Is Chinese food healthier?

By: ISOSU: Yiqing Ma

Posted: 3/11/08

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.

While the fortune cookie was invented in the 20th century, the original inspiration for it probably goes back further in time to the railway boom of the mid-1800s. Unable to enjoy traditional moon cakes during the annual Autumn Moon Festival, Chinese railway workers substituted biscuits with messages inside. According to legend, in 1368 moon cakes themselves were used to pass messages - plans for a Chinese rebellion against the Mongol warlords who had conquered northern China.

Back to our topic. Since most American Chinese restaurants do not prepare their dishes in the authentic Asian style, the fare you'll find at most of these eateries is oozing with fat, cholesterol, salt and sugar, making American-style Chinese food not much better than those fast food take-out meals.

But the good news is Chinese food is still healthier if you eat it the right way. Just avoid the high-calorie ones and try something else instead.

What To Avoid:

Egg roll. Let's see; fried meat, eggs and veggies encased in deep fried dough. That's the perfect recipe for a heart attack.

Fried Wonton. Fried, yes, that does mean deep-fried. And it's also stuffed with meat, so you really can't be shocked to discover that this little morsel doesn't pave the way to ripped abs.

Pork Chop Suey. You won't even find this dish in China and it won't take you long to figure out why. It's basically pieces of meat stir-fried with bamboo shoots, water chestnuts and bean sprouts. With all the oil used in frying and the fat in the meat, chop suey is definitely a dish to ax.

Beef & Broccoli with Garlic Sauce. Again, just because it has broccoli, that doesn't mean it's healthy. The ratio of broccoli to beef is usually one to three, making this dish a salty, artery clogging no-go.

House-Fried Rice. If you want to raise your cholesterol, this is the dish for you. House-fried rice contains an average of one egg per order. Did I mention that it's also fried?

What To Try Instead:

Spring rolls contain fewer calories than egg rolls and are usually made up of healthy veggies. To lower the fat content even more, ask to have them steamed rather than fried.

Steamed Rice. It may not be as colorful as fried rice, but decorate it with some stir-fried veggies and this low-fat side dish good for you.

Dumplings. Usually steamed instead of fried, dumplings are a much better appetizer choice than dim sum and often come with a light fish sauce and vinegar dip rather than a heavy plum or sweet and sour sauce.

Vegetable Stir-Fry. With fresh veggies and steamed rice, this is about the healthiest Chinese dish you can find in Chinese restaurants. Ask for your sauce on the side and you're laughing all the way to a six-pack.

Beef in Black Bean Sauce. The black bean sauce really saves the day for this dish, by lowering its fat content enough to make this okay to grace your plate.

As far as desserts go, there are some things that are okay to enjoy, but also some things you should watch out for.

What To Avoid:

Almond cookie. That's 4.5 grams of fat in one cookie. It's not really worth the several seconds of sweetness if you think about it.

What To Try Instead:

Fortune Cookie. There's a lot less fat and you get a fortune with it - maybe one that will straighten out all of your conflict and strife and lead you on the path to your true destiny. Or just add "in bed" to the end of the fortune and get a good laugh.

Drinks can actually be a problem too, so watch out.

Avoid:

Bubble Tea also called Pearl Tea. This Asian tea contains black tea, milk and tapioca balls - also called pearls - and way too much fat for a nice after dinner drink.

Instead try:

Green Tea. It's finally cool to be green. This tea contains catechin-polyphenols, disease fighting antioxidants. And if that's not enough to get you excited, green tea may even help you stay lean. According to a study performed by the Department of Physiology at the University of Geneva, green tea extract may increase metabolism to help you burn more calories.

American Chinese food is great and we all have a soft spot for it. We just need to be careful. Cut down on fat. Eat Chinese dishes without the batter and ask to have your dishes pan-fried rather than deep-fried.

Stay away from heavy sauces. Choose dishes made with soy, teriyaki, black bean and oyster sauces. Cut back on dishes laden with hoisin, plum and sweet and sour sauces.

Try eating the Asian way. Lift your food out of its sauce and on to the rice portion of your meal, leaving most of the fatty sauce, excess nuts and eggs behind, then eat from your rice mound.

Green-light the greens. Look for more veggie-centered meals, especially those with napa cabbage, bok choy, spinach or broccoli. Choose dishes that have been stir-fried rather than steamed or deep-fried, since stir-frying veggies helps to preserve water-soluble vitamins.

Ask the chef to go easy on the oil. Most dishes are prepared using up to four tablespoons of oil, which add a few extra calories to your meal.

Yiqing Ma is a graduate student in business administration and part of ISOSU. The opinions expressed in ISOSU's column, which appears every Tuesday, do not necessarily represent those of the Daily Barometer staff. Ma can be reached at forum@dailybarometer.com.