Most Popular Chinese Dishes Everyone Should Try

China is rich in tourist attractions. Delicious foods are an attraction indispensable in a good tour. With a long history, unique features, numerous styles and exquisite cooking, Chinese cuisine is one important constituent part of Chinese culture. Chinese dishes are famous for color, aroma, taste, meaningand appearance.

The following are the eight most popular dishes among foreigners and Chinese. For customers’ convenience, we also list their Chinese character names and English pronunciations. These eight dishes are sweet and sour pork (chicken), gong bao chicken, ma po tofu, wontons, dumplings, spring rolls, chow mein and Peking duck. These dishes are available in most large restaurants in China.

1. Sweet and Sour Pork

Sweet and sour pork has a bright orange-red color, and a delicious sweet and sour taste. At the very beginning there was only sweet and sour pork, but to meet demands, there have been some developments on this dish. Now, the pork can be substituted by other ingredients like chicken, beef or pork ribs.

2. Gong Bao Chicken 丁

This is a famous Sichuan-style specialty, popular with both Chinese and foreigners. The major ingredients are diced chicken, dried chili, and fried peanuts. People in Western countries have created a Western-style gong bao chicken, for which the diced chicken is covered with cornstarch, and vegetables, sweet and sour sauce and mashed garlic are added.

3. Ma Po Tofu

Ma po tofu is one of the most famous dishes in Chuan Cuisine with a history of more than 100 years. Ma (麻) describes a spicy and hot taste which comes from pepper powder, one kind of condiment usually used in Chuan Cuisine. The milky tofu is enriched with brownish red ground beef and chopped green onion. It is really a tasty delicacy. Read the DIY recipes of ma po tofu.



4. Wontons

Since the Tang Dynasty (618–907), it has been a custom for people to eat wontons on the winter solstice. The most versatile shape of a wonton is simple a right triangle, similar to Italian tortellini. Wontons are commonly boiled and served in soup or sometimes deep-fried. The filling of wontons can be minced pork or diced shrimp.

5. Dumplings

With a long history of more than 1,800 years, dumplings are a traditional food widely popular in North China. Dumplings consist of minced meat and chopped vegetables wrapped into a thin piece of dough skin. Popular fillings are mince pork, diced shrimp, ground chicken, beef, and vegetables. They can be cooked by boiling, steaming, or frying. Dumplings are a traditional dish eaten on Chinese New Year’s Eve.

6. Chow Mein 

The "Chow mein" is the Cantonese pronunciation of the Chinese characters above, which means stir-fried noodles. Generally speaking, this stir-fried dish consists of noodles, meat (usually chicken, beef, shrimp, or pork), onions and celery. For making chow mein, the noodles need to be cooked in boiling water for a while. After they becoming cool, then move to the step of stir-frying.




7. Peking Roasted Duck 

Peking duck is a famous dish from Beijing, enjoying world fame, and considered as one of China’s national dishes. Peking duck is savored for its thin and crispy skin. The Sliced Peking duck is often eaten with pancakes, sweet bean sauce, or soy with mashed garlic. It is a must-taste dish in Beijing!

8. Spring Rolls 

Spring rolls are a Cantonese dim sum of cylindrical shape. The filling of spring rolls could be vegetables or meat, and the taste could be either sweet or savory. After fillings are wrapped in spring roll wrappers, the next step is frying. Then the spring rolls are given their golden yellow color. It is a dish especially popular in Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Fujian, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, etc.

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Benefits And Advantages Of Asian Foods.

An Array Of Asian Spices

The main focus of the Asian diet is to create wellness. This I believe is the best medicine. By practicing these diet habits you will see improvement in your overall health. With a bit of assistance from some of the other fellow bloggers and articles, i have tried my best to outline some of the basic know how of Asian foods.  The below is my list of those guidelines which has been perfected and practiced for centuries.
This top 10 list serves up healthier habits, better nutrition and enhanced immune function
To paraphrase Sun Simiao, the great Chinese physician in the sixth century, one wastes the skill of a great physician if one does not first consider the food he or she are eating. This is still true today. Consider also when you eat and how you eat as you read these 10 Asian diet habits.

