Read Online Why the Chinese Don't Count Calories by Lorraine Clissold - Free Book Online
Authors: Lorraine Clissold
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could be much of a scene of unity and togetherness.
Along with some wonderful and interesting women, practically every type of food fanatic passed through the door of my cooking school. Each seemed to take ownership of his or her favourite diet plan and seemed completely confident that, based on the latest research, it was the only way to keep off the pounds. Sometimes they sounded so convincing that I wondered if perhaps I was wrong; but then I remembered that my argument, which is not a diet plan but a style of eating that is a way of life, has more than 3,000 years of Chinese history behind it and more than a billion slim people on its side.
At the end of each cooking class my helpers and I would lay the table with a colourful array of food which seldom failed to raise cries of admiration, along with the usual comments, ‘We’ll never get through all this,’ and ‘I won’t need to eat to night. ’ I always hoped there might be leftovers and then I wouldn’t have to cook myself. Generally, though, all the dishes were finished, with the rich, spicy, deep-fried ones going first – only the rice would be left untouched. While my clients expounded their views on diet and weight loss I would often slip to the kitchen for an extra helping of rice and find Xiao Ding and her assistant, Xiao Niu, happily eating their staple from large rice bowls, twice the size of the decorative ones we used in the school.
Rice
If we are to embrace rice in our Western kitchens we have to become familiar with its different varieties and learn how to cook it. In recent years not only health food shops, but supermarkets, too, have begun to stock an impressive range of rice varieties. The most common types are indica (long grain) and japonica (short grain). In China polished white rice has been favoured over brown out of necessity: whole grains are difficult to transport and store because vermin know a good thing when they find it. I learned to love the Beijing short grain rice, but have been thrilled to see how in the health conscious West of the new millennium we at last have access to the true building blocks of a healthy diet. My new favourite is the short wholegrain rice that has all the stickiness of the rice I enjoyed in Beijing but with extra nuttiness and nutrition too. Red rice from the Camargue makes an interesting change and can be mixed with other long grain or Basmati varieties. Experiment and find whichever type of rice you and your family enjoy, but try to avoid the over-processed ‘easy cook’ varieties. Wild rice (which isn’t actually rice at all) adds flavour and texture when mixed with plain white or brown wholegrain rice. Then there is the black rice from southern China which leaches colour so is best served on its own (the Chinese usually use it only for porridge) when you want a colour contrast in your meal.
Most grains come complete with cooking instructions, but if you learn to work without needing to consult them, meal preparation will be less stressful. Rice is not difficult to cook in a saucepan by the ‘thumbnail’ method. Put in the rice and add water until it reaches the height of the joint on your thumb when the end of the nail (clipped short of course) is touching the rice. Cover and bring to the boil, then simmer until all the water is absorbed. Or, even better, buy a rice cooker, then you can always have cooked rice on hand and freeze the leftovers. Thawed rice is fantastic for frying and fried rice is one of the quickest and easiest meals to prepare.
When Xiao Ding visited the UK ten years ago the choice of grains on the market was much more limited than it is today – and in any case, she missed her particular variety of China’s favourite staple. The Beijing rice is short grain, slightly sticky and tremendously satisfying. She thought our easy-cook varieties were tasteless by comparison, and Basmati was too fragrant for her liking. I sympathized and spent a fortune buying the short grain
Along with some wonderful and interesting women, practically every type of food fanatic passed through the door of my cooking school. Each seemed to take ownership of his or her favourite diet plan and seemed completely confident that, based on the latest research, it was the only way to keep off the pounds. Sometimes they sounded so convincing that I wondered if perhaps I was wrong; but then I remembered that my argument, which is not a diet plan but a style of eating that is a way of life, has more than 3,000 years of Chinese history behind it and more than a billion slim people on its side.
At the end of each cooking class my helpers and I would lay the table with a colourful array of food which seldom failed to raise cries of admiration, along with the usual comments, ‘We’ll never get through all this,’ and ‘I won’t need to eat to night. ’ I always hoped there might be leftovers and then I wouldn’t have to cook myself. Generally, though, all the dishes were finished, with the rich, spicy, deep-fried ones going first – only the rice would be left untouched. While my clients expounded their views on diet and weight loss I would often slip to the kitchen for an extra helping of rice and find Xiao Ding and her assistant, Xiao Niu, happily eating their staple from large rice bowls, twice the size of the decorative ones we used in the school.
Rice
If we are to embrace rice in our Western kitchens we have to become familiar with its different varieties and learn how to cook it. In recent years not only health food shops, but supermarkets, too, have begun to stock an impressive range of rice varieties. The most common types are indica (long grain) and japonica (short grain). In China polished white rice has been favoured over brown out of necessity: whole grains are difficult to transport and store because vermin know a good thing when they find it. I learned to love the Beijing short grain rice, but have been thrilled to see how in the health conscious West of the new millennium we at last have access to the true building blocks of a healthy diet. My new favourite is the short wholegrain rice that has all the stickiness of the rice I enjoyed in Beijing but with extra nuttiness and nutrition too. Red rice from the Camargue makes an interesting change and can be mixed with other long grain or Basmati varieties. Experiment and find whichever type of rice you and your family enjoy, but try to avoid the over-processed ‘easy cook’ varieties. Wild rice (which isn’t actually rice at all) adds flavour and texture when mixed with plain white or brown wholegrain rice. Then there is the black rice from southern China which leaches colour so is best served on its own (the Chinese usually use it only for porridge) when you want a colour contrast in your meal.
Most grains come complete with cooking instructions, but if you learn to work without needing to consult them, meal preparation will be less stressful. Rice is not difficult to cook in a saucepan by the ‘thumbnail’ method. Put in the rice and add water until it reaches the height of the joint on your thumb when the end of the nail (clipped short of course) is touching the rice. Cover and bring to the boil, then simmer until all the water is absorbed. Or, even better, buy a rice cooker, then you can always have cooked rice on hand and freeze the leftovers. Thawed rice is fantastic for frying and fried rice is one of the quickest and easiest meals to prepare.
When Xiao Ding visited the UK ten years ago the choice of grains on the market was much more limited than it is today – and in any case, she missed her particular variety of China’s favourite staple. The Beijing rice is short grain, slightly sticky and tremendously satisfying. She thought our easy-cook varieties were tasteless by comparison, and Basmati was too fragrant for her liking. I sympathized and spent a fortune buying the short grain
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