When dining out, people enjoy a mix of meat and vegetables; after ordering the meat, the vegetables are a must. A dish of "Di San Xian" (three fresh vegetables) covers three vegetable dishes, then add some dry-fried green beans and deep-fried eggplant, and you have a balanced meat-and-vegetable meal. The nutrition should be sufficient, right? But health education experts say that once these three vegetable dishes are deep-fried, their calorie content can be even higher than meat's, and they may even pose a cancer risk!
The main ingredients of "Di San Xian" are potatoes, eggplant, and green peppers. When potatoes are deep-fried at high temperatures, they produce carcinogens like acrylamide. Eggplant is rich in vitamin P and rutin, and eating it often can help lower blood lipids. However, it has an incredible ability to absorb oil. A deep-fried eggplant is practically a little oil packet. After being "baptized" in the hot oil, the vitamin C in green peppers is almost completely depleted.
Furthermore, dry-fried green beans are also often deep-fried. The deep-fried version not only exceeds the calorie limit but also has safety risks. If green beans are not cooked thoroughly, they can cause food poisoning. During deep-frying, the beans can be burnt on the outside while still raw on the inside.
Steamed Eggplant with Seaweed
So, how should you order vegetable dishes when dining out? Experts suggest following the "two less, two more" principle. "Two less" means "use less oil and add less salt." "Two more" means choosing more seasonal vegetables and more cold-dressed, steamed, or stewed dishes.