油条

By Kyler Ong:

This is a traditional Chinese breakfast meal, 2 sticks of flour fried in oil to form this amazing dish. It is crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside. When eaten plain without any dippings, there will be a sweet and salty taste upon tasting it. However, 油条 is usually eaten with either porridge or soya milk, and both help to water down the dryness and gives the 油条 an extra kick in the taste. Here is a picture of the dish with soya milk:

You Tiao, had its origins dating back to the story of Yue Fei during the Southern Song dynasty. The people hated prime minister Qin Hui . A dough maker took two pieces of dough, shaped them into Qin Hui and his wife, dipped them in boiling hot oil, and invited people to take bites out of his new delicacy. People began to call this food "You Zha Hui". This is said to be the origins of today's You Tiao. 

References: http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/1638-origins-of-todays-you-tiao/