Asian cuisine is experiencing not the first boom in popularity in Russia. Every year, the number of its adherents is slowly but surely growing. People began to travel more often, to discover new countries and gastronomic preferences. But why is Asian cuisine winning everyone’s love? We suggest that you thoroughly study this issue.
Asian Slimness Code
It is difficult not to admit that in recent years, the fashion for healthy food has become an unrestrained cult. But gourmets categorically do not agree to eat raw vegetables, boiled chicken breasts with unleavened cereals, periodically alternating them with low-fat kefir.
From all these torments, the multi-faceted Asian cuisine is designed to save you: Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Japanese, Thai, and Filipino. They easily get along with the basic principles of a healthy diet and a lively rich taste of food. One of the most important principles is: long live the abundance of vegetables and herbs! Asians actually eat an incredible amount of vegetables, inventing all sorts of side dishes, salads and snacks from them, skillfully combining them with fish and meat. It is noteworthy that the European vegetable variations seem to them tasteless.
Moderation in everything is inherent in Asians from birth. Hence-small portions and a “trained” appetite. Do not forget that at the table they wield chopsticks, and with them you still need to try to eat to the full. With low-calorie soups from the gifts of the sea and lean meat, you will not gain extra pounds either. Especially since fish and seafood with their “light” proteins and dietary properties dominate the diet of almost any Asian cuisine.
And one more secret of slimness of Asians. They are absolutely indifferent to desserts and sweets. Homemade cakes in our view — for them at all a rarity. Instead of all of the above, they eat sweet snacks based on the ubiquitous rice, soybeans and seaweed. And I must say, they feel quite happy.
The triumph of pure taste
Anyone who has visited real cafes and restaurants of Asian cuisine in Moscow or in other major cities knows that for cooking dishes here use gentle heat treatment. Raw ingredients are steamed, lightly steamed in water, or fried in a small amount of oil in a matter of seconds. Deep-fried treats, sold at every turn in Asian cities, mostly attract tourists. For the Asians themselves, the main thing is to preserve the original taste of fresh products and a generous bouquet of useful elements that they are endowed with by nature.
To recreate the real recipes of Asian cuisine at home, only a wok pan will help. Externally, it resembles a reduced in size and slightly flattened cauldron with a conical bottom. The products in this pan are prepared with incredible speed and are instantly covered with a ruddy crispy crust. It “locks” delicious juices inside and retains a delicate texture. It is no coincidence that experts in Asian cuisine claim that none of its authentic dishes are prepared for longer than 15 minutes. It is clear that with such a rapid heat treatment, the ingredients do not have time to absorb a lot of oil and lose their valuable properties. It is thanks to this that they acquire a unique and so tempting taste.
Gastronomic charade
The mysterious Russian soul tends to the equally mysterious Asian exoticism. Perhaps, more than others, it is able to please her dishes of Vietnamese and Korean cuisine. Here, the chefs manage to combine three to five main flavors in a single dish at the same time. What are the incredibly popular Thai soups today! In one plate, sweet coconut milk, bitter burning chili, salted fish, juicy citrus fruits or pineapples with a pronounced sourness are peacefully side by side.
Various spices, herbs and roots, for which Asians have an inexplicable passion, help to create mind-blowing combinations. Ginger, curry, star anise, fennel, lemongrass, turmeric and pepper of all kinds are particularly popular among gourmets. Artfully combining them together, Asian chefs are able to create an extraordinary symphony of flavors and transform beyond recognition the simplest side dish of rice or stewed chicken.
Dishes and products of Asian cuisine can not be imagined without a whole palette of sauces. Their preparation in itself is a small culinary mystery. There are universal soy sauce and spicy fish sauce, sweet tomato paste and spicy soy sauce, as well as garlic, sesame, peanuts, chopped vegetables and fruits, fragrant herbs and aromatic vegetable oils. From such pieces of the mosaic, harmonious seasonings are created that make the most ordinary dishes sound in a new way.
Food as Art
True gourmets are attracted not only by recipes of Asian cuisine, but also by the aesthetic side of the issue. Asians, by their own admission, like to eat with their eyes. In this, domestic gourmets are always ready to support them.
Skilful design of dishes and spectacular serving set up the right mood and excite the appetite. Therefore, often in Asian restaurants on a plate you can find a whole etude of buckwheat noodles, shrimp, omelet, greens and green onion rings. Laid out in an appetizing composition of sushi and rolls, even if far from the original, delight the eye and create a sense of anticipation of something pleasant.
The Asian-style entourage is no less enticing. Many restaurant owners carefully decorate the interiors of their establishments with whimsical patterns of hieroglyphs, pot-bellied Chinese lanterns, giant half-wall fans, images of dragons and other paraphernalia with a national flavor. To dine in such an environment is like visiting an Asian country. And if you want to plunge into the fascinating foreign atmosphere with your head, you can always arrange an impromptu tea ceremony.
All these ceremonial rites and traditions, even if only partially preserved from ancient times to the present day, give Asian cuisine a special philosophical meaning. Therefore, it is able to tell more about the history and culture of different countries than any encyclopedia. This is one of the main secrets of the attractiveness of Asian cuisine.
Another confirmation that the interest in Asian cuisine is not fading is the recipe section of the website “Healthy Food Near Me”. Here is a rich collection of recipes of Asian cuisine with photos from our readers. Without any doubt, here you will find interesting dishes for yourself. Do you want to add your own culinary creations to the general piggy bank? We will be only too happy. After all, sharing delicious discoveries is always a pleasure.