Alum 明矾 (míng fán)
Powdered alum (crystallized potassium aluminum sulfate) is a white powder used in pickling to help vegetables keep their crispness. It is also used when making Chinese Youtiao Fried Dough Sticks (page 63) to give them a crispy outside. You can buy alum in the spice section of a specialty grocery store or at online spice websites. Note: Alum is toxic for humans if more than 1 ounce is consumed.
Reader Comments (1)
Query on amount of alum in fried dough sticks recipe.
Firstly, love your book and it has recipes, i have been trying to get for ages.
Butt 1.5 tablespoons of alum seems a lot. Is this correct?
Regards,
W:)