kentucky » Chinese Cuisine

Main Course Vegetable Hakka Noodles

NailaIntan — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 04:55:38 +0000

The Hakka noodles can make a wholesome meal on its own. All this is typical of Indo Chinese cooking. Like any place and any cuisine, food is usually modified to suit local preferences. Indo-Chinese cuisine is one of the very popular cuisines of India. Chinese cuisine, modified to suit the Indian palate has been a favorite amongst the more modern Indian crowd since decades.

Here’s a delicious and easy Hakka noodles recipe that will work. Your child is sure to eat this complete meal without any fuss, believe me this is a tried and tested recipe of a desperate mom. Have the ingredients assembled near the stove so you can cook the dish quickly. Make the vinegar sauce a day in advance and refrigerate it. Serve the noodles with the vinegar mixture and soy sauce.

Preparation of Hakka noodles

• Cut the spring onions into 1/4″ pieces.

• Grind red chilies and garlic.

• Heat oil in a pan, add chilly and garlic and fry for a minute.

• Now add capsicum and fry till it tenders.

• Put spring onion and continue frying for 2-3 minutes more.

• Now add noodles and salt (to taste) and mix well.

• Add tandoori colour and vinegar (to taste) and cook well.

Hakka Noodles, usually served as a main course, are stir-fried with cabbage, carrots, red bell peppers, and snow peas. I really like the food at this place which serves Hakka food. The noodle dish that takes its name from the Chinese province of Hakka is one of the more popular Indian-Chinese dishes. Some popular dishes include dumplings in a hot, sweet, and sour sauce; Chinese fried rice, a spicier and more Indian-like version of the classic dish; chili cauliflower, marinated in hot peppers and garlic and deep-fried; and Hakka noodles. Please purchase online www.indomunch.com in NewYork city.

Chinese Food

Lasam — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:44:33 +0000

Chinese food holds a popular place among the entire population of the world. You can find a Chinese restaurant in every major city and in many smaller areas of the world as well. Why is Chinese food so popular? Is Chinese food healthy? What is the history of Chinese food?

The History of Chinese Food

The history of Chinese food1 is an interesting one. Unlike many cultures the Chinese believe that the preparation of food is an art and not simply a craft. The art of cooking Chinese food can include dishes and food preparation techniques which are difficult to develop and may require the expertise of a chef with lots of experience. One such technique is noodle pulling (scroll down to the bottom of the page to learn more about this technique). Noodle pulling requires skill and lots of practice and results in a delicious noodle dish. This article will refer to noodle pulling later on, but for now, let’s go back to the history of Chinese food.

Chinese food and the way it is prepared is very much influenced by the two major philosophies, which influence the entire Chinese culture. These dominant philosophies are Confucianism and Taoism. Both have these philosophies have influenced the way that the Chinese people cook and the way that they enjoy their food.

Confucianism and Chinese Cuisine

Confucius was the man behind the Confucianism beliefs. Among many other standards Confucius established standards for proper table etiquette and for the appearance and taste of Chinese food. One of the standards set by Confucius (you might have noticed this at an authentic Chinese restaurant) is that food must be cut into small bite size pieces before serving the dish. This is a custom that is definitely unique to the Chinese culture.

Knives at the dinner table are also considered to be a sign of very poor taste by those who embrace Confucianism beliefs. The standards of quality and taste that Confucius recommended required the perfect blend of ingredients, herbs and condiments–a blend which would result in the perfect combination of flavor. Confucius also emphasized the importance of the texture and color of a dish, and taught that food must be prepared and eaten with harmony. Interestingly enough, Confucius was also of the opinion that an excellent cook must first make an excellent matchmaker.

Taoism and Chinese Cuisine

Those who follow the Taoism beliefs focus on the health benefits of particular foods vs. the presentation of the same. Taoists search for foods that will increase their health and longevity. They search for foods that have healing powers. Many times these benefits were often referred to as ‘life giving powers’. For instance, the Chinese found that ginger, which can be considered to be a garnish or a condiment was found to be a remedy for upset stomachs or a remedy for colds.

Is Chinese Food Healthy?

Chinese food, when authentic is probably the healthiest food in the world. Some restaurants, which are not authentic, prepare their menu with highly saturated fats or with meats that contain unhealthy amounts of animal fat. These Chinese restaurants are not recommended and they are both neither authentic nor healthy.

