These simple tips will help make sure that the Chinese dishes you cook are both tasty and low in fat.
Avoid dishes with heavy sauces, such as red-cooked dishes that are simmered in dark soy sauce and sugar.
If you’re trying to decide which regional cuisine to try, Cantonese is generally the best choice. Cantonese dishes tend to be light, using fresh ingredients.
Reduce the amount of oil you use for stir-frying. If the food starts to stick, add water or broth. The broth also adds extra flavor.
When deep-frying, make sure that the oil is at a high enough temperature before cooking. Deep-frying food at too low a temperature makes it greasy. Be sure not to overcrowd the wok with food, as this will also lower the temperature. When properly done, deep-fried dishes retain only a small amount of oil.
Try other cooking methods besides stir-frying and deep-frying, such as steaming and baking.
Try partially freezing meat. This will make it easier both to remove the fat and to cut the meat into thinner slices. Always trim the fat off meat before cooking.
Reduce the amount of meat in your meal. The average Chinese daily meal is grain and vegetable based, with meat playing a secondary role.
Author Stephen Wong notes that fat does serve the useful purpose of dispersing flavor. To make a low-fat dish more flavorful, he suggests increased use of healthy seasonings such as ginger, garlic, and cilantro.
Stick to noodles that are lower in fat. For example, a cup of cooked rice noodles has 0.352 grams of fat, while the same amount of chow mein noodles has a whopping 13.842 grams of fat. (Source: USDA)
Finally, if a recipe calls for coconut milk, try one of the skim or low-fat versions.