1. Limit Drinks, Especially Cold Drinks With Meals
Many of us have a bad habit of drinking a cold glass of water or soda with meals. Changing this habit alone will create better digestion of food. Limit fluid intake with your meals and you will stop diluting your digestive enzymes which are so important for proper digestion. Green tea or other hot teas before a meal supports enzymatic activity and helps enhance your digestive abilities. It’s best to add liquids 30 minutes before or after meals, not during.

2. Have Soup Often
Soup is a nutrient dense food and fills you up quickly. You don’t need much, just a half cup is beneficial. Most Asian soups are made with bones and/or combinations of vegetables so you’re getting lots of vitamins and minerals even with a small portion. Whether it is bone broth soup, vegetable or miso, soups are rich in vitamins and minerals and easily absorbed. Secondly, but equally important is that the warm temperature of soup (like tea) can improve the entire digestive process.

3. Eat a 3:1 Ratio Vegetables to Meat
3:1 means three times the amount of vegetables to the amount of meat. The meat and potato American diet does not make much room for vegetables on the plate. In fact, the favorite American vegetable, potatoes, (i.e., French fries) should be replaced with sweet potatoes if you absolutely can’t live without that starch. Better still, consider vegetables with bitter flavors. Give radishes, radicchio and bitter melon a spot on your plate.

4. Small Plates and Chopsticks
Small serving bowls and small plates are a great way to eat smaller portions. I love to mix up attractive small plates and bowls in different shapes and sizes. Not only is it aesthetically pleasing to eat from these but it helps you eat smaller portions. Chopsticks are an easy way to avoid the shovel techniques of eating. For the average American inexperienced chopstick user, they are guaranteed to slow down your rate of consumption and give your stomach time to send the message to your brain that you’re full and it’s time to stop eating.

5. Rice Combining
Rice combinations like black, brown, red, or even purple rice are nutritionally denser than white or brown alone. (The best is unpolished/less processed rice, because it is rich in B vitamins.) Rice is eaten to supplement the meal in Asia, not a main course. Rice has always been a popular carbohydrate, cheap to grow and easy to transport and store. But as a carbohydrate it is converted into sugar during the digestive process. This means it can cause a dramatic effect in our glycemic index. This is good for fast energy, but bad if you want to avoid blood sugar fluctuations and bad for those who are diabetic or pre-diabetic. Rice combinations are less starchy therefore less sugar conversion and lower in calories.

6. Not Every Night Is Dessert Night
My kids will tell you from the time they were very little if they asked about dessert, my standard answer was “tonight is not dessert night.” Admittedly, this didn’t work so well past the age of 7, but it’s still a great rule of thumb. If you must have dessert make it fruit. Fruit is nutritious and delicious and a common Asian dessert. Cut and serve it up in a fun and interesting way to make it that much more exciting. Sugary cakes, cookies and ice cream can be for special celebrations only.

7. Seafood — See Food Differently
No need to repeat what we already know. Research supports this common Asian diet practice of eating fish daily. We’ve heard all about the healthy oils from fish. Fish has always been part of man’s diet nearly everywhere in the world, not just Asia. But the Asian culture has kept this part of their heritage alive better than most.

8. Asian Snacks are Healthier
Take a look at what Asians eat for snacks and compare it with the American chips and cookies and you’ll understand part of the reason Americans are so overweight and Asians are not. Choose seaweed snacks, nuts, dried fruit and seeds. I love pumpkin and sunflower seeds. All are easy to find in nearly every market. These healthy snacks are packed full of micro-nutrients, vitamins and minerals and the choices are limitless. One caveat, do watch out for the salt content of nuts. Raw is preferred but admittedly not as tasty as salted. If you really want the salt, try “lightly salted” versions.

9. Optimize Food Temperatures With Seasons 
Energetic temperatures of foods should not be overlooked. Eat warming foods in cold weather and cooling foods in hot weather. This common-sense rule of thumb is barely spoken in Asia because it’s simply practiced. Cold drinks and cold foods such celery, melons and cold salads are not eaten in the middle of winter. Hot soups and stews with meat are preferred because this is what the body needs in cold weather. A hot summer day is the perfect time for watermelon or a cooling drink made with aloe and cucumber. Every food has an energetic temperature and acts on the body accordingly. Eating the right temperature foods during the various season of the year is an important part of a healthy diet.

