These breadcrumb-coated fried onion rings turned out crisp on the outside but tender within. I have also tried the onion rings coated with old-fashioned batter, which I have used for the fried milk. Use a bit more of milk if the batter is too thick. They taste as crisp and good as the crumbs-coated ones. They go very well as a side-dish with hamburgers or as a snack all on their own.

1. Peel onion and slice about ¼ inch or larger (depending upon preference) thick; separate into rings. Cover with cold water and let stand for 30 minutes. Drain and spread out on paper towels.
   
2. Whisk together 2 tablespoons of flour, egg and water in a mixing bowl. In another bowl, mix ½ flour and baking powder. Place bread crumbs on a medium, flat dish. Dust onion rings with flour mixture. Dip one at a time into egg mixture and coat thoroughly with bread crumbs.
   
3. Heat enough oil in a large, heavy skillet to 190C/375F. Fry coated rings in the hot oil, a few at a time, until crisp and golden brown. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately.

A pretzel is a twisted braided bread of German origin. They are either soft or hard. Hard pretzel, like "Salzstangen" sold as snack in every supermarkets in Germany. Other flavours, like chocolate or sugar icing coated hard pretzels are popular too. Soft pretzel is usually made from wheat flour, water, and yeast, sprinkled with coarse salt. Enjoy them with sausages, mustard and beer!

1. Dissolve the yeast with the lukewarm milk in a mixing bowl. Place the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl and make a well. Pour the yeast mixture in the well. Stir the dough until thoroughly mixed and the dough loses its stickiness. Cover and let rest until doubled, about 1 hour.
   
   
2. Divide the dough into 12 equal portions and roll each into a rope about 15 inches /38 cm long. Twist into a pretzel shape by crossing the ends of the rope to make a loop, then twisting the crossed ends once and fold across the loop, firmly pinching the ends together. Let the dough rest for about 10-15 minutes.
   
3. Bring a large saucepan (non-aluminum) of water to a boil. Stir in baking soda and reduce to a simmer. With a slotted spatula, lower 3 or 4 pretzels at a time into the pan. Let simmer for about 30 seconds. Drain and place on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with coarse salt and bake in a preheated 200C/400F oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Fish is usually served whole in my hometown, esp. in parties, celebrations, and ceremonies. A headless, tailless fish is considered incomplete and unaesthetic. According to chef Sam (my favourite chef from HK), besides superstitious reason, a practical reason for leaving the fish intact is fewer juice escape during the cooking process.

1. Have fish cleaned, drained and cut into 2 segments. Rub fish segments with rice wine and salt. Heat oil in a heavy pan until 175C/350F. Gently lower in fish and pan-fry until golden on each side. Drain on a kitchen towel and set aside.
   
   
2. Leave a little oil in the same pan, add in star anise and pepper corns. Stir until fragrant. Take away the star anise and pepper corns. Add in ginger, garlic and onion, pouring in some stock or water. Then add in rice wine, soya sauce, salt, sugar and vinegar, returning the prepared fish into the pan. Bring to boil. Lower the heat and cook for about 5 minutes.
   
3. Arrange the fish on a serving plate. Thicken the sauce with the starchy solution and pour over the fish. Drizzle the sesame oil over and serve immediately.

A Japanese-inspired comforting and delicious dish made with pan-seared salmon, steamed rice and seaweed in hot Oolong tea. Use green tea or even Jasmine tea if you like. It's quick,easy and naturally gluten-free.

1. Rub the salt on the both sides of salmon steak. Let marinate for about 30 minutes. Tear the seaweed into small pieces or cut into shreds.
2. Heat up a skillet with oil and pan-fry the marinated salmon steak until golden on both sides. Slice it into the smaller chunks and set aside.
3. Place rice in a bowl, (if the rice is left from the last meal, then warm it up in a microwave for 1-2 minutes), then add in salmon. Pour in the freshly brewed hot Oolong tea and drizzle with Maggie sauce. Add in wasabi and spring onions. Stir gently and serve immediately.

The cultured yeast together with lactic bacteria create a distinctive, sour taste to the crumb. The recipe adapted from 'The Handmade Loaf by Dan Lepard'. I used rye and white leavens to make this bread while the original one used just white leaven.

