At the table
Let it cool slightly, then tear into small pieces. In communal meals, follow your host’s serving customs.
Contains wheat and gluten. Confirm egg, filling and frying oil if you have allergies or dietary restrictions; the name alone does not guarantee a vegan or certified-halal preparation.
Some cooks add sugar, salt or Sichuan-pepper water. Dough and oil vary; other regional versions may contain egg or filling.
GET TO KNOW THE DISH
What goes into it?
Explore some key ingredients below. Preparations may use additional seasonings and ingredients.
Some cooks add sugar, salt or Sichuan-pepper water. Dough and oil vary; other regional versions may contain egg or filling.
Typical ingredients
In some versions
Recipes vary by restaurant.
How does it taste?
Wheaty and fragrant from frying; plain, salty and sweet versions exist.
- Chili heat
- Texture
- Crisp outside, soft and airy inside.
- How it’s made
- Scald flour with hot water, cool and add fermented dough or yeast. After rising, knead in culinary alkali, oil and more flour, let rise again, shape into rounds, cut two short slits and fry. Rapeseed oil is common in the documented Hehuang preparation.
Some cooks add sugar, salt or Sichuan-pepper water. Dough and oil vary; other regional versions may contain egg or filling.
A CONNECTION TO PLACE
Origin & regional roots
Associated with Qinghai.
About this regional connection
Qinghai: Hehuang/Minhe preparation documented in Qinghai Daily.
Ask if they have it first
请问你们有河湟油香吗？
Do you have this item?
A LITTLE SOMETHING TO READ
Story & history
A bread for gathering
This account describes a tradition or story, rather than an established historical fact.
In the Hehuang region, youxiang is associated with festivals, commemorations and family gatherings. This entry describes a plain local version, distinct from Wuhan’s sweet sesame-and-osmanthus-filled pastry of the same name.
