Beijing Snack Fried Dough Drops 京城小吃炒疙瘩

炒疙瘩是北京特有的一种面食品。制作过程中煮炒兼用。炒疙瘩颜色焦黄，配上绿叶鲜菜，黄绿相间。吃起来又绵软又有劲，越嚼越香。
Fried dough drops are a special Beijing food. Dough drops are stewed and fried until they turn brown. Matched with several green leafy vegetables, the food is soft, nutty, and full of fragrant aroma.
炒疙瘩的创始人是北京和平门外臧家桥附近的穆老太太和她的女儿.
Fried dough drops were invented by lady Mu and her daughter, who lived near the Zangjiaqiao, outside the Heping Gate of Beijing city.
民国初年，母女俩开了个饭铺，取名“广福馆。”由于本小利微，饭菜平常，生意很不景气。有一天，只合了十斤饴烙面，卖了一天，临到关门时还剩下了五、六斤。母女俩正发愁，忽然想起了一个主意。她放平案板，把剩余的饴烙面拿过来重新揉过，然后揪成比疙瘩骰子略大一点的小疙瘩，下到开水锅中煮熟，捞出后摊在阴凉处。当晚，母女俩就用这些熟面疙瘩加了些青菜炒着吃，没想到口味特别好。她们边吃边商量，决定在原经营品种的基础上再添上这道新的面食，起名叫“炒疙瘩”。
In the early Republican era, the old lady and her daughter owned a humble restaurant named ‘Guangfu Guan’. Their small investment made only a meager profit. The food they provided was normal and business was slack. One day, they prepared 10 jin dough and more than half of it was left at the end of the day. Both the lady and her daughter were worried about the left dough. Then an idea came to them. The old lady kneaded the remaining dough on the kneading board, made it into many dough drops and boiled them in the pot. After drying them in the shade, they fried them with some leafy vegetables. To their astonishment, the fried dough drops were very delicious. Finally, they decided to add this new food to their original recipe menu and named the special food ‘fried dough drops’.
第二天，由于“炒疙瘩”味道香鲜，价格便宜，新老主顾都来争相品尝。五、六斤面疙瘩，只一会儿功夫就卖光了。
As the food was fresh, fragrant and cheap, the next day the old lady and her daughter saw new and old customers eager to taste their food. Five or six jin of dough drops were sold out in a short while.
炒疙瘩问世以后，最初来吃的大多是劳动人民。后来由于越做越好，越卖越有名，许多社会名流也慕名而来，一尝为快。从此，别开生面的炒疙瘩，以它独特的风格为中国面食增添了新的花样，一直受到人民的欢迎。
Initially, only working people liked eating the fried dough drops. Later, with the old lady and her daughter’s rising cooking skills and better reputation, more and more celebrities also came to have a taste of the food. Since then, the unique fried dough drops were added into Chinese wheaten food with its new patterns, enjoying a long-term reception among Chinese people.