Essential Healthy Chinese Home Cooking Tips

There are few people who have experienced Chinese cuisine and not enjoyed every minute. However, it goes without saying that the orders from the local Chinese takeaway are generally not that healthy if ordered frequently. That’s not to say that you can’t or shouldn’t enjoy this style of food.

Below you can indulge in some essential tips that allow you to make your own nutritious Chinese cuisine that is healthy too! So, if you are on a health kick this New Year, our guide to making authentic dishes at home will surely be just the thing!

Choose noodles and rice

You should opt for rice noodles or mung bean noodles if you are aiming to reduce your carbohydrate intake. You should also aim to cook with the fibre-rich brown rice over white refined rice if you want to choose rice over a noodle.

Sample stir-frying

A simple, quick and fun way to cook for people of all abilities is stir-frying. When you stir-fry your food, you are retaining the ingredients’ nutrients thanks to the swiftness of the cooking method. Furthermore, you don’t need to use a huge amount of cooking oil when you stir-fry ingredients such as fish, lean meat or vegetables.

Seasonal produce

Make sure you try adding seasonal ingredients to your dishes. This is because they offer the most nutritious options. Think about it; ingredients that have been travelling many miles and spent significant time in transport are never going to compare with the freshness that seasonal produce, sourced closer to home can. Add this with essential seasoning, and you’re sure to be cooking up a taste sensation!

Sip on some nourishing soups

Fix yourself up with some healthy broth soups, why don't you? They are a simple dish to put together and are always sure to set your taste buds into sensation! The basic ingredients required make this option even more appealing; boiling water, chicken thighs, organic vegetable bouillon, spring onions, dried Chinese mushrooms, teamed with your favourite seasonal veg, and you have everything needed to make the ideal healthy soup.

Chilli, garlic and ginger galore!

If you didn’t already know, the three ingredients we’ve highlighted for this tip all carry significant health benefits.

They are as follows:

· Chillies are packed with vitamins

· Garlic is your heart’s friend, helping to keep it healthy and in good working order

· Ginger is a great option to keep your digestion at an optimum level.

Try tofu

It’s ever-growing popularity among not only vegetarians who are looking for a meat substitute, but for those seeking to try new, health-conscious options to cook with, means we couldn’t leave tofu out of this guide. Made from soya beans, tofu offers not only a protein-rich and high-calcium ingredient, but it also possesses an unrivalled ability to absorb flavours when used in conjunction with spices and marinades. A wonderfully versatile addition to a stir-fry!

Make the food sources natural ones

When it comes to buying your ingredients, wherever possible, it should be natural. Here at Oriental Mart, you can access all the ingredients required to make your own dishes, sauces and more. It’s always far more rewarding to know that you made everything from scratch, and as we’ve already shown, it doesn’t have to be complicated! By doing it this way, you know what you are eating, and that is essential.

Balanced bodies

Be conscious of what you consume, and make a point of keeping it balanced. It’s ok to indulge every now and again, but, just like going cold turkey isn’t an effective way to maintain a healthy lifestyle, eating foods that are high in sugar, salt and fats too often is not the okay either. Look to eat sustainable fish (try our fishballs) and lean poultry, and consume red meat occasionally. You can find your sugar intake from natural sources, such as fruit.

Intensify your flavours

To further enhance the flavours in Chinese cuisine, tradition in Chinese cooking advocates dried ingredients, with clams, mushrooms, Chinese herbs & spices, or shrimps, all great options to achieve this. What’s good about ingredients like those we’ve mentioned is that they are brimming with tasty natural flavour enhancers, which allows you to skip the need for MSG, which some Chinese foods are known to contain.