Chinese Ingredients Guide

Dates

Dates is a kind of fruits which is commonly used in Chinese or Asian cooking. Dates are available in red, black, honey (processed), fresh and dried forms. Dates are high in iron and potassium and contain modest amount of folate and small amount of vitamins A and B. And fresh dates are having much lower calories than dried dates.

Dates are valued for its medical benefits. Dates are beneficial for anemia, constipation and fatigue. Besides, dates are very useful for supplying energy and repairing waste. Dates are good for weak heart as well.

Dates are highly consumed in Chinese community. Chinese mostly uses dried dates for cooking, and fresh dates for snacks or eaten with tea. Besides, dates are also being processed for fresh juice, canned juice and dates tea.

When choosing fresh dates, look for those soft, and shiny appearance in tightly sealed package. The best way to store dates is to refrigerate them in tightly sealed package to prevent them from drying out. However, for dried dates, you just need to keep them in cool place. If fresh dates are properly stored, they can last for several weeks; and for dried dates, they can last for months

Chinese normally uses dried dates to cook soup. You just need to clean the dates, seed the dates (or you don't even need to do this), and then boil them together with other ingredients for 30 minutes or longer. Besides giving natural sweetness, it also add in nutrition into the soup. Chinese believes by taking this at least twice a week, it will help rejuvenating the body, especially to people with weak heart and "qi" (breath in English).

Another way to eat dates is to boil it with water or tea, and add in few slices of young ginger and small amount of brown sugar, and drink it daily. It will provide the same effect as cooking it with soup.

Of course, you can slice dates into small pieces and stir fry it with meat or vegetables, or even add it into porridge or congee. The taste and the amount of nutrition it gives will be just as much.

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