10. Avoid Cow’s Milk and Milk Combining
Milk combines horribly with just about everything, while supplying vastly too much calcium and not enough magnesium. Cow’s milk is completely absent in Asian diets. Other cultures such as Jewish kosher rules recognized thousands of years ago that milk products should be eaten apart from other foods. If you just can’t give up cow’s milk, at the very least don’t ignore the tenet of food combining. Combining the wrong foods, i.e., dairy, slows down gut motility to a snail’s pace, the exact opposite of what is best for healthy digestion. Replacements for cow’s milk are easier than ever today with the arrival of convenient cartons of almond, coconut, rice or organic soy milk.
That’s 10, but if you would like just one more Asian diet tip there is one that the previous 10 helped create.

11 is regular bowel movements
Healthy eating and good digestion create healthy bowel movements and a healthy gut is a clean gut. A minimum of one bowel movement a day is an absolute necessity. So much of our immune system is dependent on our gut health and this is one reason proper digestion is key to optimizing our health and wellness. This is our body’s natural detox method and the last on this list of Asian diet tips. 

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Thai Foods..Spices That Entices Every One Of Us

Imagine a plate of freshly-steamed Jasmine rice, served with luscious spicy shrimp soup and creamy chicken green curry. You're torn between the colourful and spicy papaya salad garnished with crisp vegetables on your right and a delectable dish of 'Pad Thai' on your left. Don't forget to leave some room for a delectable selection of Thai 'kanom' (dessert) or fresh tropical fruits. Treat yourself with the sweet-smelling sticky rice topped with succulent mango - very much worth the few extra pounds you'll be gaining in the process!

Above is an example of a typical Thai meal, which consists of a soup and/or curry dish, a salad, a fried dish and desserts. Normally there would be a mix of spicy and mild dishes for 'balance' and to neutralise tastes. Also, a Thai meal is served all at once, as opposed to serving dishes in courses. It's also noteworthy that Thais don't particularly mind having spicy food in the morning. Different kinds of curry on top of rice with a fried egg, accompanied by 'prik nam pla' (sliced chilies in fish sauce), are common for breakfast. Due to their busy lifestyles, most city dwellers prefer something quick and easy like 'kao niew moo ping' (grilled pork with sticky rice), the equivalent to sandwiches in the West, or something light like 'johk' (rice porridge). Lunch will be something a little heavier and dinner is often shared among family and friends. And, in between, 'snacking' is common.

Thai Spiciness On a Display

It's not entirely true if you've heard that Thai people tend to eat all day. Generally, they eat three main meals a day just like the rest of the world, but they have a habit of 'gin len' ('snacking') between meals. The whole spectrum of hawker food from savoury 'look chin ping' (grilled meat balls), sweet roti pancake wrapped around sweetened condensed milk with a choice of banana or egg and fried bugs, to freshly-squeezed orange juice, fresh fruits, and frittered bananas are available, at incredibly low prices, virtually everywhere in the city.

Thai people love sharing food. If you go out for lunch or dinner with Thai friends, you are most likely to be asked whether you'd like a single dish or dishes to share. To share or not to share, that is a question entirely up to you. To make things easier, it helps to observe or ask other people in your group what style they're going for. If they've decided on sharing, then you should join in the fun.

Thai recipes will surely make your senses soar with pleasure.  Authentic, straightforward to make, and rich with dazzling flavors, you will love making and sharing these homemade Thai dishes.

With the Footnote that on my next articles i shall feature some of the very popular Thai Dishes that WILL surely tingle your taste buds in the right way.

#  Photo Clicks courtesy....123RF, Copyright

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Tasty And Exotic Asian Desserts

On the earlier blog i had handpicked some of the amazingly tasty Asian desserts and on that note i am trying here to add up to that list. But on that blog it was particularly for the summer season. Unlike that article heres a list of some of the all time favourite, tasty & exotic East Asian desserts. Similarly like the earlier post I have made it into a list of top ten.

1. Dragon Beard Candy
Dragon Beard Candy is an Asian dessert with similarities to cotton candy. First introduced in China, it spread in popularity and even became a coveted treat for Korean royalties. Made of sugar and maltose syrup and sometimes stuffed with ingredients such as coconut and peanuts, chefs are trained for months, even years, to perfect this dessert.


