Vitamins B-complex and C are water-soluble and thus may be lost through leaching during prolonged cooking. Steaming, which minimises the food’s contact with water, appears to be the best method for retaining the nutrients in vegetables. Quick stir-frying of vegetables in just a little oil also enables...

Pan-frying and deep-frying: "culprit" of high fat content 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...

There are many techniques in Chinese cooking, yet the most common methods are pan-frying, stir-frying, deep-frying, blanching/poaching, stewing, simmering, steaming and roasting/grilling. Cooking the same food ingredients using different methods not only creates different flavours and...

Full of nutrients as they are, says Verona, certain vegetables, especially cruciferae (e.g. broccoli, cauliflower, Chinese white cabbage, etc.), have fibre that is not easily digestible. They need to be broken down, fermented and absorbed through intestinal enzymes; this process may cause...

Each colour of a vegetable contains a unique nutritional component that is essential to our health. As Verona suggests, the more colours of vegetables we eat, the more nutrients we can get from them. “Vegetables contain chemical compounds that affect their colours, scents, flavours and...