Shuangbaotai (
simplified Chinese: 双胞胎;
traditional Chinese: 雙胞胎;
pinyin: shuāngbāotāi) is a sweet
fried dough food of
Hokchew origin commonly found as a
Taiwanese street food. It is a chewy fried dough containing large air pockets on the inside and a crisp crust on the outside. It is made by twisting two small pieces of dough together and frying them, causing them to separate slightly while remaining connected.[1]
Names
The
Mandarin Chinese name of this food, shuāngbāotāi (
Chinese: 雙胞胎) meaning "
twins", is derived from the fact that the dish is two pastries twisted slightly together as if
conjoined twins. The
Taiwanese Hokkien name is 馬花糋 (bé-hoe-chìⁿ), which roughly means "
horse-
hoof cake", also in reference to its shape. Another Hokkien name is 雙生仔 (siang-siⁿ-á) meaning twins.
Regional
In
Taiwan, shuangbaotai are a type of snack (xiaochi) typically sold by
hawkers at street stalls or in
night markets, but not in regular restaurants or bakeries.