Linggo, Oktubre 30, 2011

Asian Food Myths



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 These are some myths for Asian foods and Asian party finger foods

Never Mix Hot And Cold

Not too long ago, I met a researcher from the neighboring pharmaceutical company at my office in an encountered that inspired the rest of this post. The man was horrified to see me concoct a mixture of tap water with that from the boiler. He even felt the need to instruct me on the health dangers of mixing hot and cold water together. So much for 4 years of med school. But when asking around my colleagues, I found out that they too had been taught this wisdom by their parents.

The belief stems from the basic Taoist philosophy of Yin and Yang, the backbone of Chinese medical science. Yet there is nothing in Chinese teachings that would suggest that mixing hot and cold together would give you anything more sinister than warm water (liquid water falls under the category of Yin, regardless of temperature). Quite the opposite in fact, as most practicing sensei would recommend the consumption of warm water. The confusion comes about when normal family members start likening themselves experts in traditional Chinese medicine.

Cold Water During Meals Causes Cancer

Another myth suggests that drinking cold water after a meal would actually solidify the oils and clog your arteries, which might inhibit blood flow or in some cases dry up to become cancer. It was derived from 19th century Westerners observing that the Chinese and Japanese, who drank warm tea with their meals, experienced less accounts of heart disease.

There is of course, no basis for the belief and it should be common sense considering that food goes to your stomach first and not directly into your blood stream. Modern re-emergence of the lie can be attributed to marketers of herbal tea products. Shamefully, I was one of them.

Statistically, the Chinese suffer from as much cancer and heart attacks as anyone else (if not more) and we known now that the improved health of the Japanese was due to the Omega 3 acids from their diet of fish. Our Asian ancestors still had good reason as to why they drank tea with meals though, it's a comforting low calorie beverage doesn't interfere with the taste of the meal.

Avoid Soy Sauce During Chicken pox

It's a prevalent belief, that consuming dark soy sauce while suffering from chicken pox will result in dark spots or scars. Many even extend this to belief to recovery after cosmetic surgery (or in some cases, any surgery) and incorporate more forbidden food in the list like light soy sauce, seafood or even chicken. Suspiciously the foods on the list are some of the most common foods in any Chinese diet.

The idea is that the dark pigmentation will somehow seep into one's skin while healing, or in the case of seafood and chicken, toxins in the food will deter healing and cause scarring.
What most fail to realize, is that scars are an unavoidable part of the healing process, regardless of what you do (or do not) eat. Most would rather blame food they've eaten, rather than accept their evolutionary limitations.

If you happen to be Chinese, count yourself fortunate as you are one of the few races eligible to have scars removed completely by new treatments.

The truth, is that eating soy sauce, seafood or chicken will cause complications only if you have some sort of allergy toward any of the mentioned items to begin with. Sadly, medical practices like the Changi General Hospital have to go so far as to put up notices telling people not to avoid particular foods, as doing so might reduce important protein in your diet, truly hindering recovery.

Too Much Sugar Causes Diabetes

This one's not just a local thing, it is mistaken everywhere. However, diabetes is a particularly serious problem in Singapore where 10% of the population are diabetics (Singaporeans love being first at stuff).
Most people know that diabetes has something to do with sugar, insulin or something. And since food products advertise stuff like "low sugar" and "no sugar", everybody seems to agree that it is a bad thing. Sugar doesn't cause diabetes though, ignorance does.

The disease is really caused by having a lousy diet. Local hawker food, with its high sodium content and lack of fiber, ensures that Singaporeans get their daily diabetes cocktail. The obese and those with a family history of the disease are particularly at risk.

Also, all those sugar free foods are actually contributing to the problem, as artificial sweeteners have been proven to cause both weight gain and cancer. They were really meant more for people already with diabetes to control their glucose levels.

Microwaving Food Is Unhealthy

Again, many of these myths extend far beyond Asia, but Singaporeans are particularly susceptible, especially considering that almost half of the population never completed high-school.

