Doughnuts: Comfort Food we Need Now

At the start of the pandemic, we were desperately sourcing toilet paper and food staples. Months later, we’ve settled into our routines for the long haul. And what we need now are treats–comfort foods like doughnuts to tide us through tough times!

In our house, every shopping trip is calculated on a need basis, so we’re not likely to pop out to buy a sweet treat on a whim. If you’re in the same boat–or even if you’re not–here’s a recipe for DIY doughnuts that you can make without much trouble.

Okinawan doughnuts, andagi, are leavened with baking powder instead of yeast, so they’re quick to make. But this also makes them denser than regular doughnuts. They fry up to be crisp and crunchy outside, with a moist, eggy texture inside.

Smothered in sugar and eaten warm, they are quite heavenly.

Childhood Memories

As kids growing up in Hilo, Hawaii, my sister and I were tasked with whipping up something for coffee, if any of our parents’ friends dropped by unexpectedly. In those days, it wasn’t unusual for people to just show up at our door.

And, unless they came with a box of pastries, which was often the case, we would hurry to the kitchen to make a Bisquick coffeecake or Okinawan doughnuts to serve the guests. It was what well-brought-up daughters did in our world, in those times.

Try my favorite recipe for banana bread, another popular pandemic comfort food.

Okinawan Doughnuts (andagi)

1 ½ cups flour
2/3 cup sugar, divided
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ cup milk
1 egg
Vegetable oil for deep frying

Make the Batter

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, 1/3 cup of the sugar, and baking powder. In a small bowl, combine milk and egg, and beat well with a fork. Add milk mixture to flour mixture and stir until dry ingredients are moistened and mixture is smooth.

Heat the Oil

Pour oil to about 1 ½ inches deep in the bottom of a small saucepan and heat over medium heat until a deep-fat thermometer reaches 350 degrees F. If you don’t have a thermometer for deep frying, watch for the oil to begin rippling, but not smoking. You can test by dropping a small amount of batter into the oil. It should sizzle and float to the top.

Cook the Doughnuts

Scoop about a heaping tablespoon of batter and use a second spoon to dislodge the batter and drop it gently–and carefully–into the hot oil. Try to maintain a ball shape, but if you get tails or a free-form blob, the doughnut may look unusual, but it will still taste great.

Drop additional spoonsful of batter into the oil, but don’t crowd the saucepan. Leave enough space for doughnuts to bob about freely.

Cook doughnuts about 2 minutes, turning them with tongs once or twice, so all sides are a deep, golden brown. You may need to adjust the heat–lower somewhat if doughnuts are cooking too fast and raise it if the oil bubbles begin to seem lethargic.

When golden, remove the doughnuts from the oil with a slotted spoon. Test to ensure the doughnut is completely cooked by inserting a bamboo skewer into the center; it should come out clean.

Drain doughnuts on a wire rack over a sheet pan or on paper towels.

Coat with Sugar

As soon as all the doughnuts are cooked, put the remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a quart-size plastic freezer bag. Add doughnuts, a few at a time, and shake to coat in sugar. Serve warm.

Store remaining doughnuts, cooled, in a zip-top freezer bag. These are best eaten the day they’re made.

Makes 14 to 16 doughnuts.

A Word about Deep-Fat Frying

Deep frying uses a lot of oil, which is expensive. And if you’re trying to limit your shopping trips, you don’t want to be wasting it.

This is why it helps to cook in a small saucepan, instead of a larger one. It takes more rounds of frying, but doesn’t require as much oil to fill the saucepan to the required depth.

Don’t discard the used oil after deep-frying. Strain the oil and reuse it for other cooking needs.

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