User:MArtin9712/Mahua (snack)

Mahua (麻花) or Fried Dough Twist is a Chinese dough twist that is fried in peanut oil. It has a shiny and golden look. It is prepared in various ways with very different flavors, which is from sweet to spicy, and usually has a dense and crisp texture. The origin of Mahua could be traced back to thousands of years ago. People in a lot of place have the tradition of eating Mahua, and Mahua is considered as a signature food of the northern Chinese city Tianjin.

Origin
According to the tale, Mahua has originated 2000 years ago. At that time, people celebrated a three-day festival that people were not allowed to use fire during the festival. The lack of access to fire resulted in people can not cook during the festival. For having some food to eat, people need to prepare food that was not easy to spoil before the festival. Thus, the original form of Mahua, which is fry dough with honey, is invented. The original Mahua could be kept fresh for a long time and is a good snack for the festival.

In another tale of the origin of Mahua, the creation of Mahua was for cursing the hateful scorpion. At that time, the wild scorpions had bothered people's life. For revenge, people twisted wheat doughs into the shape of the scorpion's tail, then fried and ate them.

Tianjin Guifaxiang 18th Street Mahua
The most famous Mahua brand is "Guifaxiang 18th Street Fried Dough Twists" from Tianjin, because the shop originated from the 18th Street of the old town. In Tianjin, people normally eat the Mahua that has sweet or salty flavor. The most common ingredient in Tianjin Mahua is flour, sesame, walnut, peanuts and sweet-scented osmanthus.

The Guifaxiang Mahua store was found in the western side of Tianjin's Haihe River in 1927 by the founder Laoba Liu. The name of "Guifaxiang" implies the meaning of "sweet-scented osmanthus' seeds' aroma, be diligent and be lucky"(桂子飘香，发愤图强，吉祥如意). Because of the store is in the 18th Street, the Mahua is called "Guifaxiang 18th Street Mahua". The owner Laoba was a talented baker and he had invented a way to put assorted filling into the Mahua to make his Mahua look good and taste delicious. All people loved the snack, gradually, "Guifaxiang 18th street Mahua" had became one of the most famous snacks of Tianjin and it became famous around the country.

The company "Guifaxiang" has built a Museum of Mahua for visitors to learn about the history of Mahua and have a tour to the factory line.



Chen-Mahua in Chongqing
Chen-Mahua is a kind of Mahua that is famous in Chongqing and it has been popular in Chongqing since Qing Dynasty. It is originated in Ciqikou Ancient town. Chen-Mahua is normally in ten flavors, which are original taste, black sesame, pepper salt, black rice, corn, rock sugar glutinous rice, spicy, seaweed, chocolate, honey. The spicy flavor Mahua is a signature Muahua of Chongqing.

Mahua in Panama
The snack is extremely popular in Panama, where it has been adopted as a national dish and is referred to as mafá. It was brought over by Chinese immigrants during the nineteenth century.

There is also a savoury variant which is green and gets its flavour and colour from powdered algae.