Tuesday, February 3, 2009

How Asians Avoid Salmonella Poisoning

I grew up in South East Asia where the risk of getting Salmonella infection is very high. In some Asian countries, there is no regulation for off-the-street food vendors and small scale food processing facilities.

However the Asian cooking technique helps prevent salmonella infection. These are a few tips that can help you avoid Salmonella poisoning and also lose weight at the same time:

• Heat it up
When Asians make peanut sauce, they add some water to ground peanuts or peanut butter and cook until it is boiling. According to the USDA, you destroy the Salmonella bacteria when you heat up your food to at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit. So you can add a small amount of water to peanut butter, mix it and heat it up in the microwave until it is boiling.
The boiling point of water is 212 degrees Fahrenheit; so you can enjoy peanut butter without the fear of getting a Salmonella infection.

• Slice it
When cooking meat, slice it into thin pieces. Cut 1/8 inch thin across the grain. The thinly sliced meat will cook quickly and evenly, thus reducing the risk of getting Salmonella infection. By slicing meat into thin pieces, you can also get rid of the fat marble that is in the middle of the meat easily, thus reducing your intake of saturated fat.

• Steam or stir fry it
Asians steam or stir fry their vegetable dishes in high heat, about 200 degrees for two to five minutes. If you do this you will destroy the Salmonella bacteria and at the same time still preserve most of the vitamins because of the short cooking time. Steaming and stir frying vegetables is also healthy because you only use water or a little vegetable oil compared to high fat salad dressing.

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