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Healthy Chinese Food Biography

Source(google.com.pk)

Cruise through any strip mall, and it’s likely dotted with Chinese takeout joints peddling plastic-wrapped fortune cookies and all-night delivery. But then are the sit-down Chinese restaurants that tout authentic cuisine (and higher prices). Talk about diverse dining. Perhaps most diverse, however, are the actual menu items. Of course you'll find dangerous deep-fried, sodium-packed dishes on any Asian menu. But, take a second glance, and you’ll see that there are also well-balanced meals packed with protein and nutrient-rich veggies hiding among the Moo-Shi and Lo Mein. That’s why we created the Chinese Restaurant Menu Decoder. Prepare to say goodbye to General Tso, and hello to Kung Pao.

Authentic Chinese? Hardly. The version most common today is reputed to have roots in Springfield, Missouri. Basically it consists of fried chicken, a handful of cashews, and a thick layer of oyster sauce. Not your best choice.

Although reliably low in calories, the amount of sodium in egg drop soup varies from high to horrendous. Keep your serving to a small cup rather than a meal-size bowl. Otherwise, you could sacrifice most of a day's sodium allotment in a few spirited slurps.

It's not the insides of an egg roll (cabbage, mushrooms, bean sprouts) that will do you in; it's the crunchy, deep-fried carb blanket that forms the exterior. Each roll adds 150 to 200 calories to your plate.

Made with roasted peanuts, dried chilies, and a slew of other vegetables, Kung Pao can be one of the best entrées on the Chinese menu. That's because the chicken isn't fried. All but guaranteed to trounce General Tso's, sesame chicken, and sweet and sour anything.

You know a little something about how to order healthy at Asian restaurants. Brown rice trumps white, summer rolls are lower cal than egg rolls, and you should run from General Tso's anything. But with the explosion of Asian fusion, figuring out what to order can be as murky as a bowl of freshly stirred miso soup.

"There are hidden fats and preparation details that can really keep you guessing," says Angela Ginn, RD, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. And those unknowns can double, even triple, the calorie count and fat content of a dish. Here's how to dig in without blowing your diet. Next: Edamame isn't automatically low cal

Noodle dishes like lo mein and chow mein are cooked in the wok right alongside the meat and vegetables. Why is that bad? Because to keep them from sticking, the chef must pour in more oil and more sauce, a careless move that brings to your plate a deluge of extra fat and sugar. A full order may top 1,000 calories.

Healthy Chinese Take-Out

Tips for lowering fat and calories when you order food from a Chinese take-out restaurant.

Do...

Reduce the amount of meat in your meal.

Order more vegetable dishes or dishes that have a high proportion of vegetables, such as Beef with Broccoli.

Order steamed rice. Filling up on steamed rice will mean you eat less of the other dishes. Another reason to eat rice is that it is a complex carbohydrate. Besides being low in calories, complex carbohydrates boost the metabolism.

Stick to Cantonese cuisine if possible. Cantonese dishes tend to be lighter and use fresh ingredients.

Let the restaurant know your dietary needs so that they can accommodate you if possible.

Cut down on sodium the day you are planning to order Chinese food. Most Chinese restaurant dishes have a very high sodium count.

Don't...

Order deep-fried dishes such as Kung Pao Chicken, General Tso's Chicken, Mu Shu Pork, or even Egg Rolls.

Order fried rice. The eggs in fried rice mean a high cholesterol count.

Order dishes with nuts (another reason to say no to Kung Pao and General Tso's Chicken). In moderation, nuts are quite healthy, and a staple in most Asian diets. In fact, recent studies indicate that peanuts (which is not really a nut at all, but a legume) may even lower cholesterol. But take-outs use way too much. Unless you can persuade them to reduce the amount, steer clear of all the tempting chicken and nut combinations.

Order dishes with heavy sauces.

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One final tip: when searching for a good take-out, my normal strategy is to find a Chinese restaurant that offers take-out and then dine there one evening - preferably during their peak busy hours. If the food is good, then I'll order take-out from them.

Duck sits slightly ahead of ground turkey in terms of its overall balance of protein, fat, and nutrients. It's also one of the most authentic Chinese dishes on the menu, with chefs employing painstaking measures to render most of the fat from the bird, ensuring extra-crunchy skin. It dodges the syrupy plague infecting everything else, so it winds up being one of the healthiest entrées.

Ingredients:

Servings:

Units: US | Metric

3/4 cup finely chopped onion

2 1/2 tablespoons oil

1 egg, lightly beaten (or more eggs if you like)

3 drops soy sauce

3 drops sesame oil

8 ounces cooked lean boneless pork or 8 ounces chicken, chopped

1/2 cup finely chopped carrot (very small)

1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed

4 cups cold cooked rice, grains separated (preferably medium grain)

4 green onions, chopped

2 cups bean sprouts

2 tablespoons light soy sauce (add more if you like)

Directions:

Heat 1 tbsp oil in wok; add chopped onions and stir-fry until onions turn a nice brown color, about 8-10 minutes; remove from wok.

Allow wok to cool slightly.

Mix egg with 3 drops of soy and 3 drops of sesame oil; set aside.

Add 1/2 tbsp oil to wok, swirling to coat surfaces; add egg mixture; working quickly, swirl egg until egg sets against wok; when egg puffs, flip egg and cook other side briefly; remove from wok, and chop into small pieces.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in wok; add selected meat to wok, along with carrots, peas, and cooked onion; stir-fry for 2 minutes.

Add rice, green onions, and bean sprouts, tossing to mix well; stir-fry for 3 minutes.

Add 2 tbsp of light soy sauce and chopped egg to rice mixture and fold in; stir-fry for 1 minute more; serve.

Set out additional soy sauce on the table, if desired.