It's almost time to break out the hot pot and stock up on daikon. Is
there anyone who doesn't drink the liquid from the hot pot? Our hot
pots tend to be heavy on the vegetables and the only meat is usually
shrimp. Sometimes there are articles warning against drinking the
liquid from the hot pot after all that dunking because of cholesterol.
Anyone know any other reasons not to drink the soup?

I make quick soups with some of the main ingredients in our hot pot anyway.

ggg wrote
Sometimes there are articles warning against drinking the
liquid from the hot pot after all that dunking because of cholesterol.

I have also read that when you cook a lot of different meats and veg
in the hot pot the soup becomes saturated with purines (?) which is
not a Good Thing (may lead to gout and kidney stones?). But if you
cook only shrimp that might be OK.

Whatever the contents of the hot pot, drinking the liquid is not going
to be any worse for you than it would be to eat the dunked foods if they
were cooked some other way (stir fried for example)

Cooking in broth may "draw out" flavors and other components from the
dunked food, but it doesn't increase them over what is already there.

I would think that if you start with a healthy broth, and cook good food
in it, you're not going to wind up with some sort of scary chemical
cocktail.

Best - krnntp

ggg wrote:
It's almost time to break out the hot pot and stock up on daikon. Is
there anyone who doesn't drink the liquid from the hot pot? Our hot
pots tend to be heavy on the vegetables and the only meat is usually
shrimp. Sometimes there are articles warning against drinking the
liquid from the hot pot after all that dunking because of cholesterol.
Anyone know any other reasons not to drink the soup?

I make quick soups with some of the main ingredients in our hot pot anyway.

Whatever the contents of the hot pot, drinking the liquid is not going
to be any worse for you than it would be to eat the dunked foods if they
were cooked some other way (stir fried for example)

Cooking in broth may "draw out" flavors and other components from the
dunked food, but it doesn't increase them over what is already there.

I would think that if you start with a healthy broth, and cook good food
in it, you're not going to wind up with some sort of scary chemical
cocktail.

Best - krnntp

ggg wrote:

It's almost time to break out the hot pot and stock up on daikon. Is
there anyone who doesn't drink the liquid from the hot pot? Our hot
pots tend to be heavy on the vegetables and the only meat is usually
shrimp. Sometimes there are articles warning against drinking the
liquid from the hot pot after all that dunking because of cholesterol.
Anyone know any other reasons not to drink the soup?

I make quick soups with some of the main ingredients in our hot pot anyway.

ggg wrote:
+ It's almost time to break out the hot pot and stock up on daikon. Is
+ there anyone who doesn't drink the liquid from the hot pot? Our hot
+ pots tend to be heavy on the vegetables and the only meat is usually
+ shrimp. Sometimes there are articles warning against drinking the
+ liquid from the hot pot after all that dunking because of cholesterol.

Do you have links? I've never heard of such a thing. Quite the opposite,
actually -- I've been told that the vitamins leech out of the vegetables
into the soup so the soup is supposed to be healthy. Then again, that's
could just be based on superstition -- I don't have any scientific reason
for believing that the soup is actually healthy either. We don't normally
put meats like beef or pork in our hot pots either -- we use veggies, tofu,
and fish cakes. (I'm allergic to shrimp.)

Whatever the contents of the hot pot, drinking the liquid is not going
to be any worse for you than it would be to eat the dunked foods if
they were cooked some other way (stir fried for example)

Cooking in broth may "draw out" flavors and other components from the
dunked food, but it doesn't increase them over what is already there.

I would think that if you start with a healthy broth, and cook good
food in it, you're not going to wind up with some sort of scary
chemical cocktail.

Best - krnntp

ggg wrote in message ...
It's almost time to break out the hot pot and stock up on daikon. Is
there anyone who doesn't drink the liquid from the hot pot? Our hot
pots tend to be heavy on the vegetables and the only meat is usually
shrimp. Sometimes there are articles warning against drinking the
liquid from the hot pot after all that dunking because of cholesterol.
Anyone know any other reasons not to drink the soup?

I make quick soups with some of the main ingredients in our hot pot anyway.

