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!
I always make my own Chinese food! I always hated restaurant-style Chinese food (mostly because the restaurants around here are a little sketchy…) so I avoided it, even when I wasn’t veg.
I make a lot of stir-fries and rice noodle dishes because they’re quick and easy. I also make vegetable fried rice, though I tend to use a lot of leftover quinoa as well. I LOVE tossing pineapple in my stir-fries as well as leafy greens like bok choy or spinach. I can’t stand water chestnuts, though. Eww. No thanks. I add bean sprouts or walnuts instead to get that nice crunch. I also hate baby corns. Lol.
I agree. I always hear horror stories about the kitchens and failing sanitation inspections. Not that it’s just Chinese restaurants that fail those, but they’re the main ones around where I live. Homemade is just better!
Yum!! Chinese food is my favorite “healthy unhealthy food” because if you stay away from the fried stuff and heavy sauces, there are actually a ton of healthy choices! Of course, I like the Chinese buffets with Chinese food, sushi, and fortune cookies. That way there’s China, Japan, and San Fran all in one mix! 😉 haha
I love the fortune cookies too. Don’t actually like the taste, but I love those stupid fortunes that aren’t really fortunes at all. 🙂
Chinese and japanese food is a regular affair in my house, home made of course 🙂 usually rice or noodles with things like chicken, sprouts, lots of veg, pal choi, tamari, soy sauce, Ginger and garlic . Xxx
Bean sprouts! Yay! I was wondering if anyone else loved those :).
I make my own healthier fare of all types of ethnic food whether it be italian, japanese, thai, mexican, and even classic american. All the crap that’s out there is wrecked by those who process and demolish the true being of food in it’s natural state. Sad what society does to food these days….
That looks so delicious and simple! Now I have a craving for Chinese food too…might make a stir fry tonight 🙂
I think it is actually quite laughable how “Americanized” we make other countries’ foods! 🙂 I love stirfries and I actually haven’t had one in a while. Next week it is! 😉
I LOVE szechwan noodles! 🙂
I have never thought to add pineapple to a stir-fry! I can only imagine how much flavor it adds! I love making stir-fries! It’s my favorite way to load up on veggies when I don’t want to eat a cold salad. My best stir-fry was a broccoli and onion with tempeh and I served it over spaghetti squash. Twas delightful!
I love water chestnuts. You just reminded me that I have a can in the pantry…hmm, I do believe I know what I’m having for dinner now!
Any pointers on eating with chopsticks? I have watched a TON of youtube videos, but I just can’t seem to get the hang out of it. At best, I get the food to my mouth and have to race to catch it before it falls on the plate!
YUM tempeh! Love the stuff… stir-fried with coconut oil makes for the BEST tempeh! 😉
AQs for chopsticks – my two cents would be definitely start out with some roughly textured kind!!! Honestly, the cheap asian restaurant wooden ones rock for learning, cause they’re not sanded terribly smooth lol. Helps you get a grip on things 🙂 I’ve been using chopsticks for over 20 years and still drop the food with the ‘fancy’ smooth slippery ones haahahaha!
Me too! Good tip, Brandie! The plastic ones are no fun. My favorites are re-usable wooden ones you can find at an Asian grocery store (or World Market).
LOL people tell me I’m not a very good chopstick teacher… I guess it’s similar to how sometimes engineers or native Spanish speakers don’t always make the best teachers. They naturally know how to do their skill, so they don’t know how to explain it to others. I found a good article, but I know you said u-tube videos are confusing (that’s how I feel about those videos when I try a new skill, too!). Just in case, though, here’s the article: http://www.ehow.com/how_3261_chopsticks.html
I love making soba noodles! I guess they’re technically Japanese, but Japanese is pretty close to Chinese, right? 😉
Haha yeah. Loooove soba!
I got distracted by your gingerbread balls.
I’m working on a healthy sweet and sour recipe as I write this!