Featured recipe

Wuhan mianwo

Rice and soybean fritter rings

Wuhan people call breakfast "guozao", and mianwo is one of its icons: a ring of rice and soybean batter fried in a special ladle with a raised centre, so it ends up thick and soft round the rim and thin and crackly in the middle, flecked with sesame and spring onion. It is eaten with hot dry noodles or a bowl of soy milk. The mistake is oil that is too cool: the batter soaks it up and turns greasy; it must hiss strongly the moment it goes in. Without a mianwo ladle, use a deep ladle and spread the batter thinner in the middle with a spoon. Chef's tip: give the batter a quick stir before every fritter, because the rice settles to the bottom fast.

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