Vegetables in Chinese cooking

Chinese cooking is particularly well-suited to the nature of vegetables. Cooked quickly over high heat, they retain their nutritional value and fresh flavor. Vegetables accompany nearly every Chinese meal, used in most cases to balance tastes and textures of meat, but also appearing as dishes in their own right. Of vegetables, there is just no end in Chinese food. Watercress in the west is used, for the most part, as a garnish or an addition to salads. One has only to cook it the Chinese way to realize what a tasty vegetable it is. Westerners are told to cook the outer leaves of lettuce but the long process given to them does nothing for them. The Chinese way makes it a new vegetable - certainly lettuce with an infinitely better taste. And so it is with green beans, long beans, eggplant and green sweet peppers. They need only the quick Chinese method to be cooked to perfection. Other vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots may be blanched (parboiled) then finished off in a little oil in the frying pan. Bean sprouts are typically Chinese and, as such, are 'exotic' to the westerners.

In some Western countries boiling is the chief form of cooking for vegetables. After a vegetable is boiled, the water is usually thrown away, together with its flavor and vitamins. Forget about over boiled broccoli or carrots - that's boring and tasteless. This section shows you how to cook great tasting and nutritious Chinese style vegetable dishes. The typical method of cooking them is stir-frying which retain, if not enhance the crunchiness, tenderness and vibrant colors of vegetables.

The usual way of stir-frying vegetables by the Chinese is easy. Use rather small quantity of oil, put in the vegetables when the oil is moderately hot. After the initial stirring to have all veggies evenly coated with oil, add a flavoring agent such as salt, sugar or chicken stock, and then a little water (not required for leafy vegetables like spinach and cabbages). Stir well and cover the wok, so that there will not too much splashing or smoking in the kitchen. But do not close the lid too long, or the vegetable will lose its fresh green and turn yellowish. After opening the cover, you can also add a sauce now, such as oyster sauce, sesame oil or wine, depending on the vegetable and serve immediately. The hot oil has sealed in all their natural juices, yet the steaming will have ensured that the vegetables are not oily. You'll have a Chinese vegetable dish that's fresh in colors, mouth watering and healthy.

Vegetables cooked best when they are cut into bite size pieces. Avoid soaking chopped vegetables in water before cooking, as this reduces the vitamin and mineral content of the food. Always rinse vegetables under running water and drain in a mesh basket before cooking. Frozen vegetables should not be used in stir-fried dishes. Their water content is higher than of fresh vegetables, and the result will be disappointingly mushy instead of crisp. This is particularly important in the case of delicate snow peas. If fresh ones are not available, substitute some other crunchy vegetable that is in season - broccoli, asparagus, or string beans, etc.

Because of emphasis on non-starchy vegetables in Chinese menus, Chinese food is especially good for the middle-ages. Here you will find a some Chinese vegetarian recipes. It will show you how to become naturally healthier by preparing easy, delicious, and health enhancing recipes in minutes.

"If you want to protect yourself from osteoporosis, eat your vegetables and fruits, new research shows. Men who consumed primarily fruits and vegetables had denser bones overall, compared with their peers who ate less healthy diets." Source : American journal of clinical nutrition July 2003;76:245:252

" Golden-needle-mushroom (Jin-Gen-Goo) sucessfully kills 95% of cancer cells (Taiwan Report) - Research done by Singapore U shows that eating this mushroom can destroy 95% of cancer cells in our body by boosting our immune system. Professor Phan Hwai Chong of Yang Ming Research Centre in Taiwan told Reporter that consuming this kind of mushroom, one of the ingredients in the mushroom can trigger the multiplication of our healthy "defensive" cells. By out-numbering the cancer cells, healthy cells help eradicate cancer cells. American scientists have since run tests on this particular type of mushroom extract with blood, done outside human body. Results show that mushroom extract is able to destroy cancer cells. According to Taiwan professor, since healthy "fighting" cells can be multiplied to tens & thousands of times, it can either be used as drip or just by eating mushroom. The mushroom is most frequently taken with steam boat. Cooking time should be less than 3 minutes, or the healing property would greatly diminish. "