Search locations or food
OR
Already have an account? Log in
OR
Authentic Quẩy Recipe Vietnam, Asia
JUMP TO RECIPEWe strongly advise you to read the cooking tips before jumping to the recipe though
Introduction & history
Although it looks simple, this dish is surprisingly tricky to make, mainly because of the lengthy dough resting process and a lot of manual work. Following the recipe is essential, especially when resting the dough. The process starts with mixing the leavening agents — either baking powder and baking soda, or baking soda and baking ammonia — with water, each in their own bowl. The mixtures are then joined with flour, salt, sugar, and water, kneaded briefly, and the dough is left to rest for 20 minutes under a damp cloth or covered with a plastic wrap. The process of kneading and resting is repeated for 3 times overall, after which the dough is rolled out into a flat disc and left to rest for another 2,5 to 4 hours. The dough is then rolled out for one last time, so it is around 1/2 cm thick, and cut into small rectangles. A shallow dent is made on half of these rectangles using a bamboo stick or a chopstick moistened with water. The remaining half of the rectangles are placed ... Read more
Serve With
Cooking tips
-
flour
Regular, all-purpose, wheat flour is the best choice for quẩy preparation. Usually, this kind of flour has a protein percentage of 10-11%. If this number is under 10%, you will probably need to use less water than suggested in the recipe. Note that you will need between 235 and 300 ml of water for 500 g flour. -
leavening agents
The bubbly, airy texture of quẩy is achieved by using combined leavening agents: either baking powder with baking soda or baking soda and baking ammonia. The latter will result in crispier breadsticks but may develop an unpleasant smell during preparation which will disappear during frying. Before being joined with flour and water, each leavening agent should be dissolved in water in a separate bowl.... Read more -
kneading
Ideally, the dough should be kneaded three times, with 20-minutes resting intervals between each kneading. The kneading should be short, around 1-2 minutes by hand or 30 seconds with an electric mixer. The dough will become smoother with each round of kneading and resting, so do not over-knead the dough in the beginning. -
resting
After the dough has been rolled out, it should be left to rest for at least 2,5, and up to 4 hours. Make sure the dough is covered with a damp cloth to prevent it from drying out. Also, do not try to shorten this process, because the dough will not expand properly. -
frying
To fry quẩy, you can use either vegetable, canola, or soybean oil. Place it in a wok or a wide cooking pan and make sure it is about 2-inches deep, so that the individual quẩy can float freely. Before you start frying quẩy, the oil should be heated to 180˚C. If you do not have a cooking thermometer, check if the oil is hot enough by dipping a dry chopstick in it — if bubbles appear, you can start ... Read more
Classic Quẩy
PREP 5h 30min
COOK 20min
READY IN 5h 50min
The following recipe shows a basic and typical method of quẩy preparation. It is essential to follow the exact measurements. Instead of 5 g of baking powder and 10 g of baking soda, you can use 5 g of baking soda and 5 g of baking ammonium (ammonium carbonate) if you'd like to get an extra-crispy version. The recipe is courtesy of Helen Le, the founder and host of the most popular Vietnamese cooking channel on YouTube, where she helps viewers prepare Vietnamese food the authentic way.
Ingredients
Classic Quẩy
500 g all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
250-300 ml water
5 g baking powder
10 g baking soda
oil, for frying
Preparation
1
Classic Quẩy
Step 1/16
Place baking powder and baking soda in two separate bowls. Add 50 ml (about 3 tbsp) water to each bowl and combine.
Step 2/16
In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, sugar, dissolved baking powder, dissolved baking soda, and the remaining water. Mix well with a spatula, so the liquid is fully absorbed.
Step 3/16
Knead the dough with your hands or with an electric mixer equipped with kneading paddles for 1-2 minutes. Do not over-knead the dough: the surface of the dough should be rough rather than smooth.
Step 4/16
Cover the dough with a wet kitchen cloth or with a piece of plastic wrap and let it rest for 20 minutes.
Step 5/16
After that, knead the dough for another 1-2 minutes, and let it rest for 20 more minutes.
Step 6/16
Repeat the process until the dough has been kneaded 3 times.
Step 7/16
Transfer the dough onto a working surface, knead it briefly, then roll it out into a flat disc 1-1,5 cm thick.
Step 8/16
Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let it rest for 2,5-4 hours.
Step 9/16
After that, remove the cover and roll out the dough, so it is 1/2 cm thick.
Step 10/16
Cut the dough into 7,5-10 cm wide bands. Then, cut each band into smaller, 2,5 cm wide strips. You will get small rectangles of dough measuring 2,5x7,5 cm or 2,5x10 cm.
Step 11/16
Dip a bamboo stick in water and press it down into the middle of dough rectangles, so you get a shallow dent lengthwise. Do this with only half of the dough rectangles.
Step 12/16
Place the undented dough rectangles on top of the dented ones. Now, make a dent on top using the same technique.
Step 13/16
In a large wok, heat the oil to 180˚C. Make sure the oil is at least 5 cm deep.
Step 14/16
Stretch each quẩy gently, then drop them in hot oil. Flip them constantly with chopsticks or kitchen tongs, until they expand and become golden. If the first few quẩys don’t expand during baking, let the dough rest for a little while more.
Step 15/16
After frying, drain quẩy on paper towels or a wire rack. Well-fried quẩy should be crispy on the outside and hollow on the inside.
Step 16/16
Serve hot with rice porridge or dip it in noodle soups such as pho or banh canh.
Other authentic recipes
Rating And Comments
Rate It
Wanna try?
Add To List