2. Red Bean Soup
While you may be used to eating soup before a meal, dessert soup is a popular end-of-meal treat in China, Japan, Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. Typically served warm, red bean soup is known for its comforting and surprisingly sweet flavour, and comes in many variations depending on locale; in Japan you can enjoy it porridge-style with rice dumplings, while in Vietnam the dessert is served cold with coconut milk.


3. Black Sesame Soup
Did you know that black sesame is known to help with indigestion? It's no wonder that this dessert soup is commonly ordered at East-Asian restaurants. It mainly consists of three ingredients — black sesame seeds, rice and water — but sugar is usually added. Make sure to rinse your mouth out after though, because black residue may stick to lips and teeth!


4. Mochi
There's something about pastel-coloured treats that are just so appealing — and these cheerful Japanese bites are no different. Traditionally, mochi is made with glutinous rice and can be found in varying shapes and colours, but you can also enjoy these delicious desserts as an ice cream treat.


5. Pineapple Cakes
Pineapple cakes hail from Taiwan and are absolutely addictive. The fragrant buttery crust and pineapple jam filling is a killer combo, making it hard to eat just one!


6. Khanom Chan
A traditional Thai dessert, Khanom Chun, has a light, smooth and sticky consistency that's a lot like JELL-O. It's made up of three types of flours — rice, arrowroot and tapioca — coconut milk, sugar and distinctive colouring, typically coming from natural ingredients such as pandanus plant (for green) and roselle herb (for red).


7. Khanom Thungtag
This street-stall item is one of the most common snacks you can find in Thailand. Khanom Thungtag is essentially a crepe, using coconut milk in the batter, and filled with textural ingredients such as shredded coconut to create one must-try dessert.


8. Fried Sesame Balls
Sweet, soft and chewy these pop-in-your-mouth sesame balls are a common snack in China and Vietnam. In China, you can enjoy these deep-fried treats with red bean filling, while in Southern Vietnam the filling is typically mung bean paste.


9. Fried Banana Cakes
OK, so you may have likely tried a variation of fried bananas, perhaps with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream or over waffles (yes, equally as good), but this deep-fried battered dessert served with coconut sauce is a staple in Vietnamese cuisine.


10. Ube Halaya
The main ingredient in this Filipino dessert, also known as ube halaya, ube jam or halayang ube, is mashed purple yams (ube). Sweet condensed milk, coconut milk and evaporated milk are boiled with ube then cooked on low heat for about 45 minutes until the mixture thickens. Once cooled, it's ready to eat.

So have fun trying out these desserts as i did myself. Like always....Enjoy & Cheerrssssss.

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Easy And Tasty Desserts For The Summer

The hot weather is here and we bid farewell (sniff) to pies and puddings and say hello to some more refreshing sweets.

Here are some of the refreshing and tasty desserts to cool off in this summer time.

 1.Lemon curd frozen yoghurt

Just flavour the plain all purpose yoghurt with a pinch of  lemon juice and with a touch of lemon zest, mix it all thoroughly and put it in a freezer for about an hour or so. And enjoy your Lemon curd frozen yoghurt chilling in the summer.

2.Summer Desserts: Chilled Chocolate Desserts

 An ingenious crust made from chocolate wafers turns a simple pudding into an amazing pie.

3.Mango Cheesecake

Add golden color and tropical flavor to cheesecake by stirring a mango puree into the cream cheese mixture. Create a summer garnish by topping the cake with mango slices, fresh berries, and mint sprigs.

4.Berries with Mascarpone

This fresh fruit dessert is just as simple as it look. Just pour the mixed fruits and top it up with the mascarpone and you are all set. Enjoy this cooling dessert with friend and family. I can guarantee that this will be a big hit with the kids.

5.Peaches with mints

There's no showy technique behind this incredibly easy summer dessert—you just need great ripe, slightly firm peaches to soak in a simple fruit-infused syrup and finally garnish with some fresh mint leaves for that touch of minty flavour.

I am sure there is a whole array of desserts for the summer but I believe the above list would in some way help you all to forget the stingy heat of the summer so I strongly suggest everyone of us to indulge onto one of these desserts. And as always, cheerssss & enjoy.

