Mahua ( zh, 麻花) or Fried Dough Twist is a Chinese

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 ...

twist that is 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 ...

. It has a shiny and golden look. It is prepared in various ways with different flavors, which range from sweet to spicy, and usually has a dense and crisp texture. The origin of Mahua can be traced back to thousands of years ago. Many places have a tradition of eating Mahua, and Mahua is considered a signature food of the northern Chinese 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 ...

Origin

According to legend, Mahua originated two thousand years ago. At that time, people celebrated a three-day festival in which they were not allowed to use fire. The lack of access to fire meant that people were unable to cook during the festival. In order to eat, people needed to prepare food that did not spoil easily, before the festival. Thus, the original form of Mahua, which is fried dough with honey, was invented. Because the original Mahua could be kept fresh for a long time, it was a good snack for the festival. In another tale of the origin of Mahua, Mahua was created to curse the hateful scorpion. At that time, the wild scorpions were bothering people. For revenge, people twisted wheat dough into the shape of the scorpion's tail, then fried and ate it.

Tianjin Guifaxiang 18th Street Mahua

The most famous Mahua brand is "Guifaxiang 18th Street Fried Dough Twists" from

, because the shop originated from the 18th Street of the old town. In Tianjin, people normally eat Mahua which have sweet or salty flavor. The most common ingredients used in Tianjin Mahua are flour, sesame, walnut, peanuts and sweet-scented

osmanthus ''Osmanthus'' ''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995:606–607 is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae. Most of the species are native to eastern Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Indochina, the Himalayas, etc.),and was ...

. The Guifaxiang Mahua store was founded on the western side of Tianjin's Haihe River in 1927 by Laoba Liu. The name of "Guifaxiang" implies the meaning of "sweet-scented osmanthus' seeds' aroma, be diligent and be lucky"(桂子飘香，发愤图强，吉祥如意). Because the store is on the 18th Street, the Mahua is called "Guifaxiang 18th Street Mahua". The owner Laoba was a talented baker and he had invented a way to put assorted fillings into the Mahua to improve its appearance and taste. All people loved the snack. gradually, "Guifaxiang 18th street Mahua" had become one of the most famous snacks of Tianjin and it became famous around the country. The company "Guifaxiang" has built a Museum of Mahua for visitors to learn about the history of Mahua and tour the factory line.

Chen-Mahua in Chongqing

Chen-Mahua is a kind of Mahua that is famous in

Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...

and has been popular in Chongqing since the

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

. It is originated in Ciqikou. Chen-Mahua is normally made in ten flavors, which are original taste,

black sesame Sesame ( or ; ''Sesamum indicum'') is a flowering plant in the genus ''Sesamum'', also called benne. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalization (biology), naturalized in tropical regions a ...

, pepper salt, black rice, corn, rock sugar glutinous rice, spicy, seaweed, chocolate, and honey. The spicy flavor Mahua is a signature Mahua of Chongqing.

Mahua in Panama

The snack is extremely popular in

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

, where it has been adopted as a national dish and is referred to as ''mafá''. It was brought over by

Chinese immigrants Overseas Chinese () refers to people of Chinese birth or ethnicity who reside outside Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese. Terminology () or ''Hoan-kheh'' () in Hokkien, refe ...

during the nineteenth century. There is also a savory variant which is green and gets its flavor and color from powdered algae.

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