Shibajie Fried Dough Twists 十八街麻花
Shibajie Fried Dough Twists is featured among the local specialties of Tianjin.
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Shibajie Fried Dough Twists (十八街麻花) are a Tianjin (天津) snack made from several fine dough strands twisted around a crumbly filling. The traditional version combines plain and sesame coated strands with a filling containing osmanthus and ginger.
How it is made
Flour, vegetable oil and white sugar form the main ingredients. The craft includes fermenting the dough, boiling sugar syrup, making the filling and preparing the strands before twisting and frying. The strands must align neatly, with controlled pressure and coordinated hand movements during shaping. The twisting stage remains a hand operation within the traditional technique.
Flavour and local roots
The fried twists are sweet, fragrant and crisp, with a filling distinct from the surrounding strands. The name comes from the original shop’s location on Donglou Shibajie (东楼十八街), where Liu Laoba (刘老八) created the snack in 1927. Its making technique entered the national intangible cultural heritage list in 2014.
Sources & reading
Written from the linked sources and checked sentence by sentence against quoted extracts by a separate reviewer on 2026-09-30. Recipes and servings vary between kitchens.