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Cool Asian Deserts For Summer

With above-average temperatures expected for several parts of the world in summer, many of us will be on the lookout for new ideas for staying cool and refreshed. What better way to do that than with an amazing and authentic dessert from Asia? With a bit of surveys from around the regions' leading food bloggers like myself, I have selected ten best sweet treats that are great for the summer and fun for the kitchen. Please share with me what you're snacking on in the comments below.


1. Guinataan
It is a Filipino dessert that can include jackfruit meat, tapioca, bananas, yams, and taro in a creamy coconut milk sauce. A popular sweet throughout Asia, it's known as guinataan in the Philippines and bubor cha-cha in Malaysia. The ingredients change according to seasonal availability and the starch component varies from glutinous rice to tapioca to sago. Fresh coconut milk is best, but a good quality, smooth, canned coconut milk may be used.


2. Thai Taro Balls in Coconut Cream (Bua Loi Phuak)
This is a delicious dessert that features chewy taro balls in a coconut cream. Try adding a dash of vanilla for more flavor!


3. Cumin and Tamarind Refresher (Zeera Pani)
This is a refreshing drink commonly served as an appetizer or as a digestive. This multi-use drink derives from the Indian word for "cumin water."


4. Coconut jelly
This has always been a crowd favorite in Myanmar, where it is called kyauk kyaw (pronounced chow chaw), Burmese for "agar-agar" or any jelly made from it. Agar-agar is a gelatinous substance that can also be used a laxative, an appetite suppressant, vegetarian gelatin substitute, and thickener for soup.


5. Pistachio Barfi
This is a traditional Indian sweet made from pistachio kernels sold in Indian and Middle Eastern shops. However, these pistachios aren't the typical roasted and salted pistachios in shells that might come to mind — rather, they're a softer kind that's used whenever recipes call for pistachios.


6. Awayuki
It is a Japanese jelly dessert that is not only fun for children, but also great for calorie counters. Any fruit-flavored juices can be used, and liqueurs can be substituted by adults for a fun addition to a cocktail.


7. Chinese toffee bananas
These is a great dessert for people of all ages. Who can resist their candy glaze, crunchy fritter batter, and sweet banana taste?


8. Almond Jelly
Although this dessert is called "almond" jelly, it actually uses blanched apricot kernels that go by the same name. These kernels are smaller than almonds and have a stronger flavor. Mix in your favorite fruits for a refreshing bowl of goodness.


9. Falooda
This is a refreshing drink that's also sold as a dessert in Mumbai and nearby cities. It calls for psyllium seed husks, which can be found in health food stores and are native to India. These husks are a source of soluble dietary fiber and recent research also indicates that they may be able to help with lowering cholesterol and managing diabetes.


10. Durian Ice Cream 
The smell of durian is unforgettable, but those who have braved the smell or who are simply used to it name the durian as the "king of fruits." Its creamy flesh is great for making ice cream and milkshakes. A scoop of durian ice cream with mango sago and jellies is a staple at Honeymoon Dessert, a dessert chain in Asia.

#These above is just a teaser of the wide variety of desserts that we can find in and around the street corners of the Asian cities but i am sure there are a lot more that the many streets around all of the Asia has to offer, so hence i would like to conclude here by saying that i shall try to find more desserts of these sorts in the coming days. But for now like always....Enjoy & Cheerssss.

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Some Of The Best Curries Not To Miss Out On

Many of us are creatures of habit and will always stick to what we know, especially when it comes to potentially mouth-burning food such as curry. But if you're always opting for Korma or Tikka Masala, you're definitely missing out. If you fancy being a bit more adventurous and trying something new, here are 10 of the best curries to try...that aren’t tikka or korma!
Here are some of the different varietes of curries from different region that should not be missed out on.
1. Dopiaza


The name means "double onions" and that’s the base of this curry, a rich-flavoured Indian dish that’s not too hot. Classed as a medium heat, this one’s suitable for most tastebuds. The rich, spicy onions are usually cooked two ways - firstly pureed as a sauce, and fried onions are added at the end.

2. Makhani

Often known as "Butter Chicken", Makhani is an aromatic butter-based sauce made with tomatoes, cream and a blend of spices. It can be made as spicy as you like, but it’s typically considered a mild dish.

