Fan Tuan (Stuffed Rice Roll)

Youtiao (Chinese doughnut)

• 250g purpose flour

• 130ml milk

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1 egg

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp baking soda

• Oil for deep frying Youtiao

Fan Tuan

• 1 tbsp oil

• 180 g glutinous rice/white sticky rice

• 90 purple sticky rice, optional

• 3 large eggs, optional

• 30 g grams pork floss, optional

• 30 g pickled mustard greens or pickled radish

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Soak sticky rice in water for at least 3 hours or up to overnight. Drain the rice then place in a steam basket lined with parchment paper, or in a bowl and steam for 20 to 30 minutes, or until rice is tender. Turn the heat off but keep rice in a steam basket to stay warm. 

To make the youtiao/Chinese doughnut, in a large bowl sieve together flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Slowly add in milk and mix to combine. Turn dough out onto a work surface and knead for 5-10 minutes, or until a smooth ball forms. Drizzle with oil and cover with plastic wrap. Let it rest overnight in the fridge, or for at least 3 hours. 

Remove the youtiao dough from the fridge and let it reach room temperature before frying. To shape the dough, roll out the dough to 2 cm in thickness. With a knife, cut the dough into thin rectangles around 3 cm x 15 cm. Place one rectangle on top of the other and with a chopstick, make an indent lengthwise so the two pieces stick together in the middle.  In a large wok, fill halfway with vegetable oil and bring to medium heat, around 200°C. Stretch two ends of the dough to create a log and gently place into the oil. With a pair of long chopsticks or tongs, keep youtiao moving around and fry for 3-5 minutes or until golden. Remove from oil and place onto kitchen towels or a wire rack. 

In a frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium and fry the mustard greens for 5 minutes to soften. Remove then add more oil to fry eggs over medium, breaking the yolk halfway through then flipping the egg to fry the other side. Place onto a chopping board and slice into thin strips. 

To build the fan tuan, spread a layer of sticky rice around 1 cm thickness in the shape of a square over a large piece of plastic wrap. Slice youtiao in half lengthwise to the same length as the rice square. Place youtiao, pork floss, pickled mustard greens, and fried egg strips in the lower third of the square. Lift the bottom of the plastic wrap and fold the rice over the filling like a rice roll. Squeeze the plastic wrap to make sure the rice roll sticks together.