Introduction: How can you eat meat in a healthier and more refined way? And which types of meat are indispensable delicacies during the New Year, and what can they be paired with to better preserve them and carry auspicious meanings?
In the blink of an eye, it's the 26th day of the 12th lunar month. According to tradition, "On the 26th day of the 12th lunar month, we stew large cuts of meat." In the past, eating meat during the New Year was the biggest luxury for both adults and children. Nowadays, although meat is a common staple on the dinner table, people have introduced a new concept: how to eat meat in a healthier and more refined way? Which types of meat are indispensable delicacies during the New Year, and what can they be paired with to better preserve them and carry auspicious meanings?
When eating "Nian Rou" (New Year meat), the tradition is to eat braised pork in soy sauce. Meat itself symbolizes prosperity, and braised pork in soy sauce represents an even richer and more prosperous year, full of vitality. Therefore, a bowl of steaming, fragrant braised pork in soy sauce is what many people look forward to on the 26th day of the 12th lunar month. Even today, when families are becoming more and more prosperous, it has still become a long-standing tradition for many to prepare some large cuts of meat on this day.
Pork is not as good as poultry, and poultry is not as good as fish.
To learn more about delicious fish recipes, we recommend the Meitian special feature: "A Fish You Can Never Get Tired Of - A Fish Feast" "Fortune Arrives Immediately" "Fish Every Year"
An important principle to follow when eating meat is: eating pork is not as good as eating poultry, and eating poultry is not as good as eating fish. Among meats, pork has the lowest protein content and the highest fat content. Even in "lean meat," the invisible hidden fat accounts for 28%.
Three Important Notes for Healthy Meat Consumption
First Important Note:
Traditional Chinese medicine teaches that grains and qi-blood are not mutually supportive. The digestion, absorption, and metabolism of meat all consume qi and blood. Therefore, consumption should be moderate, and it's advisable to eat more foods that nourish the spleen and stomach and aid digestion.
Second Important Note:
The metabolism of meat produces more toxins. It is important to drink more water, eat more foods rich in dietary fiber, and exercise more to eliminate toxins through urine, sweat, and stool.
Third Important Note:
Meat is a high-calorie food. Be mindful of preventing obesity and other diseases caused by it.
Fang Zhihong: Methods for Healthy Meat Consumption
First, from the perspective of cooking methods, the healthiest way to cook meat is "stewing." Stewed meat is tender, rich in nutrients, and not "heaty" (a concept in TCM). Experiments have shown that long stewing can reduce cholesterol by 30% to 50%.
Second, eat more poultry and less red meat. Research shows that poultry has less fat and its nutritional value is much higher than that of red meat. More importantly, eating more red meat increases the risk of cancer.
Red meat refers to beef, pork, lamb, etc., while processed red meats include sausages, hamburger patties, smoked and cured meats, and canned goods. On a global scale, countries with high red meat consumption also have high rates of prostate cancer. In countries with low red meat consumption, the incidence of prostate cancer is lower. Medical research at home and abroad has confirmed that certain substances in red meat are closely related to the carcinogenic effects on the colon.
Third, eat more bones and less meat, especially for those who feel anxious if they go three days without meat.
For those who want to "eat meat in large quantities" but also hope to stay healthy, choosing the right meat is better than giving up meat, and selective eating is better than vegetarianism. This is the perfect method to satisfy one's cravings without any worries.
The Best Choice for Meat—Rabbit Meat
Rabbit meat is nutritious, delicious, and tender, and is easy to digest. Not only is rabbit meat tender and tasty, but it is also a beauty food, rich in lecithin, free amino acids, protein, vitamin E, niacin, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, zinc, iron, calcium, and other nutrients that protect the activity of skin cells and maintain skin elasticity. Therefore, eating rabbit meat often can make the skin finer and more radiant.
