Introduction: Nowadays, everyone knows the slogan of limiting salt and oil for a healthy diet, and most families are paying more attention to controlling the amount of oil used in stir-frying. However, it's not something everyone is good at to control oil intake while still ensuring the deliciousness of the food.
Dr. Fan Zhihong, an associate professor at the Department of Nutrition and Food Safety, College of Food Science and Engineering at China Agricultural University, has introduced some small tips to help you effectively control fat intake during cooking.
Drain oil after stir-frying
Tilt the wok for 2-3 minutes after cooking to let the oil drain from the food before plating. Vegetables like bell peppers, green beans, water chestnuts, and asparagus absorb less oil, making them perfect for this method.
Replace deep-frying with blanching
When making meat slices, you can use the blanching method, also known as "quick-boiling," to quickly cook the ingredients with the heat of boiling water. Since meat itself is rich in fat, rapid heating can result in tender slices. After blanching, the surface of the ingredients is coated with a layer of water, which prevents oil from seeping in, making the texture much lighter and fresher.
Add oil to salads just before serving
Add a spoonful of sesame oil or olive oil to a salad right before eating. This way, the aroma of the oil is fully released before the food has a chance to absorb it, naturally reducing the oil intake from the salad.
Pre-cook meat to 70% doneness before stir-frying
Boil the meat until it's 70% done before slicing and stir-frying. This eliminates the need to add extra oil for stir-frying the meat alone. When stir-frying other ingredients until they are semi-cooked, add the meat slices without adding more fat. It will still be fragrant and won't affect the flavor. At the same time, some of the fat from the meat will have rendered out during boiling, reducing the total fat content in the meat.
Skim the fat from soups
Remove the fat from the surface of soups after they are cooked. Chicken, pork ribs, beef brisket, and bones all release oil after stewing. Skim off the fat on the surface after cooking. This significantly reduces your fat intake when drinking the soup.
Bake instead of frying
Ingredients that are usually fried can also be baked in an oven or a non-stick pan. For example, those frozen, seasoned meat cubes, cutlets, and popcorn chicken sold in supermarkets often recommend refrying them at home, but baking them is equally delicious. Baking them in an oven until both sides are golden brown makes them crispy and delicious, and the fat content can drop from 22% after frying to below 8%.
Replace stir-frying and braising with steaming and boiling
It's quite challenging to make stir-fried dishes tasty with less oil, so simply changing the cooking method is much easier. For instance, change stir-fried eggs to steamed egg custard, which only requires a few drops of sesame oil; or change braised fish to steamed fish for a more delicate texture.
Use less oil, more seasonings
When seasoning, don't rely solely on oil for flavor. Use more intensely flavored seasonings. For example, when making a dipping sauce, add chopped scallions, ginger, garlic, chili flakes, and mustard oil. When steaming or stewing meat, add mushrooms to enhance the umami. When baking fish in the oven, add cumin, fennel seeds, and Sichuan peppercorns. Even with half the amount of oil, the dish will still be full of flavor.