Chicken Chicken provides high-quality, low-fat protein. Most of the fat is in and under the skin. Removing the skin and fat after cooking will cut your fat intake and calories considerably; removing the skin and fat before cooking will cut them even more. White meat has less fat and cholesterol than dark meat. Keep in mind that small young chickens are leaner than large older ones, so if you are planning a meal for a party, it's better to buy two small chickens than one big one. To estimate servings of uncooked chicken, on the average, half a medium chicken breast will yield approximately 3 ounces of cooked meat, as will a chicken leg (drumstick plus thigh).
Chicken and Beef Stock or Bouillon Stocks and bouillon can add large amounts of salt and fat to a soup. When unsalted chicken stock is called for in a dish, the recipe on page 10 in the Japanese section is recommended. There is also a recipe for beef stock on page 69 in the Korean chapter. Be sure to make the broth a day before you plan to use it to allow for defatting after refrigeration.
If desired, canned or powdered low-sodium chicken and beef stock or bouillon may be substituted. Canned stock should be refrigerated before the can is opened so that visible fat may be removed before using. To season canned stock, heat it with a slice or two of fresh ginger root.
Fish and Seafood Fish and seafood provide high-quality, low-fat protein with fewer calories than meat. Actually, up until recently it was widely believed that fatty fish and shellfish should be avoided, and the best choices were thus thought to be lean fish like sole and flounder. However, recent research reported in the New England Journal of Medicine has shown that these fatty fish, with their high levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids, known as omega-3s, may be useful in lowering blood cholesterol levels and are therefore recommended as desirable substitutes for red meat once or twice a week. Moreover, shellfish, especially shrimp, are no longer prohibited from diets designed to lower blood cholesterol, because improved laboratory techniques have shown that they are not as high in cholesterol as was thought in the past. An important point to be made in comparing fatty fish with red meat is that the fat content of fish ranges from less than 1 percent to 13 percent. This is very different from the fat content of red meat, which ranges from 10 percent to over 30 percent. Thus, the fish with the highest percentage of fat is almost as lean as the red meat with the lowest.
The benefits of omega-3s notwithstanding, health practitioners warn against taking cod-liver oil or fish-oil supplements and derivatives. Their safety and efficacy have not been established, and some of these supplements may even have serious toxic effects. It is always more beneficial and more enjoyable to use the foods themselves rather than supplements.
Some seafoods that are high in omega-3 fatty acids include Atlantic mackerel, herring and sardines, blue fish, four varieties of salmon-rpink, chinook, red or sockeye, and coho—rainbow trout, lake whitefish, sablefish, American eel, European anchovy, Pacific oysters, New Zealand green mussels, squid, and striped mullet"albacore and blue fin tuna. Many of these, such as squid and fresh tuna, are more appreciated in other cultures than they are in the United States.
The cardinal rule to follow when preparing fish is that it must be very fresh and it must not be overcooked, A simple way to estimate cooking time is to measure the fish at its thickest point and cook it no longer than 10 minutes per inch. Keep in mind that fatty fish is more perishable than lean fish and should be cooked on the day it is purchased. If you are unable to cook any oily fish immediately, marinating is a good way to keep it for a day or two.
Squid Squid is widely appreciated in Asian and Mediterranean countries. It is caught along the southern Californian coast, but most of it is canned for export. Recently, it has begun to win favor in the United States, earning the affectionate title of the "poor man's abalone." It is an inexpensive protein food whose fat content is only about 1 percent and it is very low in calories. But its cholesterol content is high and varies dramatically depending on the season. On the average, after cleaning, it contains approximately 250 milligrams in 3 ½ ounces. To stay within the recommended allowances for cholesterol, it is suggested that squid be eaten only in small amounts.
If it is fresh, squid will be sweet-smelling and ivory colored (not yellow) beneath its spotted skin. Also, the transparent quill or center bone should detach easily. The tentacles are a substantial portion of the squid's edible meat and should not be discarded. The ink from the squid was an important source for Europe's ink, called sepia, until about half a century ago, when other dyes were invented.
In some countries, notably Spain and Italy, this ink is used as an ingredient in cooking. Arroz negro (black rice) is -rice cooked with squid, tomato, peppers, onions, and squid ink mixed with wine. It is served with a potent garlic-olive oil sauce. Spaghetti nero is al-dente cooked pasta that is served with a sauce made by sauteing minced garlic in olive oil and adding the squid ink and small pieces of chopped squid.
The maximum cooking time for stir-fried squid is three minutes. For moist cooking, baking, or stewing, at least 20 minutes are required to tenderize it. Do not marinate squid any more than 30 minutes, or the meat may soften too much; and be warned that it will taste bitter if vinegar or lemon juice is used.
Cooking Fats and Oils Safflower oil is preferable to other vegetable oils because it is lighter and has more polyunsaturated fat and less saturated fat than other oils. In this book, it is substituted for pork fat and lard, and for coconut oil, which is highly saturated. Ghee used in Indian cooking is similar to clarified butter, which is pure butter fat with all the milk solids removed. Safflower oil or polyunsaturated margarine takes its place. Avoid solid vegetable shortenings and substitute polyunsaturated vegetable oils and margarines. The total fat and calorie content may be the same, but the saturated fat content is much lower and there is no cholesterol in pure vegetable fats. Ideally, the oil or margarine should contain at least twice as much polyunsaturated (P) as saturated (S) fatty acids.
If the label shows a P/S ratio, it should be 2 to 1 or higher. Also, do not buy margarines that list "partially hydrogenated" or "hardened" oil as the first ingredient. The label should list liquid vegetable oil as the main ingredient. Avoid any product that contains coconut or palm oil. (See Fat-Cholesterol-Sodium Tables on pages 332-34.)
To cut down on the quantity of fat needed in cooking, Teflon- or SilverStone-coated nonstick pans are recommended because foods brown nicely in them without sticking, even when the smallest amount of grease is used. Do not heat fat to the smoking point. Fat that begins to smoke releases undesirable chemicals and should be discarded.
Eggs Eat no more than 3 egg yolks a week, including eggs used in cooking and baking. A single egg yolk has 265 to 275 milligrams of cholesterol, nearly the maximum amount recommended for an entire day. More than half the protein in eggs is in the white, which is free of fat and cholesterol and can therefore be eaten in unrestricted amounts. The yolk is nearly twice as rich in fat as it is in protein and has more than three times the number of calories found in the white. These facts should not be cause for giving up omelets. A very good one can be made with 1 egg yolk and 3 whites. Feed the unused yolks to your pets. They do not get atherosclerosis because unlike humans they excrete cholesterol.
Another alternative is to use an egg substitute. Commercial egg substitutes that are made from egg whites are available in the dairy section of the supermarket. Read the labels carefully, however, and do not buy any that contain coconut oil, palm oil, or other saturated fat. A recipe for an egg substitute based on one from an American Heart Association cookbook will be found in the Korean section under Fish Fillets and Vegetables Wrapped in Egg Batter on pages 75-76. Still another American Heart Association cookbook recommends an even simpler substitute: for each egg in a recipe, substitute 1 egg white and 2 teaspoons vegetable oil. For recipes that require a lot of eggs, such as a sponge cake or a souffle, these substitutions will not work, though they will work for other cake and cookie recipes. Some experimenting may be required.
About Some Essential Ingredients Used in These Recipes
Black Pepper A native of India and Indonesia, black pepper is the berry of a tropical vine. It is green when immature and red and yellow when ripe. The berries are gathered before they are ripe and allowed to dry in the sun. The result is black peppercorns. Black pepper is lower down on the heat scale than chilies, but