According to traditional Chinese medicine, rabbit meat is cooling in nature and has the effects of nourishing yin, cooling the blood, replenishing qi, moisturizing the skin, and detoxifying heat. Therefore, rabbit meat is the best beauty meat for women. However, pregnant women and women during their menstrual period should not eat rabbit meat. Women with significant symptoms of yang deficiency, such as being afraid of cold in the limbs or having a low libido, should also avoid it. Because rabbit meat is cooling, the best season to eat it is summer, while it is generally not advisable to eat it in cold winter and early spring.
Eating the Right Meat for Your Condition is Better Than Taking Medicine
Although eating meat has certain drawbacks, as long as the choices are appropriate, the benefits are numerous.
Pork: Can tonify the kidneys, strengthen the stomach, nourish liver yin, moisten the skin, promote urination, and quench thirst. Pig skin beautifies and moisturizes the skin. Boiling pig's tail with Eucommia can treat kidney deficiency, back pain, and spermatorrhea.
Beef: Yellow cattle beef can calm the middle jiao, replenish qi, strengthen the spleen and stomach, and strengthen muscles and bones. Water buffalo beef can calm the fetus and nourish the blood.
To learn more about delicious beef and mutton recipes, we recommend the Meitian special feature: "The Aroma of a Bite of Beef" "Various Ways to Cook Mutton"
Mutton: Eating mutton in winter can expel cold, warm the body, stop pain, and benefit postpartum women. Mutton head can treat dizziness, infantile convulsions, and the five labors and seven injuries.
Chicken: Rooster meat can treat kidney deficiency and impotence. Yellow hen meat can treat fatigue, replenish marrow and essence, help yang, warm the small intestine, and stop diarrhea. General hen meat can also treat wind-cold-dampness arthralgia and postpartum weakness. Chicken heart treats palpitations and insomnia; chicken brain treats frightening dreams; chicken crest treats irregular menstruation; chicken liver treats night blindness and other eye diseases.
To learn more about delicious chicken and duck recipes, we recommend the Meitian special feature: "A Complete Guide to Home-Style Chicken Recipes" "A Fine Dish for the Table - Duck"
Duck: Warms the middle jiao, tonifies deficiency, supports yang, and promotes urination; treats impotence, edema, cough with dysentery, indigestion, and symptoms of insufficient yang.
Goose: Benefits the five organs, relieves heat in the five organs. The boiled juice can quench thirst. White goose fat can treat deafness, moisturize the skin, and reduce swelling and pain. Goose blood detoxifies and treats stomach cancer; goose bile treats cough and asthma; external use of goose bile treats hemorrhoids; goose oil treats chapped hands and feet and can soften and beautify the skin.
Rabbit Meat: Rabbit meat is non-toxic and neutral in nature. It can tonify the middle jiao, replenish qi, quench thirst, strengthen the spleen, cool the blood, and detoxify. It can be used to treat diabetes insipidus, chronic gastritis, etc.
Fish: Carp can calm the fetus; "for fetal movement and edema, eat it as a soup." Crucian carp can reduce edema and promote milk secretion. It is said that eating 30 grams of fish daily can reduce the risk of heart disease by 50%. Fish is good for the brain, prevents diabetes and kidney stones, and prevents premature birth. Eating fish often can lower cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood, soften blood vessels, and enhance memory.
Turtle Meat: The plastron of a turtle is called Gui Ban, which has the effect of nourishing yin and suppressing yang. It is used to treat bone steaming, tidal fever, night sweats, dizziness, tinnitus, and other symptoms caused by yin deficiency and flourishing fire. It also has the effect of tonifying the kidneys and strengthening bones, treating soreness of the waist and weakness of the legs. The carapace of a turtle has a greater effect of clearing deficient heat than the plastron and can be used to treat pain in the chest and ribs, and has a therapeutic effect on cirrhosis and splenomegaly.
Several Simple and Healthy Meat Dishes:
First, Water-Slided Beef
Water-sliding is a cooking method that uses water instead of oil to reduce the fat content of the dish.
