Ce'nedra

I wonder this exact same question. If anyone has any answers/conclusions to it, I would love to hear

Those "rice sticks" are SO versatile. You could easily throw in Asian leftovers into a bowl with those, add sauce, peanuts and such as sanrensho suggested, and you're set!

Smithy: Thanks so much for all that detail I'll probably give my claypot a go then -I'll get back to you guys once I do...must hunt for recipes now

Whoah...those mushrooms are so pretty! I've never seen anything like that! ← I know! Looks almost magical -kind of like from LOTR Shelby: What's your chicken recipe? Looks so yummy I could lick my computer screen right now hhahaha! nonblonde007: Your pork and beets look amazing! How'd you do it? Here's my attempt at Japanese curry ramen (again, made this awhile ago). I made it up as I went along

Ooo everyone's ramen looks soo good! I'd be really happy if anyone could share some authentic ramen recipes I tried making Japanese curry ramen once -trial and error. Didn't use a recipe, kind of created it as I went along It was okay -a bit salty- but still okay (doesn't look all that appetising I know).

Yes one of my little cousins always orders fried rice time and time again whenever he's out for Chinese. Maybe because it's easy to eat?

In California, or US for that matter, it is illegal to take Great White Sharks since they are a protected species. I'm not aware of any other sharks that are illegal to take. Other species of sharks are fair game in California, including mako, threasher, soupfin, spiny dogfish, smoothound and leopard sharks, in which all of these sharks are quite edible, not just the fins. There are, however, sharks that are pretty much inedible like hammerhead and blue sharks which have so much urea in their flesh that its literally like eating a chunk of urea but their fins can be eaten. I don't condone taking of a shark solely for their fins so I don't buy it. Having said that, the shark fin that I obtained was from a leopard shark that was legally caught under the CA recreational sport fishing license by my friend and I and kept for the table mainly for their flesh. These fish are highly regulated by the CA department of fish and game so I do not feel one iota of guilt for taking the shark. Everything we eat comes from a living being and because I killed the animal for food, it is my responsibility to use as much of the animal as I can so I took the fins, otherwise it would have been wasted. ← Yep that's why my mum stopped buying shark fins to make soup at home as well. Although sometimes when we go to those Asian weddings, they serve it and we do have to eat it (would be worse if we wasted it right...).

I found a really interesting (and long/thorough) read on Halal cuisine in China http://www.chinaheritagequarterly.org/feat...l.inc&issue=005

Correction: Before I said the inclusion of mutton in Peking/Northern cuisine is due to the Mongolian invasion, however, now I think it could also be due to the Muslims.

I suppose there's no real answer

I love tofu puffs in laksa

Same here! And it's also slightly thicker than the normal soups I usually have.

OMG I just found out the shark's fin is actually the cartilage! So that's what we've been eating the whole time? Haha silly me

I thought Peking cooking IS Northern cooking hehe Wait, better check up with more knowledgeable people though lol. I'm sure there were some influences; Manchu probably from the Qing dynasty? Northern...which northern are you referring to? Mongolian? Because I think there are some Mongolian influences too (though not much). It's said the practice of eating mutton came from the Mongolians though because they didn't have a very refined cuisine, the Mongolians adopted more Chinese eating customs than they gave

I often hear of canola oil -maybe I'll give that a go. The only problem with olive oil for me, though, is that it doesn't really go with Asian food

Sorry to hear about your mum Wow you have some very interesting experiences. I guess there's no black or white answer to this. Everyone's lifestyles and genetics are all so different that it's impossible to say...

You raise some VERY good points. I'll keep that in mind. And I agree with everyone here, I'm sure that it's not simply a case of eating habits. As we all know, we have to take into account exercise and your physical fitness (unfortunately ). And docsconz, I agree, I think the quote "everything in moderation" should apply to everything in general. I suppose there's no real proof as of yet to my question huh? Oh well. It's not like I will ever cut out my meat intake entirely anyway

They're banned in my house! ← Because?

