Spring Break
Is Chinese food healthier?
ISOSU: Yiqing Ma
Issue date: 3/11/08 Section: Forum
There are some things you really should just be cautious about. You know, like rainforests, Michael Jackson's face and American Chinese food.
Yes, American Chinese food. Unfortunately, most people are under the mistaken impression that Chinese food is healthier than most other American food. If we were eating authentic, traditional Asian cuisine, it would be. But most often we're eating American-style Chinese food: an extremely fattening, cholesterol-loaded version of the real thing.
Most Chinese are surprised by what is being served here as Chinese food.
In the 19th century, Chinese restaurateurs developed American Chinese cuisine when they modified their food for American tastes. It is quite a different style from the Chinese food found in China.
American Chinese food typically treats vegetables as garnish while cuisines of China emphasize vegetables. This can be seen in the use of carrots and tomatoes. Native Chinese cuisine makes frequent use of Asian leafy vegetables like bok choy and gai-lan and puts a greater emphasis on fresh meat and live seafood. As a result, American Chinese food is usually less pungent than authentic cuisine.
American Chinese food tends to be cooked very quickly with a great deal of oil and salt. Many dishes are quickly and easily prepared and require inexpensive ingredients. Stir-frying, pan-frying and deep-frying tend to be the most common cooking techniques which are all easily done using a wok.Traditional Chinese dishes are steamed, lightly stir-fried in peanut oil or braised, unlike their American Chinese counterparts which are often heavily battered, deep-fried and coated in sugar-laden sauce.
One embarrassing question you'd better not ask Chinese anymore is what the difference between an American and Chinese fortune cookie is.
Although a Chinese meal seems incomplete without fortune cookies, no restaurant in China is serving them. Some sources claim David Jung, founder of Los Angeles' Hong Kong Noodle Company, created the fortune cookie in 1916 to possibly brighten up the survivors of World War I with the happy messages contained inside.
Yes, American Chinese food. Unfortunately, most people are under the mistaken impression that Chinese food is healthier than most other American food. If we were eating authentic, traditional Asian cuisine, it would be. But most often we're eating American-style Chinese food: an extremely fattening, cholesterol-loaded version of the real thing.
Most Chinese are surprised by what is being served here as Chinese food.
In the 19th century, Chinese restaurateurs developed American Chinese cuisine when they modified their food for American tastes. It is quite a different style from the Chinese food found in China.
American Chinese food typically treats vegetables as garnish while cuisines of China emphasize vegetables. This can be seen in the use of carrots and tomatoes. Native Chinese cuisine makes frequent use of Asian leafy vegetables like bok choy and gai-lan and puts a greater emphasis on fresh meat and live seafood. As a result, American Chinese food is usually less pungent than authentic cuisine.
American Chinese food tends to be cooked very quickly with a great deal of oil and salt. Many dishes are quickly and easily prepared and require inexpensive ingredients. Stir-frying, pan-frying and deep-frying tend to be the most common cooking techniques which are all easily done using a wok.Traditional Chinese dishes are steamed, lightly stir-fried in peanut oil or braised, unlike their American Chinese counterparts which are often heavily battered, deep-fried and coated in sugar-laden sauce.
One embarrassing question you'd better not ask Chinese anymore is what the difference between an American and Chinese fortune cookie is.
Although a Chinese meal seems incomplete without fortune cookies, no restaurant in China is serving them. Some sources claim David Jung, founder of Los Angeles' Hong Kong Noodle Company, created the fortune cookie in 1916 to possibly brighten up the survivors of World War I with the happy messages contained inside.
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