When mentioning microwave ovens, "radiation" comes to mind. I personally know families that refuse to own a microwave out of this fear, though these people are guilty of most of the stupidity on this list.
Obviously, microwaves have nothing to do with the radiation that we fear. And food cooked in a microwave oven is completely safe for consumption. Technically, cooking with a microwave isn't very much different from cooking by any other method, except that it is more energy efficient.

In fact, microwaving certain foods can be even better than cooking by primitive methods. Since microwaves don't break down nutrients as much as cooking on a stove does, microwaved food are often more nutritious. Just not as tasty.

Canned Food Is Less Nutritious

You can't blame anyone for thinking that any food left on the shelf for months is at least less nutritious, if not outright harmful to consume. But canned food really isn't as bad as some seem to belief. Some are even fresher than the "fresh" counterparts found in local supermarkets (if they haven't been hanging around for too long that is).

Produce that find its way into canned food make their way into the cans soon after ripening. Some of the flavor would be lost in the canning process, but most of the nutrients at time of harvest would be preserved.
On the other hand, "fresh" fruits and vegetables are pluck before they are ripe and made to endure the long journey overseas. The additional time spent at supermarkets and in your fridge, means even more nutrients are going to be lost.

This doesn't mean that canned food is necessarily better. Fruits and vegetables are mostly fine, but preserved meats often have an extraordinary amount of salt or worse MSG!

MSG Is Bad For You
With "No MSG" plastered across the food items in the supermarket these days Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) must be some sort of global threat.

Locally, MSG better known simply as Ajinomoto, the name of the company that makes it (because anything that sounds Japanese is more likely to kill you). While Japan was responsible for marketing it, most seem to forget that it was the Chinese who first discovered glutamates some 2,500 years ago.

Glutamates are a natural occurring salt, found in almost all protein rich food such as meat, wheat and the most classical source, soybeans. MSG probably wouldn't be as feared a thing if it was just called soy salt instead.

Over the years, the United States government has pumped funds into MSG research, citing claims of people suffering from strange symptoms after eating Chinese food. Yet each test only served to prove that monosodium glutamate is completely safe. In fact, the only time people suffered from any ill effects was when the MSG was replaced with a placebo.

Cup Noodles Contain Wax
Another staple Japanese food item out to poison its people? It might come as a surprise to most that just like conventional noodles, instant noodles were actually a Chinese invention.

Thanks to a fake internet chain letter, many people think that the Styrofoam cups used to contain cup noodles contains a layer of wax to protect the foam. It's not just limited to the uneducated people too, as I know of a few friends who believe this to be true.

Obviously, it makes no sense for noodle companies to coat Styrofoam with wax. Styrofoam melts at beyond boiling point, while wax has an extremely low melting point for a solid, a property which gives it its use in making candles. But how do you explain the shiny surface of the cups then?

Well, it actually takes more effort for Styrofoam to be not shiny, considering that it is a plastic and all.
Another prevalent belief is that all instant noodles of both the cup and packet variety, are coated with wax to preserve the noodle or prevent sticking. How else do you explain the starchy residue when boiling noodles?

Well the Chinese really do wax some food to preserve them but noodles is not one of them. Instant noodles actually work in an identical way to the traditional longevity noodles. The noodles are deep fried in oil and dried to become their packaged form. The so called "wax" residue is nothing but the oil used to fry the noodles.

Martes, Oktubre 25, 2011

Party Food Cooking

Cooking is part of the fun when you are planning a party but some people get into a panic, worrying that they have under- or overestimated the amount of food required, whether the food they are making will be enjoyed by everyone or whether their party food recipes will turn out right.

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Guessing How Much Food for a Party

Unfortunately, there is no scientific formula for working out how much party finger foods. It is more of an art and the more parties you cater for, the more you will be able to estimate the right food amounts. Here are a few tips that will allow you to estimate how much food for a party and will help you to relax rather than panic!

