How can you make Chinese food without salt/soya sauce - and still have it tasting like Chinese food?

Question

I'd also like to how people with high blood pressure in China change their eating habits? I'll be cooking for a person who has high blood pressure and wants Chinese food!-- Anyone from that area, can you help?

Answer 1

Depends on whether they can stand a little spice. I like those red peppers: they add so much flavor you don't need salt or soy sauce. Try www.penzeys.com for info on chinese spices without salt, they have lots of salt-free mixes, including peppers, allspice and ginger, that are used in chinese and asian cooking.

Answer 2

Use Low Sodium Soy and use it sparingly.
Good Chinese cooking is about the flavors of the foods not the soy sauce.
Soy sauce is a seasoning. Try using onions and celery to add salty taste, also chicken or beef broth.

Answer 3

It is the ingredients and the cooking methods make the dish taste like Chinese food, seasoning is minor factor!

For example, in Cantonese Cuisine, we stir fry vegetables with bean bean sauce or oyster sauce. We also boil fresh shrimps and then serve them with the shelves on, the guests have to take the shelves off themselves and they can either dip the shrimp with soy sauce or just consume it with its natural taste.

We have a lot of different kind of cooking methods and different kind of pre-made sauces which taste very different and the varieties of food are very wide. Below is an answer I posted to another question about Chinese sauces, I just listed up some of them and there are still a lot which are commonly used.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AkOlEzd.c39yuaCC9gFWiEbsy6IX?qid=20070423143608AAUOpNc

Below is the official website of the famous sauce manufacturer Lee Kum Kee for your reference, you may find more information about Chinese sauces.

http://www.lkk.com

Answer 4

Use potassium salt instead. Ask the person if that is okay first because it can interfere with medications. You can sometimes find Potassium salt with regular salt as a salt substitute. It's more expensive but has the same taste, and it is allegedly healthier. An overdose can be fatal, but you should be eating 50 times as much as you are getting now if you have an average diet.

Answer 5

Yes, sesame oil is wonderful, a nice strong flavor. But as far as salt goes, the only thing I can suggest is to use one of the lower-sodium soy sauces. They are still pretty good.

Answer 6

It does not taste better. My wife [Chinese] cooks without MSG. It is very salty and will make many people feel sleepy, thirsty and many other symptoms. Here's a news flash for you. MSG is in almost ALL foods you buy in your local grocery store with the exception of fresh fruits & vegetables. It is not on the list of ingredients because it is hidden in the catch all----Spices and natural flavorings.

Answer 7

Add a few drops of sesame oil.

Answer 8

try worstesher sauce

Answer 9

with oyster sauce