Is Chinese food bad for you?
The same with any type of food, there are good and bad options, you just need to know the ingredients of each item and then choose wisely. On average, authentic traditional Chinese cuisine is much healthier than the Westernized form of Chinese food found in America and Europe.
In China, people rarely eat chicken like sweet and sour or general TSO, which are deep fried and then covered with sugary sauce, no one forces customers to order fattening foods, they just select them because they only care about the taste and are not health conscious. Stir-fried starters like beef broccoli, chicken with vegetables or mushrooms, tofu combined with steamed rice are very good for us.
Even in Western countries, Chinese food is dairy-free, except for Crab Rangoon, which is made with cream cheese and is unheard of in China.
American invention. Chinese restaurants never cook with butter, there is no need to cheat because vegetable oil is cheaper.
Why isn’t fairy used in Chinese cooking?
1. There are no vast grasslands in China, therefore there are traditionally no large herds of cattle. Due to population vs. available land, pork is more popular than beef. Duck can also be raised in a small area, as can pig.
2. Dairy products are not that popular in traditional Chinese or Asian cuisine in general. It just didn’t catch on. As a result, many Asians are lactose intolerant simply because they don’t continue to drink milk after infancy. Mongolian cuisine still uses a lot of dairy products, mainly because yak is their staple food and they use every part of the animal, including its milk.
3. It is not a “scientific” reason, nor is it a matter of choice on the part of Chinese chefs. It’s just a cultural/geographical selection. Traditionally, there is not much dairy industry in China (I mean the whole history, not just the last two hundred years). Without dairy industry is equal to without milk and without cheese. There is a fairly large fishing industry (again, historically speaking) in China, which is why much of their cuisine includes seafood. The same is true around the world: In places like France and Italy, cheese making has been a part of their cultures for thousands of years. And cheese features in many Italian and French dishes.
4. Milk is not a common ingredient in Chinese cuisine. There is only one milk dish that comes to mind: fried milk. But you won’t be able to get this at takeout places and I’ve only seen it a couple of times at some authentic Chinese restaurants. The poster Mongolia mentioned is correct, milk is more common in Mongolia as they are mainly herders. The Chinese were primarily in the farming and fishing business, so you’ll see fish/seafood and vegetables more dominant on menus.
Dairy is not common in Chinese food unless you are eating a dessert or cream sauce.
In which case, it’s usually noticeable by the transparency of the sauce and the color.
So I would say most of the dishes are dairy free, but I always ask the cook to be sure.