Ingredients: Beef, red, yellow, and green bell peppers
Seasonings: Scallion, ginger, cooking wine, pepper powder, MSG, salt, starch
Method: 1. Slice the beef and marinate it with cooking wine, salt, and starch for 20-30 minutes. 2. Cut the red, yellow, and green bell peppers into small pieces (and stir-fry them briefly in a little oil, then set aside). 3. Bring water to a boil in a pot, add the marinated beef slices, and cook until they change color, then remove. 4. In a wok, add a little oil, stir-fry the scallion and ginger until fragrant, then add the ingredients from step 2 and 3 and stir-fry together. Add pepper powder and MSG, then remove from the heat and serve on a plate. Characteristics: The beef slices are tender and not greasy, with color, aroma, and flavor all present.
Second, Colorful Chicken Shreds
Ingredients: Chicken, dried tofu, shiitake mushrooms, red, yellow, and green bell peppers, wood ear fungus, scallion, ginger, cooking wine, soy sauce.
Method: 1. Cut the chicken into shreds and marinate with a little salt and cooking wine. 2. Soak the wood ear fungus, cook for 10 minutes, then shred it. 3. Shred the fresh dried tofu. 4. Shred the shiitake mushrooms, red, green, and yellow bell peppers. 5. Stir-fry the chicken shreds in a wok; add cooking wine, then add scallion and ginger and stir-fry; then add the red and green bell peppers and stir-fry; then add the dried tofu and shiitake mushrooms and stir-fry; then add a little soy sauce and stir-fry; thicken the sauce and stir, then drizzle with a little sesame oil and serve.
Third, Steamed Pork Ribs with Rice Flour
Ingredients: Pork ribs, steamed meat rice flour seasoning, pumpkin, or other starchy vegetables like potatoes, sweet potatoes, or taro.
Method: 1. Cut the pork ribs into small pieces and marinate with the meat seasoning for at least half an hour (if you don't have pre-made seasoning, you can make it with soy sauce, sugar, salt, doubanjiang paste, etc.). 2. Evenly coat the marinated ribs with a layer of rice flour, not too thick, as it will affect the quality. 3. Place the prepared ribs in a bowl, with the starchy vegetables at the bottom. 4. Steam in a pressure cooker over high heat, or slowly steam in a regular steamer until the ribs are golden-brown and the meat falls off the bone. Remove from the heat and sprinkle with chopped scallions or cilantro before serving.
Fourth, Salmon and Lettuce Salad
There is a legend that salmon has parasites and cannot be eaten raw. This is especially true when a famous food critic said so, which makes many people hesitant to eat raw salmon. In fact, international regulations require that salmon must be frozen to kill parasites after being caught. Salmon on the market that has passed inspection is safe to eat and can be consumed with confidence. If eating raw, choose sushi-grade salmon slices.
Ingredients: Salmon, romaine lettuce, sushi vinegar, honey, salt, ginger, black pepper
Method: 1. Buy sushi-grade salmon from the supermarket (this is more reliable for eating raw) and slice it. 2. Take the crispest part of the lettuce and cut it into pieces. 3. Mix sushi vinegar, honey, salt, ginger, and black pepper to make a sweet and sour dressing. 4. Pour the dressing over the salmon and lettuce and mix well. This dish is sweet, sour, and refreshing.
Fifth, Italian Garlic Steamed Mussels
Ingredients: 1 pound of live mussels, 1/2 cup of dry white wine, one green onion, one clove of minced garlic, one teaspoon of salt, 1/4 cup of chopped parsley and basil, one tablespoon of olive oil
Method: 1. Rinse the mussels clean, scrape off any surface dirt, and remove any seaweed attached to the shells. 2. In a large pot, add water, wine, green onion, garlic, and salt, and simmer for 5 minutes or longer until the water boils. 3. Add the mussels, cover, and increase the heat. 4. Simmer for about 5 minutes or longer until all the mussels have opened. 5. Add the chopped fresh herbs and olive oil. 6. Stir quickly and remove from the heat. 7. Immediately pour the mussels with the broth into a large bowl and serve.