The magic of lye in the kitchen

Lye water is an unusual culinary ingredient as its not used for its flavour or nutrition, but rather for the useful chemical effects that it has (it is a fairly strong alkali). It was originally made by dissolving wood ash in water, but not you can buy food grade lye water, which is a dilute solution of potassium carbonate. It's important to be aware that lye water is not potentially dangerous—do not under any circumstances drink it!

But,if you want to make your own authentic pretzels, chinese noodles or mooncakes, there really is no substitute. It's generally easiest to find at Chinese grocers.