filling. The Indonesian version is traditionally filled with a combina... READ MORE

Gosh-e fil is a crisp, deep-fried pastry from Iran and Afghanistan. The name translates to “elephant ear” in Persian, referring to its broad, curved shape that resembles the ear of an elephant. This sweet ... READ MORE

Kkwabaegi are traditional South Korean twisted donuts. They're usually made with a combination of flour, butter, sugar, milk, eggs, yeast, salt, corn oil, and cinnamon. Melted butter is mixed with milk, sugar, salt, eggs, yeast, and flour. The dou... READ MORE

Hailing from North India, dal puri is a variety of puri, a type of round-shaped Indian bread that is deep-fried until crispy, puffy, and golden. This version of the bread consists of puri dough that’s kneaded with a lentil-based mix... READ MORE

Pie tee is a dish consisting of a thin pastry—shaped in the form of a cup—which is filled with various sliced vegetables such as bamboo shoots, turnips, and carrots. The shells are made with the help of a pie tee mold that is ... READ MORE

Gulha is the national dish of Maldives, a deep-fried pastry ball filled with smoked fish such as Maldive fish or tuna, along with desiccated coconut and onions. The snacks are usually sold at small cafés known as hotaa, or in shops... READ MORE

Kuih keria are Malaysian deep-fried doughnuts that are made from sweet potatoes. After they are steamed and mashed, the potatoes are combined with flour to form a pliable dough that is then shaped into doughnut rings. Unlike other types of doughnu... READ MORE

Odading is a sweet fried dough snack from Bandung, the capital of West Java. It is made by preparing a yeast-based dough enriched with sugar, milk, and sometimes eggs, then shaping it into flattened squares or rectang... READ MORE

Hanım göbeği is a traditional sweet pastry originating from Turkey. It consists of choux pastry balls that are pressed in the middle to create a dimple, then deep-fried in hot oil and soaked in sugar syrup. The name of this sweet treat means ... READ MORE

Khuushuur is a savory Mongolian pastry that is traditionally filled with a mixture of ground mutton and onions, but there are a few variations that include beef, garlic or peppers, as well as other vegetables. This crescent-shaped pastry is usuall... READ MORE

Athirasa is a traditional sweet made with a combination of rice flour, roasted rice, coconut treacle, coconut oil, and cardamom. The ingredients are formed into a stiff paste that is flattened into circles, then deep-fried in hot oil. These small ... READ MORE

Shakoy, also known as lubid-lubid or bicho-bicho, is a traditional doughnut characterized by its twisted shape. The dough is typically made with a combination of flour, salt, sugar, and yeast. Once prepared, the dough is shaped i... READ MORE

Binangkal is a traditional doughnut-like snack originating from the islands of Visayas and Mindanao. The dough is usually made with a combination of flour, milk, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, sesame seeds, and oil. The dry and wet ingredients... READ MORE