Taiyuan Kaolaolao is often dipped in mutton or mushroom soup, or in sour-spicy sauce. [Photo/shanxi.gov.cn]

Taiyuan Kaolaolao, one of the top 10 flour-made dishes in Taiyuan -- capital city of North China's Shanxi province -- is a home-cooked delicacy in the north-central part of the province. 

It is now proving to be very popular in restaurants, as a grain-based snack in the region.

It is made out of oat flour and gets its name from its round basket shape. The "kaolao" is the term for a bucket used by farmers to fetch water or for packing, which is made of bamboo sticks or willow twigs. 

The oat flour is kneaded and molded into a tubular shape on the floor, several inches long and thin and it is light yellow in color. It is then placed side by side in a steamer. For eating, it is often dipped in mutton or mushroom soup, or in sour-spicy sauce and is very tasty when fresh.