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