Sadly the same can not be said about the meals prepared at some Chinese restaurants or take-aways, where the food is often prepared with highly saturated fats and the meat used in the preparation of the recipes is not exactly of the leanest cut. The meals prepared in establishments like this are neither authentic, or healthy. Although they might very well be extremely tasty. But at what cost to the diners health?

Good, authentic - and healthy - Chinese food is prepared and cooked with poly-unsaturated oils and has no use for dairy ingredients such as cream, butter, or cheese. Meat is included in the recipes but is not of an abundant quantity. So lovers of authentic Chinese cooking are easily able to avoid the dangers associated with the intake of too much animal fat in their diet.

So in answer to the question: ‘Is Chinese food healthy?’ the answer is a very definite yes, but you must be sure that the Chinese meal that you are eating is an authentic Chinese meal prepared in the traditional manner and using only traditional and healthy ingredients. You can have your cake and eat it; just as long as you know that it is the right kind of cake you are eating.

Here are eleven definitions that range from vegetables to duck for some of the more common items found in Chinese restaurants.

Choy = vegetable. Vegetables or Choy are found in many Chinese food dishes. This versatile ingredient can be found in stand alone dishes or accompanied by meat.

Dun = egg and is often found in dishes like Egg Foo Young where eggs or Dun are combined with a wide variety of accompaniments like rice, chicken, vegetables and bean sprouts.

Fon = rice and is most familiar in Fried Rice which comes with peas, carrots and pork or in sticky short grained white rice.

Gai = chicken and is a very adaptable ingredient to use in dishes like Cashew Chicken or Moo Shu Chicken where the chicken is thin sliced and served with vegetables, plum sauce and a thin pancake.

Har = shrimp and can be found in Peking Shrimp which can sometimes still be found by its traditional name of Beijing Far Jue Har.

Mien = noodle and is a soft warm noodle served with chicken or pork and vegetables. The all too common chow mien noodle is a crunchy version of the original.

Moo ghoo = mushroom. Moo Ghoo Gai Pan, which means sliced chicken and mushrooms, is an easily found dish on most Chinese restaurant menus.

Op = duck. Op or duck is not as common as chicken or pork but is a delicacy that is worth tasting.

Pien = sliced, proper slicing is key to Chinese cooking.

Suen = sour Tiem = sweet. Most often times you will see sweet and sour in the same dish such as Sweet and Sour Pork which contains pork, pineapple and green peppers in a sweet sauce.

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Comparatively, Chinese food relatively healthy, as long as you know what you’re getting. Here’s a few tips for your next encounter with Chinese cuisine.

Chinese food is traditionally based around a good sized portion of meat, usually chicken, beef, or pork. Keeping this amount to a minimum is going to be one of the biggest factors in the calorie count of your meal. Remember, anything can be healthy in small quantities, just don’t over indulge!

Choose the steamed rice! Steamed rice is a great source of good carbs, which help to increase the metabolism. Steamed rice is also generally less greasy than Chinese noodle dishes.

Chinese dishes are very high in sodium. A good way to counteract this is a simple balancing game; try and eat less sodium in your other meals on the same day you are going to be eating Chinese.

Many, but not all Chinese dishes are deep fried. Stay away from these when possible, deep fried foods are much higher in calories.

Don’t overdo it on the heavy sauces. Everyone loves a good soy sauce on their Kung Pao chicken, but staying light on the sauces will keep your meal extra healthy.

Overall, Chinese can be a great way to eat smart as long as its done in moderation.

A few of the essential measures of Chinese Culinary procedures can be emphasized as frying, stewing, boiling, braising, simmering, sauteing, steaming and smoking. Frying has a prominent role to play in Chinese Culinary Procedures and it is thought to be amongst the most significant activities in recipe preparation.

Frying can be sub-classified as quick-frying, deep- and slippery-frying. In addition, this process involves taking into account many factors, which are dependent on the kind of ingredients that is utilized. For example, to retain the flavour and juiciness of meat, frying is preferred; whereas, where vegetables are concerned, frying makes them nice and crisp. In the arena of fast foods, the swiftness of the Chinese Culinary Procedures plays a predominant role in cooking Chinese food where the food ingredients are quickly stirred before frying.