Good Chinese food however, is prepared and cooked with poly-unsaturated oils. Authentic Chinese food does not require the use of milk-fat ingredients such as cream, butter or cheese. Meat is used, but not in abundance, which makes it easy for those who love authentic Chinese food to avoid high levels of animal fat. Many believe that authentic Chinese food is really the ideal diet.

Chinese Restaurants in Every Part of the Nation

Whether it is in a Tennessee Chinese Restaurant to a New York Chinese restaurant you are going to find culinary dishes that are both healthy and delicious. Savor the flavor with Chinese food!

10 Steps to Remember When Eating at a Chinese Restaurant

Lasam — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 18:39:31 +0000

10 Steps to Remember When Eating at a Chinese Restaurant

Introduction

Chinese food appeals to many of us because it is tasty and relatively inexpensive. We are also under the impression that Chinese cuisine is healthy as it includes large portions of vegetables and low amounts of fat. That’s true when the dishes are prepared the traditional Chinese way in China. But American-Chinese restaurants have modified their food for American tastes and as a result, it is not as healthy as the traditional one. Western Chinese restaurants offer appetizers, fried rice, meat rolled in butter, and sweet sauces among their “goodies”. And to top it all, the portions are much larger than the ones served in mainland China. That’s why, having all this in mind, if you want to eat healthy at a Chinese restaurant, you have to choose wisely.

1. Start by choosing a good restaurant

When you are in the mood for Chinese food, avoid the typical Chinese restaurant where you can eat as much as you want for a fix price. Chances are you may not want to leave the restaurant until you feel you got your money’s worth. Unfortunately, if you do so, the restaurant will get your money but you will get the calories. Not a win-win situation. Instead, go to a restaurant where the waiter takes your order.

2. Start with a soup

A smart move when eating at a Chinese restaurant is to order a soup. Two advantages: first, less overall fat in your meal and second, the soup broth will fill you up. This translates into eating less when the waiter brings the main course.

By starting your meal with an appetizer you may ruin your goal of calories, carbohydrates, fat, etc. Pork ribs, egg rolls, fried wonton and any other fried foods are high in fat, sugar, and calories. If the waitress brings Chinese fried noodles to keep you busy until the food is served, put them aside or ask her to remove them from the table. Instead, you can kill time while you wait for the food by drinking Chinese tea. No calories there unless you add sugar.

3. Choosing the main course

When choosing the main course look for dishes that are abundant in vegetables and have small portions of meat. You can reduce calories by choosing seafood or chicken instead of choosing beef, pork, lamb or duck. You can also order two dishes: one that has meat as the base and one that is mainly vegetables such as green beans or spinach and mix them.

4. Avoid fatty dishes

Read the menu carefully and avoid for the fattiest dishes. Some words will give you a clue: beef rolled in butter or breadcrumbs, crunchy pork, etc. Find out if the meat was fried before being sauté with the vegetables. If that is the case, ask if they can sauté the meat you have chosen instead of frying it.

5. Watch out for hidden carbohydrates

Sweet and sour sauces as well as other typical sauces of the Chinese cuisine are full of carbohydrates and if you are diabetic, they can raise your blood sugar. Sugar and starches keep adding carbohydrates to many main dishes. You will also find carbohydrates in the corn flour used to thicken sauces and in the ingredients used to marinate the meat. Read the small print and ask a lot of questions to the waiter.

6. Be careful with the rice

You know that at a Chinese restaurant, you are going to be served a big bowl of rice and as you may be aware, rice contains many carbohydrates. Avoid fried rice and regular soy sauce to flavor it; you will end up with a lot of fat and sodium in your meal. If possible ask for brown rice which is rich in fiber. If they don’t have it available, hold the rice. Remember that a cup of rice has at least 45 grams of carbohydrate.

7. Reduce the salt

Order dishes with light sauces, not too thick. If you need soy sauce ask for the low sodium version and mix it with steamed brown rice, not with fried rice. To add flavor to your meal you can add some hot sauce; it has less sodium and less calories.

8. Share the dishes

If you have company, order one main dish, a soup or aperitif and some rice. Then, share it.

9. Eat with chopsticks

Eat your meal with chopsticks. If you are as skilful with them as I am, they may slow you down. But don’t worry because as everything in life, it has a positive side: you will probably eat less. Don’t fall into the temptation of asking for a fork and a knife; you may regret it.

10. And for dessert…

As for dessert, order fruit and never mind the ice-cream with sugared walnuts which I know by experience it is hard to resist. But if you have followed the above recommendations, you will feel pretty good about having eaten a healthy meal. So, why ruining it?