3. Goan

This is made in a variety of ways; usually with fish, but it still tastes great with vegetables or chicken. This one is a coconut-based curry made with a blend of spices which give it a bit of a kick.

4. Dhansak

Made with meat, vegetables and a lentil base, this Indian dish has a mild, sweet and slightly sour taste that still has enough kick to satisfy most. Although meat is usually the preferred ingredient, vegetarian Dhansak is delicious too.

5. Rajma Masala

This punjabi dish is a great one for vegetarians or those looking for a meat-free option. It’s a tasty tomato-based curry with kidney beans as the main ingredient.

6. Bhuna Gosht

Another traditional punjabi dish, Bhuna Gosht is made with lamb, spices, chillies and garlic. It has a rich flavour and can be quite hot, but it’s simple to make and the heat can be turned down if you make this yourself.

7. Kerala

Curries from this region are fragrant and flavoursome. Try this creamy coconut curry to warm you up on cold days!

8. Massaman

A creamy, mildly spicy Thai curry which has a nutty flavour and can be made with a variety of meats and vegetables.

9. Thai Red Curry

Made with red chillies, galangal and coconut milk, this Thai favourite is quite hot and spicy but packed full of flavour.

10. Thai Green Curry

This milder Thai curry is fragrant, creamy and full of exotic flavours including lemongrass, coriander, fish paste and chillies.

The above list is just sort of a teaser of the varieties of curries that one should try at least for once but that does not underlie the fact there are many more variants of curries out there that one can get. But i hope that you guys will give a shot at trying out these curries. Like always cheers and enjoy.

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Health Benefits Of The Oriental Cuisines

(The Lunar New Year celebrations may be over, but cooking and eating authentic Chinese food can help keep your healthy resolutions on track)

The dragons have retreated back into their basement storage, and the crowds in your local Chinese restaurant have finally died down — sure signs that the two-week-long Asian party known as the Lunar New Year has come to a close.

But don’t put those chopsticks away. In fact, why don’t you invest in a rice cooker and wok too? It’s time to make good on that flailing New Year’s resolution to eat healthy — and Chinese food, cooked and eaten authentically, can effortlessly get you back on track.

Japanese cuisine has dominated the health headlines for many years. And experts point out that Korean food is quite healthy too. But do you know how obscenely expensive sushi-grade fish is? Can you really count on your local Stop & Shop to carry Korean chili-pepper paste and dried anchovies? Chinese food, in contrast, isn’t precious. Its staples are available anywhere and make for a healthy, diet-conscious, portion-controlled meal. Eileen Yin-Fei Lo, author of many Chinese cookbooks, including Mastering the Art of Chinese Cooking, points out that as little as three-quarter pounds of chicken cut into strips, stir-fried with a few cups of broccoli and served with steamed rice will serve four to six people. Try divvying up that same amount of grilled chicken breast Western style and chances are your guests will scoff, even if you’ve fixed up a couple of side dishes.

Chopsticks — which place far smaller bites in your mouth than a fork or spoon — may help keep portions down too. A 2008 Cornell University paper reported that healthy-weight guests at a Chinese buffet were three times likelier to eat with chopsticks than obese guests. Brian Wansink, the study’s lead author, has also observed that chopsticks users go back to the buffet table fewer times. “Chopsticks help people slow down,” he says. And when you slow down, your body’s satiety signals are given time to do their job.

Soup — a mainstay of any authentic Chinese family dinner — is also a satiety promoter. As Barbara Rolls, a Penn State psychologist and author, most recently of The Ultimate Volumetrics Diet, points out, eating a broth-based soup before a meal can reduce food intake by about 20%. Last fall, a European Journal of Clinical Nutrition paper suggested that this is because soups — particularly the smooth sort — take longer to leave the stomach than solids.

“But what about the white rice?” you might ask. True, the bowls are brimming. “But they’re also miniscule!” says Wansink, who, of course, is exaggerating, but only a little. The bowls I stole from my childhood home are utterly dwarfed by my Crate and Barrel purchases. No more than 100 or so calories of rice fit into them. And even if you go back for seconds, you probably won’t eat as much as if you started out with a larger bowl. “We tend to let exterior cues dictate how much we eat,” says Wansink, who later this year will be publishing Slim by Design, a follow-up to his successful first consumer book, Mindless Eating. (He also points out that plates in Chinese restaurants are about 9.5 in. to 10.25 in., as opposed to the standard 12-in. plate in most Western restaurants.)

