2008 Jan 21 Sign of the Times: KFC serve up Youtiao
Starting from today you’ll be able to buy a nice crispy youtiao at KFCs throughout Beijing and around the country as the fast food giant has decided to add the traditional Chinese morning snack to their breakfast menu. The colonel is making a big deal of the fact that his KFC youtiao are safe, clean and free of the 明矾 (ming fan) or alum that a lot of the street vendors add to give their deep fried dough sticks that extra bit of puff.
I’d never heard of alum before, but according to the Food Lover's Companion these highly astringent crystals of potassium aluminum sulfate were once used as the crisping agent in canning pickles and can also cause digestive distress, which, we're guessing, is something to be avoided. Despite the absence of Alum, KFC are claiming that their youtiao are just as crispy and puffy as anything you can buy from outside your nearest subway station. However, you're required to pay a premium for that sense of safety, as the KFC youtiao will set you back 3 kuai a pop, six times more expensive than those alum-puffed street youtiaos that go for about 5 mao a stick.
This is not the first time that a traditional Chinese food has been added to the KFC menu - back in 2002 they added a couple of traditional rice porridge or zhou dishes to their breakfast menu and they’ve since expanded this to a choice of four different porridges.
Links and Sources:
China Daily: KFC offers Chinese Youtiao
Sohu: 肯德基今日起早餐时段开始卖油条 售价每根3元
Xinhua: 肯德基餐厅早餐开卖“放心油条” 每根3元
Food Lover's Companion: Alum
Google Maps: KFCs in Beijing
Mad about Shanghai: Youtiao Image
KFC in the News:
China Daily: KFC sullies Chinese classic
Food Production Daily: Sudan 1 found in Chinese KFC
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Re: Sign of the Times: KFC serve up Youtiao
admin
Hmm... KFC launches youtiao, at the same time the China Cuisine Association recommends streetside stands become part of chains ...
coincidence?
New standards on breakfast stalls spark debate in China
BEIJING, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- The new standards set by the China Cuisine Association on roadside breakfast stalls have sparked a public debate on their perceived threat to the livelihoods of low-income families who rely on selling morning meals to busy workers.
But the association, which drafted the standards, on Tuesday moved to quell suggestions that the measures would drive many vendors out of business.
The standards, due to take effect on May 1, encourage breakfast stalls to run under chain caterers that have standardized processing and delivery centers, and uniform logos and services.
The move prompted hundreds of Internet users to post messages on major websites, some hailing the new standards as a stimulus to improve food quality, but most objecting to their implementation.
The fast pace of life in China's cities has forced many people to grab a quick bite at a roadside stall on their way to work. Many low-income families and laid-off workers make a living by selling breakfasts on roadsides.
On Sina.com, one of China's main news portals, a reader from central Hubei province said the new standards would force many low-income families relying on breakfast sales out of business.
However, the China Cuisine Association on Tuesday said the standards had been misinterpreted in newspaper reports.
"The aim of the new standards is not to bury independent breakfast vendors under hygiene qualifications, but to provide a preferred standard that vendors can refer to," association deputy secretary Qiao Jie told Xinhua.
"Of course, we also hope the measures can help further standardize and regulate the sector," said Qiao.
"The standards suggest minimum requirements for running a breakfast stall and put it under stricter monitoring, which might have been misinterpreted by some readers as the government driving out all breakfast stalls and carts," says Qiao.
"The text of the standards has yet to be finalized, so it is too early to predict or quote them in part as this might be misleading," said a spokesman with the Ministry of Commerce, adding the official stance would only be known when government released the full text.
"As long as the vendors have hygiene qualifications, they don't have to worry," says Qiao.