Shallow-frying or sauteing is another regular feature of the Chinese Culinary Procedure. Sauteing consumes far less oil as compared with deep-frying and needs moderate temperatures as against stir-frying. This ensures that the food is soft in the inside and crispy on the outside.

Sauce making usually succeeds sauteing. In addition, boiling, simmering, stewing and braising are the other Chinese Culinary Techniques employed for food preparation. When parboiling, the cut and cleaned ingredients are placed in a big container to enable them to float. Then the ingredients are subjected to high temperatures. Boiling over a lengthy period of time not only kills the taste but also the food’s nutritional quality to a certain degree. In order to prevent this, a majority of food preparation is generally carried out over low heat to ensure that the nutritional value is retained.

Cold Mixing and smoking measures of the Chinese Culinary Procedures entail that the food is cooked in advance whereas roasting involves seasoning the raw marinated ingredients prior to barbequing them over an open flame.

In Cold Mixing, scalded or parboiled ingredients are blended in salads and subsequently chilled prior to serving. Lastly, the poaching process involves cooking the ingredients in a liquid, a degree under the boiling point. The poaching technique is most suitable for preparing fish dishes, wherein cooking is continued until the fish becomes soft and tender. In conclusion, these Chinese Culinary Procedures are a select few ways to enhance the flavour of Chinese cuisine and make them appealing to food buffs.

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Traditional Chinese recipes entail the subtle use of various cooking methods and culinary expertise even as one explores his/her unique creativity in rustling up exclusive fare. It requires employing the latest innovations and developments to prepare genuine Chinese food with just the right style.

These genuine Chinese recipes are greatly noted for their distinctive taste as well as for their tendency to weave a spell with their rich aroma, mesmerizing appearance and the high quality of the prepared dish. These traditional Oriental delights are considered to be very good for health as well as being extremely nutritious according to food aficionados all over the globe.

Poly unsaturated cooking oils are the medium for preparing excellent Chinese dishes, and have a rather favourable effect on a person’s health. Additionally, genuine Chinese dishes do not contain milk or ingredients that are full of fat. The secret to cooking genuine Chinese dishes is to strike a balance between the correct consistency, thereby producing the ideal touch.

Quite a few of the very popular Chinese dishes are made by using stir fried kai lan and French beans, carrots, beef laced with ginger, sweet corn chicken soup, green bean soup, spring onions, barley water and lots of others.

The Chinese dishes gives due weightage not only to vegetables, tender meat and fresh seafood, but also takes into account various cooking methods, thus ensuring the food looks extremely appetizing. Enhanced with incredible and lip-smacking flavours, genuine Chinese dishes have acquired a significant reputation amongst lovers of Chinese cuisine in the west.

A person can become an expert in preparing genuine Chinese dishes at home by essentially following the golden rules of using the basic ingredients and employing traditional cooking practices. A number of culinary institutions firmly back the cause of making exceptional traditional fare. It provides a golden chance to explore one’s creative talent to the fullest, taking your time in imbibing the cooking procedures and gaining an in depth insight into their distinctive way of life.

Having a thorough comprehension of the Chinese recipes enables food buffs to set quality standards and to have the pleasure of eating with one’s family and acquaintances. These genuine Chinese dishes offer a definite encouragement to people eagerly looking forward to hone their culinary talents since they are relatively easy to cook and are wonderful to consume.

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Selecting the right wine for Chinese food and even Thai cuisine requires identifying the dominant taste (sweet, sour, salty, bitter) sensation of a dish. The dominant taste sensations are sour (rice vinegar), sweet (sugar, coconut milk) and salt (soy).

When it comes to German Riesling wines and Chinese food, sensory scientists have shown that the different taste qualities - sweet, sour, salty, bitter - inhibit or suppress one another. In the domain of wine and food, we say they balance or compliment one another.

For example, sour (acidity) and sweet also suppress one another; adding sugar to lemon juice reduces the tartness; the level of acidity or sourness has not changed but the presence of sugar changes how we perceive it. It is the Riesling grape’s ability to develop high sugar levels while maintaining acidity that produces white wines that age very well and compliment Chinese food as well. Riesling wine is produced from dry to very sweet. Riesling wine is produced from dry to very sweet; the sweetness level of a Kabinett or Spatlese counterbalances the Chinese food’s salt and sour.

German Riesling wine is not only good at quelling the heat of chilies but it is a perfect wine for Thai and Chinese cuisine.