If you can go with brown rice, more power to you. But it’s nice to know that with Chinese food, you’re eating loads of vegetables, ginger and possibly mushrooms with your carbs. More importantly, the meat will lower your glycemic load, and the fibers in your greens will keep your blood-sugar levels balanced. This means a more sustained feeling of fullness and energy, says Kantha Shelke, A food scientist at Corvus Blue, a nutritional-technology think tank in Chicago.

If you cook and eat Chinese food authentically, you will also see why past reports about the mind-blowing salt and calorie content of Chinese takeout dishes misunderstand the cuisine. Yes, orange crispy beef has 1,500 calories — but it’s an atypical dish. The vast majority are steamed or lightly stir-fried, points out Farina Kingsley, the half-Chinese author of several Asian-themed Williams-Sonoma cookbooks who recently developed a Chinese-cooking app. Chinese recipes rarely call for more than two tablespoons of oil and soy sauce, and the oil is usually heart-healthy peanut oil.

According to Shelke’s calculations, if you cooked chicken breast authentic-Chinese style five days a week instead of American style, that would reduce your dinner each night by about 125 calories just through portion control alone. That’s 32,500 calories in a year — or almost 10 lb. by the time the Lunar New Year festivities roll around again. Now that’s something worth dragon dancing about.

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The Art Of Food Presentation And Its Importance

When we see gorgeous photographs of delicious food, we want to eat it! Yet just how do the experts make it look so good, and what are the tricks and techniques? Heres' the lowdown of what actually is the Art of food Presentation and its Importance.
Food presentation is the art of modifying, processing, arranging, or decorating food to enhance its aesthetic appeal. The visual presentation of foods is often considered by chefs at many different stages of food preparation, from the manner of tying or sewing meats, to the type of cut used in chopping and slicing meats or vegetables, to the style of mold used in a poured dish. The food itself may be decorated as in elaborately iced cakes, topped with ornamental sometimes sculptural consumables, drizzled with sauces, sprinkled with seeds, powders, or other toppings, or it may be accompanied by edible or inedible garnishes.
The arrangement and overall styling of food upon bringing it to the plate is termed plating. Some common styles of plating include a 'classic' arrangement of the main item in the front of the plate with vegetables or starches in the back, a 'stacked' arrangement of the various items, or the main item leaning or 'shingled' upon a vegetable bed or side item.[3] Item location on the plate is often referenced as for the face of a clock, with six o'clock the position closest to the diner. A basic rule of thumb upon plating, and even in some cases prepping, is to make sure you have the 5 components to a dish; protein, traditionally at a 6 o'clock position, vegetable, at a 2 o'clock position, starch at an 11 o'clock position, sauce and garnish.

The keys of a great food presentation
Caterers, photographers and advertisers have understood this for a long time! Just look at a picture from a culinary magazine… There are techniques to embellish the dish, evoke emotion, stimulate appetite and encourage the purchase. Without studying the practices of marketers, I drew up some key points you can use to enhance your food presentations.
Here are the components of a great food presentation.
A. The support
B. The focal point
C. Colors
D. Flavors
E. Textures
F. Decoration
G. The garnish

Along with these components being there we can't deny the fact that eating with the eyes is a legitimate metaphorical notion. What a strange expression when we know that we obviously eat with our mouth!

Vision is the sense that makes us look insistently. This is the sense that reveals envy that's why presentation of the dish becomes a paramount importance.
That is why there are food stylists for cookbooks and magazines; who make those dishes look so appealing that you salivate at the very look of them and make you want to buy the book. There are books written expressly for food styling and presentation, one of which makes the claim: “Food that looks beautiful does taste better!” I’m not so sure about that but you may be more likely to try it if it looks beautiful but appearance is only one factor in your experience of the food.

Eating is a sensuous experience; to be a truly sensory delight it must fire on all cylinders, not just one. How it looks, smells, tastes, the atmosphere of where you are, who you’re with- all these things affect how you enjoy the food.

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