FDRrecipes

Chinese chefs have their own preparation techniques: marinading, thickening, velveting etc., and cooking techniques: blanching, poaching, stir-frying, deep-frying, shallow-frying, slow-simmering, steeping, braising, red-braising, steaming, roasting, barbecuing, twice-cooking, re-heating foods and etc. To cook Chinese dishes you also need to know these techniques and picularities.

Traditional Chinese cooking equipment is not essential for cooking Chinese food but there are a few items which will make it very much easier. Most items can be bought very cheaply, especially if you seek out authentic implements from a Chinese grocer rather than the more expensive versions sold in many department stores.

Nowadays Chinese food is very popular in different countries, especially in US. But not all of us know much about Chinese cooking and Chinese culture in general. For example, do you know that Chinese greeting 'Chi fan le mei you?' is translated as 'Have you eaten yet?' For Chinese people food is more than a passion, it is an obsession, and good eating is believed to be essential to good living.

At first glance, many of the hundreds of wine labels which confront the shopper in the wine section of a supermarket or off-licence could have been deliberately designed to confuse or mystify. It is not surprising that the familiar names seem the most reassuring, because if you venture into the unknown and opt for something you've never tried, or perhaps even heard of before, how do you know what you are getting? How do you know that you will actually like the contents of your $5-20 bottle when you get it home and open it?

Although the juice pressed from freshly picked grapes will make itself into wine of its own accord, a wine-maker will always intervene and control the process to a certain extent, making sure that the wine is as good as it can be. It's not a question of interfering where things are better left alone: although wine makes itself quite readily, it also has the ability to make itself rotten as well.

Incorporating freshly made juices into your diet is a simple way to enhance beauty, health and general wellbeing. They are packed with so many useful vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that it seems a shame not to benefit from their natural bounty. But remember some general guidelines that will help you not to injure your health. Juicing should be health-giving!

People eat bread for centuries. Some years ago white bread was considered the most expensive and health-giving, but today we know that it is not so good for us. White bread is rather nutritious and is not good for people who's on diet. Wholemeal, brown and wheatgerm bread is much better for our health. But what kind of bread is it?

Three dishes for four people from one standard 3 1/2 lb (1.6kg) chicken! If that seems to be stretching it a little, it's the reason for the name 'elastic chicken'. First learn how to cut up or 'joint' the bird. In fact, this technique produces nine portions as well as the giblets and carcass. It's from this that the multiple meals come.

Fresh juices should preferably be drunk just after they have been made, or during the same day. This ensures that they contain the maximum number of nutrients. Here are some another tips to help you make the most of your juicing. They are simple but essential points of which you should be aware.

Yogurt is made by fermenting warmed milk with bacteria. The nutritional content depends on the type of milk used and the fat content of the milk. All yogurt contains protein, calcium and some B vitamins. It has no fibre content unless fruit, nuts or cereal fibre is added.

Many of us think of eating turkey only at Christmas or other celebrations, but this low-fat meat is available all year round: whole, in portions or cooked. As well as having most of its fat content in the skin, turkey is rich in B vitamins and zinc which helps to maintain a healthy immune system.

Rice is a major staple carbohydrate for a large sector of the world's population. It is low in fat and a good source of B vitamins, although brown rice is better than white rice. We divide rice into long-grain, medium-grain and short-grain; white and brown. Every type of rice has its own taste characteristics.

In Naples one summer, around the late 1800's, Queen Margherita of Savoy was residing with her family in Capodimonte Park. She had heard a lot about pizza and decided to try it for herself. The local pizza maker was summoned and he served her a pizza with a newly invented topping. From then on, the tomato pulp, Mozzarella cheese and fresh basil pizza has been known as Pizza Margherita.

Milk has been valued for years as an important food, especially for children. As well as being high in protein, it is a rich source of calcium for all. Milk is the major source of calcium for children and adults alike, building and maintaining strong and healthy bones and teeth. But if you're on diet, choose semi-skimmed and skimmed milk, because they are lower in fat.

Lentils, like beans, are pulses and form a major source of protein and energy in many parts of the world. If you are on vegetarian diet, include dishes with lentils to your ration. The larger yellow lentils are also called split peas, and need to be soaked before cooking. Smaller lentils, such as red, green and brown need little or no soaking.

Kiwi fruits contain almost twice as much vitamin C as oranges. One kiwi fruit supplies more than the daily adult requirement of vitamin C. The dark colour of the flesh means it is packed full of goodness. You can easily make different low-fat desserts with kiwi fruits.

Fish is very nutritious and should be encouraged on to the family menu. Today there is a wide range of fish for sale, although in parts of the world fish is a much scarcer and more expensive commodity, due to over-fishing of some seas. Fish can be roughly divided into three groups: white fish, oily or fatty fish and shellfish.

If you enjoy eating sweet foods you may find it hard to resist the tempting array of desserts that are now available, either on the dessert trolley or on the supermarket shelves. Be aware that some desserts are not only high in sugar, but also in fat-pastries with cream, chocolate puddings, etc. Any of these desserts are fine for an occasional treat, but not every day.

Blanching fresh vegetables can provide us with a freezer full of delicious and healthy vegetables that we eat during the long winter. The taste of them is far better than store-bought frozen or canned vegetables ever could. You can blanch such vegetables as green beans, peas, asparagus, spinach, broccoli and cauliflower easily.

Frozen vegetables are very successfully defrosted or reheated in the microwave. On the whole, it is not necessary to add any extra water for cooking. Small bags of vegetables can be reheated in the bags in which they were bought or frozen. Just place them on a plate for support and remove any ties. Bought bags of frozen vegetables just need the corner of the bag snip-ping with scissors before cooking.