As a food that contains grains, meat, and vegetables, dumplings are relatively nutritious. Carrots, which children often dislike, and various green vegetables that can get stuck in the elderly's teeth can be cleverly hidden in the filling, allowing people to eat them unknowingly. At the same time, multiple ingredients can be added to one filling, easily achieving a combination of various food ingredients, which is much more convenient than stir-frying with multiple ingredients. There are several common fillings for dumplings. Animal-based sources include pork, beef, mutton, eggs, and shrimp. Plant-based sources include chives, cabbage, celery, fennel, and carrots, among others. These ingredients are highly nutritious in themselves, and their combination is even more beneficial for nutritional balance. In daily life, to make the filling fragrant and delicious, people tend to use more meat and less vegetables to avoid a too "dry" texture. At the same time, when preparing vegetable ingredients, the juice is usually squeezed out, which causes a significant loss of soluble vitamins and nutrients like potassium.
To make dumpling fillings that are both nutritious and delicious, the following principles should be followed:
1. Vegetarian dumplings are healthy and nutritious
In comparison, vegetarian fillings with eggs and vegetables as the main ingredients are healthier, with fat coming from vegetable oil and a larger proportion of vegetables. Since eggs are high in phosphorus, such fillings should be combined with green leafy vegetables rich in calcium, potassium, and magnesium, as well as ingredients like dried shrimp and seaweed to promote acid-base balance. Pure starch materials like vermicelli have low nutritional value and should not be used as the main ingredient for fillings.
2. Fungi and algae are good for fillings
For meat fillings, try to pair them with vegetables rich in dietary fiber and minerals, and add some foods rich in soluble fiber, such as shiitake mushrooms, wood ear mushrooms, tremella, various mushrooms, and seaweeds like kelp and wakame. They can improve the texture, help reduce the absorption of cholesterol and fat, and control the rise in blood lipids after eating meat fillings. Bamboo shoots and dried vegetables also have the effect of absorbing fat. Various bean products and fish can also be used as fillings to replace part of the meat, which helps reduce the fat content. When eating dumplings, you can also pair them with various refreshing cold-dressed vegetables.
3. Use less fatty meat and more vegetables
Following the principle of dietary acid-base balance, "acidic" meat, eggs, and refined white flour should be balanced with "alkaline" vegetable ingredients. The best ratio is one part meat to three parts unwrung vegetable ingredients. The meat used should be 90% lean meat, and no additional animal or vegetable oil should be added. Increasing the amount of vegetables can reduce the intake of saturated fat and calories, achieving true nutritional balance.
4. Cooking methods
Dumplings with more vegetables and less meat have a high water content and are prone to "falling apart." Boiling them leads to significant nutrient loss and a poorer texture. Methods like pan-frying with water or steaming can be considered. Meatier dumplings are suitable for boiling. Try to use less oil for frying or other cooking methods to avoid additional fat intake.