Get rich without getting stuck in oil! Eat Five Elements High Fiber Yuanbao in the Year of the Horse

Whether it is purchased New Year's dishes or traditional New Year's dishes, they generally have the common shortcomings of too high fat or sodium content and insufficient dietary fiber content. After eating them for several consecutive days, many people often have health problems such as gastrointestinal discomfort, increased cholesterol, and obesity. Nutritionists recommend that mothers cook their own meals at home to avoid getting too much calories. As long as they master the tricks of steaming, boiling, and adding high-fiber fruits and vegetables to dishes, they can make the dishes more filling, increase the amount of dietary fiber, and be healthy without consuming too much fat.

Demonstration of high-fiber New Year’s dish: Five Elements Yuanbao. (Photography by Luo Huiwen)

Jin Meilin, a nutritionist at the Department of Nutrition at the Linsen Branch of Taipei City United Hospital, recommends that people prepare a few New Year's dishes at home, using steaming, boiling, and baking instead of traditional frying or deep-frying to reduce the use of additional oil during cooking, and using fresh vegetables as the main ingredients, such as bell peppers, scallions, mushrooms, mustard greens, etc., which can not only reduce the calories of fat and the burden on the stomach, but also make the dishes more attractive.

In addition, using whole grains as staple foods and making good use of fresh fruits and vegetables of various colors in cooking can not only increase satiety and reduce calorie intake, but also obtain more diverse nutrients, including dietary fiber, vitamins and various minerals.

【Five Elements Ingot】 5 servings (10 pieces/person)

• Ingredients: 1 pack of dumpling wrappers, 2 eggs, 600 grams of lean minced meat, 2 slices of spiced dried tofu, 10 grams of dried shrimp, half a handful of vermicelli, 5 dried mushrooms, 150 grams of leeks, 200 grams of carrots, and 100 grams of green onions.

• Seasoning: small amounts of salt, sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil and pepper.

• practice:

  1. Soak dried shiitake mushrooms and vermicelli in water and set aside.

  2. Chop the spiced tofu, dried shrimp, vermicelli, dried shiitake mushrooms, leeks, carrots and green onions and set aside.

  3. Mix the minced meat, eggs and the above ingredients, add appropriate seasonings, and stir clockwise for 10 minutes.

  4. Wrap the filling in the dumpling skin and it’s done.

【Stir-fried shrimp and asparagus】 5 servings

• Ingredients: 200 grams of shrimp, 200 grams of asparagus, 300 grams of red pepper, 300 grams of yellow pepper.

• Seasoning: a small amount of salt, oyster sauce and black vinegar.

• Marinade: a little soy sauce, rice wine and cornstarch.

• practice:

  1. Wash and slice the red and yellow peppers. Peel and wash the asparagus, cut into sections, and blanch them in hot water for later use.

  2. Marinate the shrimps lightly with the marinade, then blanch them in hot water and set aside.

  3. Heat a small amount of salad oil in the pan, then add red (yellow) pepper, asparagus and shrimp and stir-fry.

  4. Remove from heat and add seasoning.

Demonstration of high-fiber New Year’s Eve dinner: sweet porridge with longan. (Photography by Luo Huiwen)

【Mustard Kernel Stewed with Mushrooms】 5 servings

• Ingredients: 300 grams of mustard greens, 100 grams of fresh shiitake mushrooms, 100 grams of snow white mushrooms, and a little wolfberry.

• Seasoning: a small amount of salt and rice wine.

• practice:

  1. Wash the snow white mushrooms, wash and slice the mustard greens and fresh shiitake mushrooms, and blanch them in hot water for later use.

  2. Put a small amount of salad oil in the pan and heat it up, then add mustard greens, fresh shiitake mushrooms and snow white mushrooms and stir-fry. Remove from heat, add seasonings and sprinkle with wolfberries.

【Steamed sea bass】 5 servings

• Ingredients: 1 sea bass (about 600 grams), 300 grams of red pepper, some green onions, and some coriander.

• Seasoning: oyster sauce, salt, and a small amount of rice wine.

• practice:

  1. Remove the internal organs of the sea bass, clean it and set aside.

  2. Wash and cut red bell pepper and green onion into strips and wash coriander and set aside.

  3. Remove from the plate, pour seasoning on it, and steam in the pot for 15 minutes until fully cooked.

  4. Add shredded red pepper, shredded green onion and coriander, then drizzle with heated salad oil.

【Sweet Longan Porridge】 5 servings

• Ingredients: 200 grams of coix seed, 100 grams of red beans, 100 grams of large red beans, 30 grams of lotus seeds, 35 grams of mung beans, 35 grams of peanuts, 50 grams of longan, and 10 red dates.

• Seasoning: a small amount of sugar.

• practice:

  1. Wash the lotus seeds and mung beans, and soak them in water for 2 hours.

  2. Wash the peanuts, coix seeds, red beans and big red beans, and soak them in water overnight.

  3. Wash the red dates, remove the seeds and set aside.

  4. Mix longan with the above ingredients, add 2000cc of water and put into the rice cooker. Add 1000cc of water into the outer pot and cook for 1 hour. Finally, add appropriate amount of sugar.

★ "Eat Smart but Don't Get Fat" Chef recommends 3 high-fiber New Year dishes