Friday, April 30, 2010

Chinese Recipe For Sesame Chicken Dish

There's something about Chinese food that just attracts people like magnets. Chinese cooking works like magic to turn a normally bland vegetable or meat into a colourful, flavoursome dish. The sesame chicken is a Chinese dish that's popular throughout the world. It's one of the most sought after dishes from Chinese restaurant menus. Not only is sesame chicken tasty to eat; it's also easy to prepare at home. When you're planning a party or family celebration at home, you could prepare this dish as main course. It doesn't take much time to cook and will definitely find a lot of takers.

The sesame chicken is said to have originated from the Hunan region of southern China. Sesame seeds have been a staple in Chinese food since time immemorial. The Chinese have a strong belief in the nutritional value of these seeds; they are said to be a great source of calcium, proteins and essential minerals. Of course, there's also the taste! Sesame seeds enhance the flavour of any dish.

This may not be the perfect dish for weight watchers because it involves deep drying the chicken; but it sure is a wonderful fare to have when you feel like indulging. The combination of crispy fried chicken with tangy sweet sauce and toasted sesame seeds is a treat to the taste buds. So whenever you feel like giving yourself a treat, just try out this simple recipe with ingredients you'll normally have at home. Finish off the cooking part in less than 30 minutes and relish the taste of restaurant-like fare at home.

You'll need -

* Chicken breasts (whole, deboned) - 3
* Sesame seeds - 2 tbsp
* Enough peanut oil for deep frying

Dice the chicken to make 1 inch pieces. Toast the sesame seeds and keep aside.

To make the marinade -

* Soy sauce - 2 tbsp
* Cooking wine - 1 tbsp
* Sesame oil
* Flour - 2 tbsp
* Corn flour - 2 tbsp
* Water - 2 tbsp
* Baking powder - ¼ tsp
* Baking soda - ¼ tsp
* Cooking oil - 1 tsp

Mix all these ingredients and soak the chicken pieces in this marinade for about 20 minutes. While this is marinating, you can prepare the sauce.

You'll need -

* Chicken broth - 1 cup
* Water - ½ cup
* Vinegar - 1/8 cup
* Cornflour - ¼ cup
* Sugar - 1 cup
* Soy sauce (dark) - 2 tablespoons
* Sesame oil - 2 tablespoons
* Chili paste - 1 teaspoon
* Crushed garlic - 1 clove

Combine all these in a pot and keep stirring till the mixture start boiling. Close and simmer to use after you finish deep frying the chicken.

Heat the peanut oil and deep fry chicken pieces, one batch at a time. Drain with paper tissues. When this is done, heat the sauce again till it starts boiling.

Take a serving bowl and place the fried chicken. Cover with hot sauce and garnish with toasted sesame seeds. Traditionally, sesame chicken is served along with boiled jasmine rice and steamed broccoli.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Chinese New Year Menu Ideas for a delicious celebration of Chinese New Year


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Tradition is how we have gotten many of our menu items for holidays. Chinese New Year is no different. Delicious Asian delicacies form a big part of Chinese New Year, and here are just a few ideas:

Some items you may find during Chinese New Year are a vegetarian dish called jai, whole fish, chicken, nian gao, rice pudding, and man tou. The menu items have more meaning than most foods available at a traditional New Year in the United States. The Chinese believe their food symbolizes many things. Between the symbolism of food is the attitude that the amount of food prepared shows wealth and prosperity for the family.

spring rolls are more traditional and symbolic foods that can be found in the menu for the Chinese New Year. For spring rolls you need 1 cup of chopped cabbage, ¼ cup of grated carrot, 2 tablespoons oyster sauce four Chinese garlic chives, 1 cup bean sprouts, pepper, ½, ¼ pound of pork, 1 teaspoon ginger 1 teaspoon choppedchopped garlic, and a pinch cornstarch to create 24 spring rolls. You will also need 24 wrappers.

Other menu items you may find at a traditional Chinese New Year celebration include lettuce wraps, Lion's Head Meatballs, Pecking Duck, Sweet & Sour Pork, and Tea Eggs. It is important to note that most of the menu items will have some significance to their culture and that is why it is made on the Chinese New Year. Rice pudding is considered a dessert among the Chinese and will complete the meal for you and your friends.

Whether you use these ideas or throw in some of your own, with a bit of preparation and creativity you can serve up a Chinese New Year feast that will have your guests coming back for more.

Monday, April 26, 2010

Parents - Are your kids eating too much salt?


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High blood pressure in children is not as rare as you might think. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has found that about 5% of children have blood pressure that's higher than normal. Less than 1% of children have blood pressure that's high enough to be classified as medically significant, but whenever a child's blood pressure is higher than normal, it's cause for concern. Those children face a much higher risk of developing dangerously high blood pressure as they Age.

One of the most important factors for high blood pressure for people of any age is too much salt. The salt should be used very sparingly and in many cases not at all.

What can parents do?

The fastest and most effective change you can do is stop your son serve food. Most of the sodium in our diet comes from processed foods. For example, if you a box of macaroni cheese and strength, 580 milligrams of sodium you served.Weigh that against the recommended daily allowance of sodium for adults, 1500-2400 mg of adaptation, then your child's age and size. On the other hand, the use of a bag of pre-shredded cheddar cheese, macaroni and cheese base to jump - the salt was not necessary - it's time to take, if the same amount of luck, but the% of sodium reduction of 25! Even better, with low milk cheese and healthy alternative to butter and served with salad with a little helpFill the stomach of the child.

Macaroni and cheese is not the only meal that comes from a box. If you have tried to be a sort of packaged meals, at least take a moment to check the nutritional information provided. to my work, do it before deciding if you really want to bring this food to your home. Once at home, do it, and your child eat it. But if the nutrition information in the store and read you will see that some moreSodium that your child should eat in a day, most likely window shelf and look back to healthy alternatives. Soon you can skip all packaged food aisle.

To be honest, healthy cooking does not require more than the compilation of pre-packaged food. A kitchen tool that I recommend is a steamer. You can use a few frozen chicken breasts in the steamer basket with the vegetables, turn the ship, shooting, and then walk. IndicateChildren swim and when you're done, cooked dinner. Sprinkle on some salt-free seasonings, if the meal is ready. Nothing easier than that.

fast-food restaurants are known for the use of packaged foods, and as with all foods, they are heavily laden with salt. Limit your trips to a fast food restaurant more than once a month. If you need to eat more often than this, choose a local restaurant where the food is freshly prepared.

Want to learn moreon healthy eating for children?

A good start is HealthyChildren.org, has developed a Web site of AAP, to inform parents about any health problems that teach your children. And 'your responsibility to educate your children, and the first step is to educate yourself.