A Bite of China - Dish One

Hello folks!

I am so excited to write this post because I will talk about Chinese food, my homeland food! Many of you may have traveled to China and had your own opinion about Chinese foods. They may taste delicious, amazing, interesting, or awkward to you. True! One word can not simply describe the taste of Chinese foods. Where ever there are people, there is food. China has more than 5000 years of history. Therefore, Chinese foods has just as many years of history as 5000 years. When ever you are taking a bite of Chinese foods, you are biting into a long tradition!

I went to China to visit my family the past summer for 6 weeks. I got a chance to walk on my Chinese food journey again. It was a fascinating and memorable journey for me. I want to share some of the dishes with you, along with the nutritional benefit of the ingredient(s) in the dishes.

The first dish I would like to introduce is an Inner Mongolia dish, called slow cooked lamb. My grandma lives in Inner Mongolia. I visited her on my trip to China. Therefore, I had many Inner Mongolia foods. Most of Inner Mongolia is covered by grass land, which makes a perfect environment for ranching. Sheep is very profitable to ranch because of its commercial value. Sheep's wool can be used in clothing industry, sheep milk can be used in making cheese and other dairy products, and of course, lamb meat (sheep less than one year old) is always in demand because lamb is a part of Inner Mongolian people's diet. Also tourists wouldn't want to miss the chance of tasting the best and original grass fed lamb meat when they visit Inner Mongolia.      

Inner Mongolia Dish: Slow Cooked Lamb

Featured Ingredient - Lamb

Nutritional benefit 

• High in omega-3 fatty acid 
• High quality protein
• High in easily absorbed zinc
• High in iron
• High in selenium  

Health benefit 

•  Help lower the risk of cardiovascular disease due to higher omega-3 fatty acid and higher conjugated linoleic acid, which is associated lower risk of heart disease. Also, lamb has a higher oleic acid content, which is a monounsaturated fat. It is also studied to be associated with reduce risk of heart disease.
• Due to the higher content of minerals zinc and selenium, lamb can help protect oxidative stress in our body.
• Higher quality protein in lamb is easier to be absorbed and utilized by our body.
• Lamb is also a good source of Vitamins, especially B vitamins. B vitamins play a vital role in metabolism.

3 oz (85 g) Cook Lamb Nutrition Value 

References:

Lamb, grass-fed. The World Healthiest Foods Web site. http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=117#healthbenefits. Accessed October 29, 2014. 

The Nutrition of Lamb. Fit Day Web site. http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/the-nutrition-of-lamb.html#b. Accessed October 29, 2014.

The Nutrition Fact of Lamb, Cooked, Braised. NutritionData.com Web site. http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/lamb-veal-and-game-products/4669/2. Accessed October 29, 2014.