Read Online Why the Chinese Don't Count Calories by Lorraine Clissold - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Lorraine Clissold
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nutritionally to the white, sliced equivalent. Enjoy fresh interesting breads with your meals, but with moderation. Much of the bread we eat is processed and packed with preservatives.
Fan , staples to eat away from home
• curried brown-rice salad with blanched beansprouts, peanuts, raisins and honey-mustard dressing
• pasta salad with tuna, sweetcorn, tomato, olives and anchovies
• buckwheat noodles with sweet potato, marinated beancurd, shredded spring onions and soy sauce
• couscous with stir-fried red and yellow peppers, almonds and sultanas
• quinoa with minced ginger, chopped, blanched green beans, squares of tofu or ham, and sesame oil
Sandwich fillings are often primarily animal protein with a token vegetable garnish, and generally bread does not lend itself to partnering interesting vegetable dishes in the same way as a loose grain or a noodle-style product. In northern China people make fresh mantou (steamed buns) on a daily basis. Simple to make with either yeast or baking powder, mantou can be made with white or wholemeal flower or a mixture. They only take a few minutes to knead and can be steamed in twelve to fifteen minutes. Mantou are eaten alongside cai in place of, or sometimes as well as, rice. Sometimes they are spread with fermented beancurd ‘cheese’, a tasty savoury spread. Because they are made without preservatives and their eating quality is one of soft freshness, mantou are always eaten on the day they are steamed. The whole eating experience is very different from one where bread is treated as a convenience food and a piece of toast is seen as a substitute for a real meal. Freshly made wholegrain bread is a great food, but don’t rely on it too much and find yourself eating a limited diet.
If you are a habitual dieter, the idea of basing your meals on grain foods may seem radical, but remember that Chinese people have based their diet on carbohydrates for thousands of years, and that plainly boiled staples, especially wholegrain ones, are low in fat and high in nutrients and fibre. Staple foods are cheap, easy to prepare, incredibly versatile and delicious and satisfying to eat, especially when accompanied by freshly cooked cai (vegetable dishes).
Steamed bread
Mantou
These simple buns are a popular staple food in northern China, often eaten with cai instead of rice. They are also good with soup or zhou , or simply on their own. Chinese people spread them with fermented red beancurd cheese, but butter is an option.
Mantou are simple (and sociable) to make but there are several stages to the recipe, so a little forward planning is needed. Mantou are best eaten freshly steamed, but, in the unlikely event that you have any left over, they will keep 48 hours in a tin.
This recipe can be made either with white or wholemeal flour, but a 60–40 mix of white to wholemeal works best. Depending on the size of mantou you require, this recipe will make 16–24. Bigger mantou (some are as big as a tennis ball) tend to be moister and keep longer.
25 g/¾ oz/. cup dried yeast
½ tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
500 ml/16 fl oz/2 cups warm water
800 g/1lb 11 oz/8 cups flour
2 tbsp oil
Put the yeast, salt and sugar in a bowl. Add a small amount of the water, dissolve the yeast, then add the rest of the water. Leave to stand in a warm place for 15 minutes or until frothy.
Sieve the flour into a large mixing bowl; make a well in the centre and pour in the liquid, gradually working in the dough. When all the water is incorporated, continue to work the dough for a few minutes until soft and smooth and all the flour from the edges of the basin has been incorporated. Add the oil and work it in.
Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and leave in a very warm place for 1½ hours. The dough should double in size.
Pick up the dough and divide it into two. It will be quite sticky and you may need to flour your hands. Divide each half of the dough into 8–12 pieces.
Taking one small piece of dough at a time,
Fan , staples to eat away from home
• curried brown-rice salad with blanched beansprouts, peanuts, raisins and honey-mustard dressing
• pasta salad with tuna, sweetcorn, tomato, olives and anchovies
• buckwheat noodles with sweet potato, marinated beancurd, shredded spring onions and soy sauce
• couscous with stir-fried red and yellow peppers, almonds and sultanas
• quinoa with minced ginger, chopped, blanched green beans, squares of tofu or ham, and sesame oil
Sandwich fillings are often primarily animal protein with a token vegetable garnish, and generally bread does not lend itself to partnering interesting vegetable dishes in the same way as a loose grain or a noodle-style product. In northern China people make fresh mantou (steamed buns) on a daily basis. Simple to make with either yeast or baking powder, mantou can be made with white or wholemeal flower or a mixture. They only take a few minutes to knead and can be steamed in twelve to fifteen minutes. Mantou are eaten alongside cai in place of, or sometimes as well as, rice. Sometimes they are spread with fermented beancurd ‘cheese’, a tasty savoury spread. Because they are made without preservatives and their eating quality is one of soft freshness, mantou are always eaten on the day they are steamed. The whole eating experience is very different from one where bread is treated as a convenience food and a piece of toast is seen as a substitute for a real meal. Freshly made wholegrain bread is a great food, but don’t rely on it too much and find yourself eating a limited diet.
If you are a habitual dieter, the idea of basing your meals on grain foods may seem radical, but remember that Chinese people have based their diet on carbohydrates for thousands of years, and that plainly boiled staples, especially wholegrain ones, are low in fat and high in nutrients and fibre. Staple foods are cheap, easy to prepare, incredibly versatile and delicious and satisfying to eat, especially when accompanied by freshly cooked cai (vegetable dishes).
Steamed bread
Mantou
These simple buns are a popular staple food in northern China, often eaten with cai instead of rice. They are also good with soup or zhou , or simply on their own. Chinese people spread them with fermented red beancurd cheese, but butter is an option.
Mantou are simple (and sociable) to make but there are several stages to the recipe, so a little forward planning is needed. Mantou are best eaten freshly steamed, but, in the unlikely event that you have any left over, they will keep 48 hours in a tin.
This recipe can be made either with white or wholemeal flour, but a 60–40 mix of white to wholemeal works best. Depending on the size of mantou you require, this recipe will make 16–24. Bigger mantou (some are as big as a tennis ball) tend to be moister and keep longer.
25 g/¾ oz/. cup dried yeast
½ tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
500 ml/16 fl oz/2 cups warm water
800 g/1lb 11 oz/8 cups flour
2 tbsp oil
Put the yeast, salt and sugar in a bowl. Add a small amount of the water, dissolve the yeast, then add the rest of the water. Leave to stand in a warm place for 15 minutes or until frothy.
Sieve the flour into a large mixing bowl; make a well in the centre and pour in the liquid, gradually working in the dough. When all the water is incorporated, continue to work the dough for a few minutes until soft and smooth and all the flour from the edges of the basin has been incorporated. Add the oil and work it in.
Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and leave in a very warm place for 1½ hours. The dough should double in size.
Pick up the dough and divide it into two. It will be quite sticky and you may need to flour your hands. Divide each half of the dough into 8–12 pieces.
Taking one small piece of dough at a time,
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