This Northeastern dish is super delicious, but it is not recommended, mainly for 3 reasons

There are so many delicious foods in Northeast China that just hearing the names can make people drool.

For example, the farmhouse pot, sweet and sour pork, three fresh vegetables, pickled cabbage bones, braised pork slices, chicken stewed with mushrooms, iron pot stewed goose...

Among them, sweet and sour pork is quite popular. When talking about it, the first reaction in our mind is "sweet", "crisp" and "delicious".

In fact, this dish was created during the reign of Emperor Guangxu in the late Qing Dynasty in the early 20th century. It was originally called "Guobaorou" (pot-fried meat), but later became "Guobaorou" (pot-fried meat). It was invented by Zheng Xingwen, the founder of Laochujia, when he was an official chef in Harbin Daotai Mansion. It was mainly designed to cater to the appetite of Russians. However, since Russians pronounce "bao" (explosion) as "bao", over time, this dish became known as "Guobaorou" (pot-fried meat). [1]

Although it is really delicious, it is really not recommended. There are three main reasons. Let’s talk about them.

1. High oil:

I checked the common methods of making pot-wrapped pork on the Internet. To be honest, it seems quite troublesome, as it needs to be fried and marinated. First, the prepared tenderloin slices need to be fried first. After the first frying, the oil temperature continues to be heated to the highest and needs to be fried again.

▲Photo: Grandma Xi from the Kitchen

Although the actual amount of oil consumed is not as much as described in the recipe, the food will absorb oil because it is coated in batter and then fried. As shown in the figure below, the oil absorption rate of mushrooms and shrimps coated in flour is more than 20% [2]. This means that 100 grams of starch will absorb about 20 grams of oil. Therefore, the sweet and sour pork that has been fried twice will probably absorb the same amount of oil, or even more.

Therefore, sweet and sour pork is definitely a dish with a relatively high oil content. The amount of oil consumed in this meal may be close to or even exceed the 25-30 grams per day recommended by the Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents.

A high-fat diet not only increases the risk of obesity, but is also one of the factors affecting hyperlipidemia.

2. High sugar:

According to the recipe I found above, you need to use sugar and vinegar to make a thick sauce and then coat the fried meat slices with sauce. If you use 200 grams of tenderloin to make a pot-fried pork, you will need about 50 grams of sugar.

Many people can eat 100 grams of meat in one meal, but according to the recommendations in the "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents", the daily intake of added sugar should be less than 25 grams. Eating a 100-gram portion of sweet and sour pork made from meat slices is enough...

Excessive sugar intake not only increases the risk of tooth decay, but also increases the risk of obesity, hyperglycemia, and gout.

In addition, eating too much sugar will accelerate the aging of the skin. The sugar we eat will eventually be broken down into glucose for the body to use. The carboxyl group of glucose can react with the amino group of DNA, fat, and protein through a series of reactions to generate advanced glycation end products (AGEs). AGEs can glycate collagen and elastin, accelerating skin aging. [3] It may also cause acne.

Even if you want to stay young and beautiful, you have to control your sugar intake!

3. Deep frying:

Most fried foods will make us fall for them from all angles with their tempting golden appearance, rich aroma and crisp sound.

The moment you take a bite, you can enjoy not only the delicious taste, but also the pleasant and crisp sound. Just like the sweet and sour pork just out of the pot, taking a bite is really enjoyable!

As mentioned above, the key step in making sweet and sour pork is frying, and it has to be fried twice, so the sweet and sour pork just out of the pan is really crispy.

Frying is a form of high-temperature cooking, with temperatures reaching 140-200°C[4]. During this process, oxidation reactions occur to produce peroxides, which in turn attack cells and may accelerate aging. They also produce the carcinogen benzopyrene and the Class 2A carcinogen acrylamide; they also produce trans fatty acids.

In addition, high-temperature frying will destroy the B vitamins in meat, and 70-90% of the vitamin E in vegetable oil will be destroyed during frying. [4] Therefore, eating this kind of food frequently will not only make you gain weight, but also lead to malnutrition.

Summarize:

Combining the above 3 points, although Northeastern sweet and sour pork is really "very! delicious!", it is really not recommended that you eat it often. It is better to eat it occasionally to satisfy your craving!

References:

[1] Zhu Guifeng, Zheng Shuguo. Analysis of the food culture of "Pot-fried Pork" from the time-honored brand Laochujia in Heilongjiang[J]. Heilongjiang Archives, 2016(1):2.

[2] Chinese Nutrition Society. Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents[M]. People's Medical Publishing House, 2016

[3] Zhou Mengting, Xu Jun, Ye Liangwei, et al. Research progress on the formation, hazards, inhibition methods and effective raw materials of advanced glycation end products (AGEs)[J]. Modern Food, 2019(24).

[4] Yang Yuexin, Ge Keyou. Chinese Nutrition Science Encyclopedia 2nd Edition (Volume 1)[M]. People's Medical Publishing House, 2019