Linhai Puffed Shrimp Fritters 临海泡虾

Linhai Puffed Shrimp Fritters (临海泡虾) are a deep-fried snack of shrimp and pork filling in batter from Linhai (临海) in Taizhou (台州), Zhejiang. 'Paoxia' is the Taizhou dialect name; the written Chinese name is yougu (油鼓).

How it is made

A Xinmin Evening News (新民晚报) report on Linhai snack stalls lists the filling as fresh shelled shrimp, minced pork and spring onion, wrapped in a light, airy batter. The Linhai culture and tourism bureau describes each fritter as holding vegetables, meat, shrimp and egg, so that every bite is full of filling. The filling is coated in the batter and deep-fried in a pot of oil until the surface turns golden.

Flavour and texture

In the Linhai culture and tourism bureau's words, a fritter just lifted from the oil has a crisp, fragrant crust and a soft, springy inside, and its smell makes people bite into it before it has cooled.

Where it comes from

Xinmin Evening News reports the snack under its written name as a Zhejiang intangible cultural heritage item. It appears on the Linhai culture and tourism bureau's list of Linhai foods beside wheat-strip noodles (麦虾), egg-white 'sheep's tail' fritters (蛋清羊尾) and seaweed cakes (海苔饼). In June 2025 it was among the snacks made and sold on the spot at a row of seven Linhai snack stalls at a supply-and-marketing co-op night market in Shanghai.