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Pan-frying and deep-frying: "culprit" of high fat content
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According to Cherry, pan-frying or deep-frying is different from steaming or blanching the same ingredients in terms of caloric value and fat content (Table 1). Moreover, most deep-fried foods have a coating of either batter or breadcrumbs, which significantly increases the overall caloric value of the foods. Deep-fried fish fillet at 100 g, for example, contains twice the calories and over 40 times the total fat of a steamed fish. A serving of deep-fried onion has a fat content 80 times that of stir-fried onion.
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Vegetable oils do not contribute to weight gain?
Basically all types of cooking oil have roughly the same calorific value. Overconsumption of any fat – animal or vegetable – results in weight gain.
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The Chinese Nutrition Society suggests that adults should limit their consumption of cooking oil to 2 teaspoons per meal. If 3 teaspoons of oil (135 Kcal) or its equivalent is consumed on a daily basis without additional exercise done, surplus fat will accumulate and the person can gain 2.1 kg (about 5 pounds) in 4 months. So don’t overlook the long-term effect of excessive oil intake!
Table 1: Energy, carbohydrates, protein and total fat content of food cooked by different methods
Food item (per 100g)
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Cooking method
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Calories (kcal)
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Carbohydrates (g)
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Protein (g)
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Fat (g)
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Fried rice w/ tomato and beef
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Stir-fying (rice)
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150
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22
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5.2
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4.9
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Tomato and beef on rice
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Steaming (rice)
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120
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21
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4.6
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1.8
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Deep-fried onion rings
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Deep-frying
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326
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37.4
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4.4
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16.6
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Deep-fried prawns
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Deep-frying
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50
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7.6
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2.7
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0.2
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Deep-fried prawns
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Deep-frying
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242
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11.47
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21.39
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12.28
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Braised prawns
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Steaming/ braising
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99
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0
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20.91
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1.08
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Deep-fried fish fillets
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Deep-frying
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248
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18.0
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17.0
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11.6
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Steamed fish
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Steaming
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126
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0
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30.3
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0.2
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Deep-fried drumsticks
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Deep-frying
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273
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8.72
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21.77
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16.17
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Grilled drumsticks
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Grilling
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184
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0
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24.03
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8.99
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Source: Centre for Food Safety,
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Extract from CookSmart, Issue 21
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