Savory Soy Milk Soup w/ Fried Dough (Dou Jiang)

This Savory Soy Milk Soup with Fried Dough, or Dou Jiang You Tiao, is a popular breakfast/brunch item in China. It’s the simplest thing you’ll ever make, after a quick trip to the Chinese grocery store. It’s basically a soy milk soup, curdled slightly with the vinegar, and flavored with scallions, sesame oil, pickled radishes and the crispy fried dough. Okay, so this dish isn’t out there winning any mainstream awards. But we used to go to this Shanghainese restaurant for Sunday brunch, and almost everyone in the restaurant made sure to order a bowl of dou jiang along with their scallion pancakes and soup dumplings. If you can’t find unsweetened soy milk, you can buy a soy milk maker: try out this Soyajoy maker or this Joyoung maker. We have a Joyoung maker at home, which works really well, but the Soyajoy one seems really popular on Amazon. Basically, you can find dried soy beans at your local Asian mart. Soak them overnight and put them in the Soymilk maker the next morning. You’ll be rewarded with fresh, hot soy milk in minutes. Now that we’re in China, we can buy it everywhere, but in the U.S., that was how we made it. See our Ingredients Glossary for more information on the Chinese black vinegar, which is used in several of our other recipes, like this Seared Asian Salmon w/ Lemon Cilantro Edamame Puree or as a dipping sauce for these dumplings. You can get the fried crullers in the refrigerated section near the tofu and noodles. Just toast them quickly in the oven at 325 degrees until crispy, and add them to this soup. Or, you can make our Homemade Youtiao recipe. Another interesting ingredient is the pickled mustard root, which you can find in the Chinese grocery store.

Recipe Instructions

In a pot, heat up the soy milk. In a serving bowl, add a couple teaspoons Chinese black vinegar, salt and white pepper to taste, a drizzle of sesame oil, a couple teaspoons pickled mustard stem, and the chili oil and dried shrimp, if using (you can adjust the quantities of all these ingredients according to your own taste). Pour in the hot soy milk and let stand for a minute, without stirring. Garnish with chopped scallion and Chinese fried dough (you tiao). Serve!