Sata Andagi: Traditional Okinawan Deep-Fried Doughnuts
There is a dialect unique to people living in Okinawa Prefecture, and it’s difficult to understand the language even if you can speak common Japanese.
Although I’m Japanese, if I didn’t know what “Sata Andagi (サーターアンダーギー)” refers to, I couldn’t understand what the Okinawan word means.
What is Sata Andagi?
Actually, Sata Andagi is a traditional Okinawan deep-fried doughnut made from wheat flour, hen’s egg, white or brown sugar, and baking powder.
The Okinawan sweet is a dense bun with a doughy texture, characterized by the crispiness of its surface.
In the Okinawan dialect, “Sata” and “Anda” mean “Sugar” and “Oil” respectively, and “Agi” stands for “Deep-frying”.
As these meanings suggest, plenty of sugar is used to make the Okinawan confection, which is deep-fried using oil. Because of that, the doughnut is also called “Sato (sugar) Tempura“.
Many Okinawan people emigrated from Okinawa to Hawaii in the past, with whom Sata Andagi was transmitted to the island. And now, in Hawaii, it is known by the name of Andagi or Okinawan Doughnuts.
Recipe
Sata Andagi is commonly made in households of Okinawa and sold at stores on the street. Nowadays, flour mixes for the Okinawan sweet are available even on online marketplaces outside of Japan.
With that base ingredient, you can make Sata Andagi relatively easily. However, you could not understand the recipe because it’s often shown in Japanese.
Therefore last, let me explain how Sata Andagi is made using the flour mix.
| Traditional Okinawan Sweet Sata Andagi Flour Mix |
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| Amazon.com |
- First, put 3 large-size eggs in a bowl and beat with a whisk
- Add 500 g of the Sata Andagi flour mix to the bowl and mix well to make dough until the flour dissolves. Then, add in a small amount of salad (vegetable) oil and stir lightly.
- Let the dough rest for about 30 minutes
- Then, divide the dough into pieces as large as a ping pong ball with salad oil-spread hands
- Pour plenty of salad oil into a deep pan and heat it to 140 to 150 ℃
- Slip the dough balls one by one into the pan
- When the balls float on the surface, periodically turn them upside down with chopsticks, and deep-fry until golden brown for over 8 minutes
- Serve the deep-fried doughnuts on a plate and enjoy!
(Reference Page: Wikipedia サーターアンダーギー )