1. In a large bowl, whisk the rye, white leavens with the water. Add the flour and salt, and stir together with your hands until you have a soft, sticky mass. The dough temperature should be about 20C/68F. Cover the bowl and leave for 10 minutes.
   
2. Knead the dough on a lightly oiled work-surface for 10-15 seconds. Shape the dough into a ball. Grease the bowl lightly with oil and place in the dough ball. Cover and leave for 10 minutes. Knead the dough again for 10-15 seconds, shape into a ball, and then place the dough back in the bowl. Cover and leave for 30 minutes.
   
3. Knead the dough one more time, shape into a ball and then place the dough back in the ball. Cover and leave for 1 hour. Repeat one more time. Knead the dough into a ball and leave for 2 hours covered in the bowl.
   
4. Divide the dough into two pieces, each roughly 500 grams. Shape each piece into a ball, cover and leave for 15 minutes. Dust two linen-lined baskets or two bowls lined with kitchen towels. Shape the dough once more into balls and the place each seam side up in the prepared baskets or bowls. Cover and leave at the room temperature until almost doubled in height, about 4 hours.
   
5. Preheat the oven to 220C/425F. Dust a baking tray with semolina. Upturn the loaves onto the tray and slash the top of the dough and bake for 50-70 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

The tea has a natural rosy taste and aroma, as I infuse the Earl-Grey with real dried rose buds, which makes the tea very refreshing and enjoyable. According to the TCM, rosebuds help aiding circulation and reducing tension.

1. Place tea bag and rose petals in a tea pot. Pour in some boiled water and let steep for 3-5 minutes. Sweeten the tea with some honey.

Those pencil-sized breadsticks, known as "Grissini" in Italy, are dried, crispy and easy to make!

1. Combine milk, chives, rosemary, salt, pepper and baking powder in large bowl. Mix well. Stir in flours, mix until blended. Turn onto floured surface and knead dough about 5 minutes or until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if dough is sticky. Cover and let stand 30 minutes at room temperature.
   
2. Preheat oven to 190C/375F. Grease baking sheet. Divide dough into 12 balls, about 31 grams each. Roll each ball into long thin rope. place on prepared baking sheet. Lightly brush bread-sticks with salad oil. Bake about 12 minutes or until bottoms are golden brown. Turn bread-sticks over and bake about 10 minutes more or until golden brown.

A seafood version of traditional "Kung Pao" chicken. Instead of chicken, I used shelled prawns as the primary ingredient. The classic "kung Pao" dish is named after a late Qing Dynasty official(Ding Baozhen), whose title was "Kung Pao/宮保" (palatial guardian in English).

1. Rinse the shelled shrimps and wipe dry. Mix with marinade and set aside for 30 minutes. In a small bowl, place all the ingredients for the sauce and mix well.
   
2. Heat some oil in wok to 205C/400F. Add marinated shrimps and cook until the colour has turned to pink. Pour off all but one tablespoon of the oil and reheat the wok.
   
   
3. Stir in chillies, peppercorns and spring onion chunks until fragrant. Return the shrimps to the wok. Stir briefly and add in sauce mixture. Cook until the sauce has thickened. Sprinkle the nuts over and toss briefly. Transfer them to a serving dish.

1. Place all other ingredients, except butter, in the mixing bowl with a dough hook and stir over the low speed until the ingredients incorporate. Adjust speed to medium and continue to beat. When a dough ball starts to form, cut in the butter. Low down the speed to knead until the butter has blended into the dough. Increase the speed to medium again and knead until the dough has become very smooth and elastic.
   
   
2. Shape the dough into a ball and transfer into a large greased mixing bowl. Roll it around so the dough gets coated with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or damp cloth. Let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Punch down the dough to release the gas produced during the proof and divide it into 3 even portions, each about 240 grams. Round up and let rest for 15 minutes.
   
3. Press out the gas of each dough and roll out into an oval shape. Fold it into thirds, overlapping them in the center, press the dough down firmly. Turn over and roll out into a 30-cm long strip. Turn over and roll up each to a column shape. Or you can divide the dough into 12 portions and shape each into a ball. Place them in a 30x11x8-cm loaf pan. Let the dough rise up to 2/3 full. Lightly brush with egg wash and bake in a preheated 170C/340F oven for 30-35 minutes.