The conventional wisdom of pairing Gewurztraminer wine and Chinese food with highly spiced Szechuan dishes works except that Gewurztraminer’s higher alcohol levels (13-14%) kick up the burn a bit.

Gewurztraminer literally means “spice grapes”. The California variant has a “spicy-peach” flavor along with a hint of ginger. Other possible choices in the pairing of Chinese food and wine are a French Pouily Fuisse or a Sauvignon Blanc.

Cantonese, China’s “haute cuisine”, dishes are much more subtly seasoned. For this Chinese food and wine pairing try a sweet fruity German Riesling Kabinett or Spatlese, and you will enjoy wonderful results. Meanwhile, a red Bordeaux wine pairing with Chinese food is particularly appropriate for Shanghai cuisine which tends to be quite rich so the tannin in the wine plays well against the fat content of the meat.

A Merlot from Pomerol or St. Emilion and Chinese food pairing compliments well with Peking cuisine, which often features heavier meats as duck and beef. So does a red Burgundy such as Pinot Noir.

Dishes with fruit such as bananas, mangoes and peaches, pair well with Pinot Noir, Riesling and Merlot. Sherry or tawny Port goes well with dishes that include generous amounts of almonds or peanuts.

Duck and smoked ham go well with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Petite Sirah or Zinfandel wines compliment foods customarily forward with fruit and spice, liberally laced with Szechuan peppercorns, chili peppers, wasabi, mustard or curry.

Chinese cuisine often consists of varied dishes, some notably sweet, some spicy, others fruity or smoky or delicate. There will likely be chicken, lobster, pork and duck.

When it comes to Chinese food and wine selection, no one wine will accommodate a vast range of flavors and textures.

There are a few wines that will work well paired with Chinese food. They are a medium-dry to lightly sweet Riesling, a Chardonnay, not too oaky, not too dry, and a mild, full-bodied Merlot with just the right amount of acidity. Riesling, Chardonnay and Merlot wines always go well with a variety of foods and are very safe to be among your choices when pairing a wine with Chinese food to enhance the experience.

The real key to the pleasure of wine and food is simply relaxing and enjoying conviviality with friends. Now that you know the best wine pairings, Chinese food anyone?

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The stereotypes of who eats Chinese food are beyond silly. Other people besides Jews eat Chinese food, or what we call Chinese food. The reason these stereotypes exist is because many years ago when the modern day Chinese American restaurant started to become popular, the majority just happened to open up in Jewish neighborhoods. So naturally more Jewish people at there than anyone else. Today, you will find all kinds of people eating at Chinese restaurants.

So, what kind of food DO you find at a Chinese American restaurant? Most Chinese American dishes fall into what they call categories of food. Their are your chow mien dishes which feature the classic chicken chow mien. But you can get a lot more than just chicken chow mien. You can also get shrimp chow mien, beef chow mien, roast pork chow mien and just about any other kind of beef, pork, chicken or fish that you can think of. Just a quick tip. If you’re going to get the chicken chow mien, get the white meat chicken chow mien. It costs about a buck more but they give you more chicken and the pieces are bigger.

Aside from your chow mien dishes you have your lo mien dishes. The only difference between these two are the kinds of noodles they use. Other than that, they are pretty much the same, at least at most restaurants in the states. The whole key to a Chinese dish is the vegetables that they put in it. Most of a Chinese dish is pretty much vegetables. There is relatively a lot less meat than there is vegetable. That’s why the dishes are relatively inexpensive and also why you’re hungry two hours later.

Then there are some specialty dishes. You can usually tell what these are because they have names like Moo Goo Gai Pan. You have absolutely NO idea what’s in this stuff by reading the name of it. Fortunately, there is usually a description of the menu item underneath the title so you can get some idea of what you’re eating.

Aside from the main dishes you get your standard side dishes like roast pork, egg roll, stuffed mushrooms, etc. Most people usually fill up on the fried Chinese noodles that they give you before you even get your dinner. This way it doesn’t seem so much like you hardly ate anything. And of course the meal is topped off with a fortune cookie and some tea. This is standard fair for a Chinese restaurant.

Some of these restaurants are good, some are okay and some are not so great. It’s hard to find a Chinese restaurant that’s really terrible. After all, how much can you ruin a vegetable?

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Restaurants