🍽️ Ama Jiao

Huizhou sweet glutinous fritter.

Ama Jiao is a traditional deep-fried street snack of Huizhou, Guangdong, whose name carries a warm local Hakka feel, said to be a sweet treat grandmothers (ama) used to make and sell. Glutinous rice flour, sometimes mixed with sweet-potato or pumpkin purée, is kneaded into a soft dough, pinched into small flat cakes and fried in hot oil until golden and puffy. The crust is crisp while the inside stays chewy; bitten into while hot, it steams with rice and oil aroma, often dusted with sugar or dipped in syrup for a sweet mouthful. Small and affordable, it is an old-fashioned taste at old Huizhou markets and stalls. Many locals remember buying two fresh-fried ama jiao after school, eating them on the way. Though less celebrated than Huizhou's salt-baked chicken or preserved-melon pork, it best represents the plain, warm street food of the city.