I was asked to do a presentation on this topic yesterday to a company. Actually it’s not an easy topic to cover – Healthy Hawker Food – personally I do not think it exists.
Hawker food actually originated from the street hawkers serving ready to eat food to the ‘coolies’ or labourers from the ‘old economy’. The dock workers, warehouse labourers, boat men; hence you’ll find that most of these hawkers began their trade along the river or wharfs.
The food was high in carbohydrates and fat, strong tasting and was prepared quickly. Hence they were either fried or flash boiled, served with oils or seasoning.
They were fine and actually quite appropriate for the workers then – the hard bodies needed the fat and quick energy from the carbohydrates to lift, pull and push the loaded bags and crates.
But eating these foods today may not be a good idea. Face it we’re mostly working with computers and in the office, sheltered from the sun and the only pushing done is with a pen. All that fat and carbohydrate goes into storage as body fat – with little or no hope of ever being used.
So is it surprising that you are fat?
No matter how you choose, it’s a challenge. How does one avoid the salt and fat in Hawker food? Most hawkers especially the ones in the Central Business District, will not accede to any request to cut the oils or the salt as they have to prepare the food in bulk for the sake of speed and profit.
Hawker food actually originated from the street hawkers serving ready to eat food to the ‘coolies’ or labourers from the ‘old economy’. The dock workers, warehouse labourers, boat men; hence you’ll find that most of these hawkers began their trade along the river or wharfs.
The food was high in carbohydrates and fat, strong tasting and was prepared quickly. Hence they were either fried or flash boiled, served with oils or seasoning.
They were fine and actually quite appropriate for the workers then – the hard bodies needed the fat and quick energy from the carbohydrates to lift, pull and push the loaded bags and crates.
But eating these foods today may not be a good idea. Face it we’re mostly working with computers and in the office, sheltered from the sun and the only pushing done is with a pen. All that fat and carbohydrate goes into storage as body fat – with little or no hope of ever being used.
So is it surprising that you are fat?
No matter how you choose, it’s a challenge. How does one avoid the salt and fat in Hawker food? Most hawkers especially the ones in the Central Business District, will not accede to any request to cut the oils or the salt as they have to prepare the food in bulk for the sake of speed and profit.
4 comments:
Hi, what do you think about yong tauhu with soup with/without noodles. Of course you must skip the sweet & chilli sauces.
Actually many people seem to think that Young Tau Hu is healthy.. But consider this.. If it's ONLY the beancurd steamed or boiled..served dry with a small amount of sauce, then Ya, it may be ..Healthier.
But if the ingredients are the fried ones , or the ones stuffed with processed meats and fish cake , that are normlly seasoned with too much salt and MSG, then be wary.
If you go for the soupy variety..DO NOT EVEN THINK OF DRINKING THE SOUP!! They're most likely seasoned with MSG!
Say.. porridge is healthy right? I love minced pork porridge..and how about fishball noodles? When I'm sick the first thing I think of eating is either porridge or fishball noodles..
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