Chat attack

fried dough twist / 麻花 / (máhuā)

A: I'm about to leave China, can you teach me how to make a classic Chinese snack?

我马上要离开中国了,你能教我做一道经典的中国小吃吗？

(wǒ mǎshànɡ yào líkāi zhōnɡɡuó le, nǐnénɡ jiàowǒ zuò yīdào jīnɡdiǎnde zhōnɡɡuó xiǎochī ma?)  

B: Okay. How about I teach you how to make fried dough twists?    

好啊,我教你做麻花怎么样？

(hǎoā, wǒ jiàonǐ zuò máhuā zěnmeyànɡ?)

A: What are fried dough twists?    

什么是麻花呢？

(shíme shì máhuā ne?)

B: Fried dough twists are a type of Chinese special fried dough snack. This type of snack is very popular in a lot of provinces and cities in China.    

麻花是中国的一种特色油炸面食小吃。这种小吃在中国很多省市都非常受欢迎。

(máhuā shì zhōnɡɡuó de yīzhǒnɡ tèsè yóuzhà miànshí xiǎochī.zhèzhǒnɡ xiǎochī zài zhōnɡɡuó hěnduō shěnɡshì dōu fēichánɡ shòu huānyínɡ.) 

A: Are fried dough twists hard to make?   

那麻花很难制作吗？

(nà máhuā hěnnán zhìzuò ma?)

B: If you know the basics of cooking, then it isn't hard. The most common method is to fry two or three strips of dough that have been twisted together.      

如果你有基本的烹饪基础就不难。它最常见的做法是以两到三条长条形的面拧在一起用油炸制而成。

(rúɡuǒ nǐyǒu jīběnde pēnɡrèn jīchǔ jiù bùnán.tā zuì chánɡjiàn de zuòfǎ shì yǐ liǎnɡdàosāntiáo chánɡtiáo xínɡ de miàn nǐnɡzài yīqǐ yònɡ yóu zhàzhì érchénɡ.)

A: So what does this snack taste like? 

那这种小吃口味如何呢？

(nà zhèzhǒnɡ xiǎochī kǒuwèi rúhé ne?)

B: It has many flavors such as a pepper salt flavor or a sweet brown sugar flavor.     

它口味多样,可以是咸咸的椒盐味或者是甜的红糖口味。 

(tā kǒuwèi duōyànɡ,kěyǐshì xiánxiánde jiāoyán wèi huòzhě shì tiánde hónɡtánɡ kǒuwèi.)

Illustrations:Liu Xidan/GT