Top 10 tips for healthy Chinese cooking

29/06/2024

By Good Food team

From stir fries to noodles, dim sum to soups, find out how to cook nutritious Chinese food and how to make your own healthy and authentic Chinese dishes at home

Forget the calorific takeaways, Chinese cuisine can be healthy and nourishing when prepared at home. Enjoy flavoursome dishes, packed with veg and protein, using our healthy Chinese dishes and cooking suggestions.

Next, check out our tips for healthy Mexican and Italian cooking. Browse our healthy noodle recipes and healthy Chinese recipes for more ideas.

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Healthy Chinese cooking ideas

1. Make more stir-fries

This popular cooking technique retains the nutrients of the ingredients due to the quick cooking method. You only need a small amount of oil, lean meat or fish and lots of seasonal veggies for a delicious supper. By eating within the seasons we are eating what is optimally nutritious. Food that has travelled miles will not be as fresh and therefore, may have lost some of its nutrition. Like it hot? Throw in spices too. For inspiration, try our sweet & sour pork, stir-fried pork with greens, peppers with black beans or healthy chicken stir-fry.

2. Use plenty of garlic, ginger and chilli

There are massive health benefits to using this tasty trio - garlic is good for the heart, ginger aids digestion and chillies are full of vitamins. Stir-fry for a few seconds with your favourite ingredients and give your immune system a boost. Enjoy our stir-fried garlic green beans, sea bass with sizzled ginger, chilli & spring onions, or steamed bass with garlic & chilli.

3. Dive into dim sum

These bite-sized portions of deliciousness are not only simple to make using bought wonton skins or by making a simple dumpling dough, but they're healthy and look so elegant served in their bamboo baskets. Opt for the steamed variety.

4. Healthy soups

Healthy broth soups, such as our miso mushroom & tofu noodle soup, are easy to make and are delicious. All you'll need for a light but filling supper is boiling water, organic vegetable bouillon, dried Chinese mushrooms, spring onions, chicken thighs, and your favourite seasonal veg.

5. Make sauces from scratch

Learn how to make your own black bean sauce from fermented salted black beans, light soy and stock. It's healthier than shop bought and you can control the amount of sodium (salt) and sugar that you put into it.

6. Tasty tofu dishes

You don't have to be vegetarian to embrace tofu as an ingredient. Made from soya beans, it's not only high in protein and calcium, but it has an exceptional ability to absorb flavours through spices and marinades, making a truly tasty addition to a stir-fry. Try tofu in our sweet & sour tofu, sesame & spring onion stir-fried udon with crispy tofu or stir-fried noodles with tofu.

7. Stock up on dried ingredients

To deepen flavours and enrich stews and stocks, Chinese tradition champions dried ingredients, such as mushrooms, shrimps, clams, herbs and spices. These are great natural flavour enhancers, avoiding the need for MSG, which some Chinese foods have been known to contain.

8. Opt for natural foods

When you buy food, keep it natural. Food should never come out of a box - even your sauces. For example, black bean sauce is made from fermented black beans, soy sauce is made from fermented soybeans and salt, chilli bean paste is made from fermented chillies, soy or broad beans and salt. Knowing what is going into your food, and therefore your body, is very important.

9. Yin and yang

Be aware of what you're eating, and keep it balanced. Sugar, salt and fats are OK in small, balanced amounts - but don't overdo it. Get your sugar hit from fresh fruit, buy lean poultry and sustainable fish and shellfish. Watch the amount of red meat you consume and always buy organic meats if possible. These options are good for you, and will make your meals taste great too.

10. Pick healthy noodles and rice

Choose rice noodles or mung bean noodles if you want to watch the amount of carbohydrates you consume and opt for fibre-rich brown rice over white refined rice. Get inspired with the following dishes: easy Singapore noodles (chow mein), curried satay noodles, Thai prawn & ginger noodles, prawn fried rice, easy egg-fried rice, chicken & ginger fried rice, or one-pot five-spice rice.

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This page was last reviewed on 18th June 2024

All health content on goodfood.com is provided for general information only, and should not be treated as a substitute for the medical advice of your own doctor or any other healthcare professional. If you have any concerns about your general health, you should contact your local healthcare provider. See our website terms and conditions for more information.

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