Twisted doughnuts are yeast donuts or sticks of pastry made from wheat flour or glutinous

rice flour Rice flour (also rice powder) is a form of flour made from finely milled rice. It is distinct from rice starch, which is usually produced by steeping rice in lye. Rice flour is a common substitute for wheat flour. It is also used as a thickening a ...

, deep-fried in oil. In China, they are known as ''

mahua Mahua Acharya Mahua or Mahuaa may refer to: Botany * ''Madhuca longifolia'' or mahua, a tree in the family Sapotaceae * ''Mahua'' (moss), a genus of mosses in family Hypnaceae Culture and entertainment * Mahua (snack), a Chinese fried dough twis ...

'' (麻花); in

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

, they are known as '' kkwabaegi (꽈배기)'' in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, they are known as ''

shakoy Shakoy ( Cebuano: ''syakoy''; Tagalog: ''siyakoy''; Hokkien: 炸粿; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tsia̍h-kué), also known as ''lubid-lubid'' ("little rope"), is a traditional Filipino deep-fried twisted doughnut. It is traditionally made with flour, suga ...

'' and ''

pilipit Pilipit is a traditional Filipino deep-fried twisted doughnut. It is made with flour, eggs, milk, salt, and baking powder. It is made mostly identically to the shakoy doughnut, except for its crunchy and hard texture and its smaller and thinne ...

'', in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, they are known as '' sakubei''.

Around the world

China

Mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...

and

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, twisted doughnuts known as ''

'' () are traditional fried desserts with regional variations. The main ingredients consist of flour, sugar and cooking oil, though salt, honey, nuts and other spices can be added as well. Once twisted into a braided shape, the dough is then fried in

peanut oil Peanut oil, also known as groundnut oil or arachis oil, is a vegetable oil derived from peanuts. The oil usually has a mild or neutral flavor but, if made with roasted peanuts, has a stronger peanut flavor and aroma. It is often used in American ...

. The two predominant variants are crispy-outside-fluffy-inside or completely crunchy. The original form was invented in the city of

Tianjin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popul ...

and dates back millennia.

Italy

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

it is known as ''treccia'', sometimes filled with pastry cream and covered with sugar, chocolate and other products.

Japan

Sakubei (索餅/さくべい）, derived from

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

of China to the

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from CE 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the cap ...

in Japan was transmitted to the Tang confectionery one of noodles that of food, which is also said to have become the father of

udon Udon ( or ) is a thick noodle made from wheat flour, used in Japanese cuisine. It is a comfort food for many Japanese people. There are a variety of ways it is prepared and served. Its simplest form is in a hot soup as with a mild broth called ...

and somen, than rope-like shape also called ''muginawa'' (牟義縄). It is said that it disappeared in the middle of the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

, but it still exists in various places such as Nara, changing into shinko sweets (shinko, shinko dumplings, shinko mochi) (* However, it is now called shinko mochi). Most of them are made using Joshinko instead of wheat flour).

Korea

Twisted doughnuts are known as ''kkwabaegi'' () in

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

. The mildly sweet, fluffy, spongy, twisted doughnuts are made with

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constitut ...

ed wheat or

glutinous Domestication syndrome refers to two sets of phenotypic traits that are common to either domesticated animals, or domesticated plants. These traits were identified by Charles Darwin in '' The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication. ...

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

flour Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many culture ...

dough Dough is a thick, malleable, sometimes elastic paste made from grains or from leguminous or chestnut crops. Dough is typically made by mixing flour with a small amount of water or other liquid and sometimes includes yeast or other leavening ag ...

and melted butter. They are deep-fried in oil and coated with sugar and cinnamon powder. It is often an after-school snack.

Philippines

''Shakoy'' or ''siyakoy'' from the

Visayas The Visayas ( ), or the Visayan Islands (Bisayan languages, Visayan: ''Kabisay-an'', ; tl, Kabisayaan ), are one of the three Island groups of the Philippines, principal geographical divisions of the Philippines, along with Luzon and Mindanao ...

Islands (also known as ''lubid-lubid'' in the northern Philippines) uses a length of dough twisted into a distinctive rope-like shape before being fried. The preparation is almost exactly the same as doughnuts, though there are variants made from

glutinous rice Glutinous rice (''Oryza sativa var. glutinosa''; also called sticky rice, sweet rice or waxy rice) is a type of rice grown mainly in Southeast and East Asia, and the northeastern regions of South Asia, which has opaque grains, very low amylose ...

flour. The texture can range from soft and fluffy to sticky and chewy. Hard and crunchy versions are known as ''

''. They are sprinkled with white sugar, but can also be topped with sesame seeds or caramelized sugar.

Vietnam

In Vietnam, it has a variety of name such as Bánh Quẩy Thừng, bánh vặn thừng (twisted-rope doughnut), bánh vặn (twisted doughnut), bánh quai chèo (oar rope doughnut), bánh quẩy đường (sweet twisted doughnut).