Ok ok take that back, MOST Chinese restaurants haha Chillis are good in certain amounts but the amount they eat at...I don't know...I heard it can give you stomach problems? Which region is, overall, healthier though? For eg, I think Vietnamese and Japanese cuisine is, overall, pretty healthy compared to most. Just my personal opinion though Yes Mr Righteous China Man

Of course we can't stereotype any cuisine as being entirely one or the other but on the whole/in general, which regional Chinese cuisine do you find contains the most fats/oils? What about which cuisine uses lesser fats/oils and focuses more on fresh produce and/or vegetables? I'm asking on the basis of home-style food as well. Let's discard the obviously msg-laden, oil-swimming restaurant food. It's strange because I would often hear that Cantonese cuisine is extremely unhealthy but I only see this happening in, again, the restaurants. Home-style Cantonese is often fairly delicate in flavour and if done properly, stir fries are actually healthy because it uses very little oil and is cooked very quickly, allowing the vegies and other bits to remain good and fresh. In addition, the nutritional value of stir-fried vegies/meats are better maintained than many other styles of cooking. I also hear Fujian cuisine (which I would include Teo Chiu despite that being from Guangdong) is fairly healthy. Again, this cuisine is based on alot of fresh foods. Also, Fujian cuisine uses alot of seafood and fish is obviously healthier than red meats when eaten in large quantities. From many of my friend's experiences, they believe Northern/Peking cuisine to be the least healthy because they claim much of it is heavy in oil and far too much red meat. Another says Sichuanese cuisine is least healthy because almost everything involves alot of chilli, oil and thick sauces. Can anyone offer me their perspective of this?

Hiroyuki: Thanks for that bit of info What about the Okinawans? I hear they are the longest-living Japanese. I'd like to know what's their secret -do people in that region eat little meat? Alot of it? etc?

From what I've read (which isn't that much), Manchurian cuisine does have similarities with Korean cuisine, however it is not at all "very close" to modern day Korean food. The main linkage between the two is plentiful pickled vegetables (like kimchi, though the Manchu version is a bit different and isn't nearly as spicy) and lots of side dishes (I'm guessing due to the pickled vegies). However, Manchus eat alot of pork, chicken and other meats. Koreans, on the other hand, don't eat too much meat. Apart from a couple of the obvious differences, Manchurian cuisine is actually much more likened to the common Chinese cuisine. But then again, this could be because of heavy influence. Their eating customs are still very similar to any other Chinese though. I assume that some of the similarites between Manchurian/Korean cuisine is simply because of the location. Both regions share borders and so I'm sure the common climate and such will allow for commonalities in the foods.

HEY! Remember this?! http://xyscyxs.mofcom.gov.cn/upload/proimage/2606.jpg I'm sure everyone (every Chinese that is) has had this before -my whole life I never knew it's name and just found out it's called Sachima. Well, apparently it's a Manchu sweet snack! Aha! And I've been eating this for ages (since I was a child) -very interesting to finally discover it's origins The name 'sachima' is also in the Manchurian language -which doesn't surprise me because it definately doesn't sound very Chinese (mainstream Han Chinese anyway). Btw, something else interesting I found (not exactly Manchu but could possibly be related):

Ok I was about to create a thread on the Manchu cuisine and home style cooking but found this instead woohoo! It looks like this thread kind of died... Anyway, there may be a reason as to why there is not much mention or knowledge in this particular cuisine. It's said that quite alot of the North-eastern Chinese regional dishes are in fact of Manchu origin. I'm not sure how reliable this piece of information is, but if it's true, that could explain why nobody really talks of Manchu food -it's pretty much integrated into the local cuisine and is no longer differentiated? Btw, I also found this in wiki ( ) It'd be awesome if there were some Manchu recipes (in English)!

As the title says. However, I'm not interested if it's healthy but of poor use I'd like to know what is a healthy oil that is also versatile in that it doesn't spoil your food by adding a strong taste, stir fries well, good with heat, etc etc. Any sort of contribution is welcomed with glee