Want some Sodium with your MSG?
In terms of gastronomy, Americans can learn a lot from the Chinese. The traditional Chinese diet consists mainly of unprocessed foods, with an emphasis on the veggies. Meat is used sparingly, and they consume very little dairy. Unfortunately, what we call “Chinese” food—overflowing with MSG, sodium, and oil—hardly resembles true Chinese fare. The entire time I lived in China, I saw not one mention of general tso’s chicken, orange sesame beef, or deep-fried crab rangoon.
Yesterday, I was hit with a Chinese-food craving. But rather than run to my nearest Wok-n-Roll (where everything is deep-fried and nothing is vegan), I decided to make my own. Later, I made my own dessert as well. It wasn’t Chinese in the slightest:
Gingerbread Cookie Dough Balls
Then again, fortune cookies aren’t really Chinese, either. In actuality, these cookies hail from San Francisco! And my lunch, a few hours earlier? It hailed from Texas:
CCK Ginger Stir Fry
(I didn’t measure anything, so I’ll just give you the gist)
- Broccoli
- Red Peppers
- Zucchini
- Onion
- Pineapple
- Water Chestnuts
- Tamari, Garlic, and Fresh Ginger (or dry)
- You can also add cashews!
Steam broccoli in a covered wok (with a little water), until it turns bright green. Add other ingredients (except pineapple) and stir-fry. (You could also add a little sweetener if desired, and if you want a thicker “sauce” heat the soy sauce in a little dish, then mix with cornstarch.) At the very end, add the pineapple. As seems to be the case with most ethnic foods, this tastes better the day after it’s cooked.
Can’t have a Chinese meal without rice, right?
I took the lazy route and pulled this box from my freezer, where it’d been forgotten for months. Usually, I’m not a rice girl. But every now and then, my cravings surprise me. Today, they said, “Eat rice!” So I did.
I ate my pseudo-Chinese with chopsticks.
Grandma and Grandpa (or, rather, Obaasan and Ojiisan) joined the luncheon. Continuing with the theme of the post, they’re not Chinese either; we bought them in Japan!
What are your favorite Chinese Foods?
And do you ever make your own stir fries, fried rice, or other Chinese fare?
Writing this post reminded me about my Healthier Lo Mein. I haven’t made it in ages! Other American-Chinese dishes I like to make include fried rice (or bulgur) and the ubiquitous stir fry. Also, does anyone else love water chestnuts? I do, but I always forget to cook with them!
Katie –
I’m so glad you posted this. I lived with a few friends in china for a year, and we were all so shocked(at the time) that our skin got so much clearer and our eyes got brighter even though we were eating at noodle houses and off street carts nearly the whole time. What I remember the most is that endless tea was served with every meal (you got one of any other beverage with no refills, lol), and meat was a SIDE dish! When I mention that to people here they look at me like I’m nuts! Also…fruit for dessert! How fantastic 🙂
The ‘Chinese Food’ here is like an entire different genre of food. It’s sad!
Mmmm agreed! They always had this cantaloupe-like dessert. It was so sweet. I wish we could get that over here!
I love making Tofu Stir Fry and LOVE Bragg’s Liquid Aminos (healthy soy sauce alternative) I am sure you have heard of it?
I read in VegNews that EVERY vegan kitchen must have Braggs. At the time, I didn’t! I felt like such a bad vegan lol!
I abhor Americanized Chinese food! I try to make my own, more authentic stir fries and things for my family, but they hate them because they’re not deep fried -___-
I have actually never been a fan of Chinese food. Ever. But then again, I’ve never really had REAL Chinese either, just some crap Americanized ‘fast food’ Chinese food. BUT… I LOVE LOVE LOVE Japanese food… Hm… We had a lot of exchange students when I was growing up – all Japanese – and I loved them cooking for us! It’s where I got my LOVE of all things curry actually!
I don’t generally think of stir-fry as Chinese though. Is it? Hm. Speaking of all this makes me was Japanese food. :oD
And Yep, love water chestnuts! Hated them when I was a kid – hated anything crunchy in my food! But as I’ve gotten older… I love the sharp snap crunch you get from it – It makes food fun!! So yep, the WC go in to the food nowadays 🙂
Great post today Katie!!
Yum, Japanese! Now I’m craving miso soup!
Mmmmm, Yeah! I had miso soup for dinner Monday!! 🙂
I often make my own stir fries. I love one pot dinners! Pineapple is my favorite addition….so good. 🙂
My favorite chinese food to make is cold sesame noodles, and I use kelp noodles to make it a little healthier.
I LOVE sesame noodles, too 🙂
Brrr,,, pineapple! sorry, not for me ;).. but you’re spot on about chinese dietary patterns though!
Ohmygosh, those little people are so cute 😀
I love your chinese! I like making my own, too. I especially like adding some chopped peanuts-makes everything better!
I’m not a big chinese fast food fan, but I really like the soups. Any kind, really.
Next time you find yourself in San Francisco, you should go to the fortune cookie factory! It is a tiny little store tucked away in a back alley of Chinatown, but it is soooo cool!
Sheesh, San Fran just has the coolest factories/museums/etc. No fair to the rest of the world! When we last visited, my favorite was the Barbie Museum. In my defense, though, I was ten. 🙂
Yum! I forget how good stir fries are. Do you have any tips for making sure that the broc stays edible, though? It always goes soggy and gross when I cook it. I don’t use a wok – could that be it!?
Hmmm… soggy? Like overcooked? I like it soft, but not overcooked/brown. More like, falling-apart-soft-and-buttery, if that makes sense. So usually I steam it first, like I wrote in my directions in this post. Make sure to cover the lid, though, or it’ll get tough and gross!
oh ok thanks! i missed that bit *sheepish face*! i like my broc like they do it in thai restaurants – i’ll keep experimenting! thanks 🙂
I start with the veg that needs to cook the longest (or can cook the longest) first. Your bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, carrots, edamame, mushrooms, etc. and then add the more delicate stuff later. I do broccoli towards the middle since it’s pretty tough but easy enough to overcook. Bok choy white bits go in near the end as do red peppers, bok choy leafy bits dead last.
I still overcook stuff sometimes, especially if I’m lazy and using bagged frozen stir fry blends. And I HATE that. I like my veggies to have some crisp bite still. It’s all timing. Sometimes you get it, sometimes it’s total fail. 😉
thanks Melissa! I am putting this into practice as we speak 🙂
What? You mean you don’t read every single word of every single blog every single day? Shame on you ;). I’m with you; there’s nothing worse than overcooked broccoli!
haha well i know it must be annoying when people ask questions that are answered in the text! i don’t want to incur your wrath and then be bereft of chocolate recipes forever or something horrific like that. lol 🙂