Have you only invited adults to the party or is there a need for some child-friendly recipes as well? How long will your party last for and at what time of day is it going to be? You would need a lot more food for an afternoon barbecue than for an after dinner cocktail party, for example.
Make more of the potentially popular dishes. Almost everyone loves boneless chicken recipes, so make a lot of those because there will be other dishes, such as international recipes or seafood recipes, which will not appeal to everyone.
If you offer a lot of different dishes, each guest will have less of each one. If you have twenty dishes, your guests will probably take a spoonful of each one they like the look of. If you only have five dishes, they will eat a lot more of each.

You can estimate the amount of food required by working out how many guests you have and how much of each food they will eat. Remember to round your estimations up, not down. It is infinitely better to have some food left over than run out of things to eat halfway through the celebrations!

Have some bulk food items on hand, like bread for a sit-down meal or nuts and olives for a buffet. These are filling foods, which people can eat if they are still hungry afterwards.

The Right Portion Sizes
With appetizers, you should allow six bites per person. With the main meal, you should allow about six to eight ounces of meat or fish, an ounce and a half of grains, five ounces of potatoes, four ounces of vegetables and an ounce of undressed salad per person. For dessert, you should allow one slice of cake, four ounces of creamy dessert or five ounces of ice cream per guest. These measures are approximate because different people have different appetites of course.

Other Party Food Cooking Tips
  • Avoid repeating the main ingredient if you are having a dinner party. Do not serve a boneless chicken appetizer followed by a boneless chicken main course, for example.
  • Have both warm and cold foods on offer if you are serving a buffet meal.
  • Offer different food textures with the buffet or meal, so you have a range of soft, hard, crispy, and crunchy food items.
  • Using different colored foods is a great way to make your dinner table or buffet table look exciting.

Linggo, Oktubre 9, 2011

Taco Bar on Kids Party

Know a kid who doesn't love tacos? Probably not. There aren't many kids who don't like tacos. If you are looking for a great way to 'spice up' a kid's party, consider setting up a taco bar. You can even go a step further and purchase a piñata, for the event. Stuff the piñata with individually wrapped candies, small toys from the dollar store, and coins. These is a great idea on party finger foods.

Because most children don't like, or simply can't tolerate, extremely spicy hot foods, you'll want to keep the spices at a minimum. But by no means will this lessen the fun. Keep a bottle of hot sauce, spicy salsa, and chopped jalapeño peppers on the side for adults. Make sure they're out of reach of little fingers who don't know what they might be getting into.

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This idea will probably work better for kids who are able to assemble their own tacos. They will love the creative outlet! Younger guests will, or course, need a bit of help filling their shells. Children's eyes are bigger than their tummies so most kids will overfill their plates, but that's okay. The ingredients are inexpensive. A taco bar is twice the fun because it's food and fun. A way to entertain the kids at the party as well as feed them.

If you have ever visited a taco bar, in a Mexican restaurant, you have probably noticed that it features other dishes in addition to tacos. Although this is perfectly acceptable, for a kid's party, you'll probably want to keep things simple and stick with the basics.

The great thing about a taco bar is the fact that much of the prep work can be done before the day of the party. Hamburger can be cooked and seasoned the day before. Refrigerate it and then warm and use straight from your crock pot.

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You can also dice everything beforehand and store in separate containers, in the refrigerator. Lettuce, tomatoes and cheese can easily be prepared ahead. Also include chopped cucumbers, green peppers, red peppers (not spicy) cooked corn, jicama, black beans, refried beans, and lemon and lime slices. Shredded chicken and broken up fish sticks work well as taco fillings too.

On the day of the party, transfer desired sauces and condiments into colorful bowls. Include things like guacamole, sour cream, shredded mild cheeses, shredded sharp cheeses, mild salsa, green and black olives.
Arrange everything on a buffet table. Provide a variety of shells, several different beverage options, plenty of napkins and... let the fiesta begin!

For dessert keep the theme going with a tostada dessert bar. Tostada are flat crispy corn tortillas that have been baked or fried. Usually they're not salty so they make a good carrier for the dessert items. Have chocolate and vanilla puddings, sliced fresh fruit, small candies like M&Ms, butterscotch pieces, miniature marshmallows, gummy bears, and of course whipped cream. Children spread the tostada with the pudding of their choice and then garnish with the candies and fruit and top with whipped cream.