KR wrote:
Whatever the contents of the hot pot, drinking the liquid is not going
to be any worse for you than it would be to eat the dunked foods if
they were cooked some other way (stir fried for example)

Cooking in broth may "draw out" flavors and other components from the
dunked food, but it doesn't increase them over what is already there.

I would think that if you start with a healthy broth, and cook good
food in it, you're not going to wind up with some sort of scary
chemical cocktail.

Best - krnntp


I think there's at least one Chinese article about this every winter and
it's not about how dirty the restaurant hotpot soups are though they do
mention that those soups are heavy concentrations because of the reuse.
I think the purines post is correct. It's the same reason to not
overdo on soup stocks but I have big plans for broths this winter. I'm
going to lay off lentils and beans though.

I wonder if purines and uric acid is why cooks blanch meats first in the
cooking process. My dad always did this and lately we've been boiling
chicken before baking or stewing the meat. Isn't it true that animals
release something toxic (was it doodoo) into their bloodstream/flesh
when they are being killed? Our HK friends warn against not cleaning
mushrooms - they blanch them first too. Culinary rules don't take
precedence over hygiene with them.

ggg wrote
Our HK friends warn against not cleaning
mushrooms - they blanch them first too. Culinary rules don't take
precedence over hygiene with them.

Yeah that's the word, "hygiene". The conditions where veggies are
grown are questionable; they do not have the same standards there.
They don't even drink water straight from the tap - it has to be
boiled first.

"Tippi" wrote ...

I have also read that when you cook a lot of different meats and veg
in the hot pot the soup becomes saturated with purines (?) which is
not a Good Thing (may lead to gout and kidney stones?). But if you
cook only shrimp that might be OK.

Purines are indeed the ingredients in meat (and some veggies, such as
mushrooms, spinach, etc) that cause gout (not sure about kidney stones).

I've never heard that they're leached out when cooking meat in liquid, but
it could be, at least some. From lists of stuff to avoid or eat in
moderation, I seem to recall that meat stocks were in the intermediate
category -- enjoy in moderation. But brief cooking as in hotpot? I never
saw blanching recommended as a way to make meats safe/r.

BUT ... I don't see how cooking your meat/etc in the pot and eating it, then
drinking the liquid, increases your take of purines over just eating the
equivalent amount of meat/etc Of course if someone is on a strict
anti-gout diet, it may be ok to cook their tofu and veggies in the hotpot,
but they should think twice about drinking the soup.

As to shrimp being ok, most seafood is pretty high in purines, especially
shellfish. I can't recall if shrimp were in the "moderation" category or
"no-no". Molluscs are pretty definitely bad.

I found this article when I was satisfying my curiosity about a Korean
infomercial I used to see.

I'm adding it to this thread because the article mentions that sharing
from a communal pot is a bad idea. I know some Chinese foodies who
are so strict about not dipping in with their own utensils but I'm
glad this is being promoted by non-Chinese too.



Korean Food Culture Must Change to Lower Cancer Rates

In May, the Korean Food Association listed and published eight
unsanitary practices carelessly committed by families and restaurants.
Included was Korea's long-standing dietary tradition of sharing stews
and soups. It said that since all sorts of germs could be transmitted
if people partook from the same soup or stew, this practice should be
avoided.

This might sound callous to those who have considered sharing stews
and soups while sharing pleasant conversation to be a time honored
practice of good manners, but the argument that Korea's uncommonly
high incidence of stomach cancer may have something to do with
Koreans' particular food culture -- in which several people eat from
the same bowl of stew or soup and partake from the same glass of
alcohol -- is gaining persuasiveness. In fact, it has been revealed
that 70 to 80 percent of Koreans were infected with the helicobacter
bacteria, which was pointed out as a main cause of stomach cancer by
the WHO in 1994.
br
Experts point out that passing around the wine class, a major offender
in passing along saliva-transmitted infections like the hepatitis
virus, needed to be corrected. Because of dietary practices such as
these, the ways to transmit diseases are endless. Daringly dabbing
your stick of oden (Japanese-style boiled fish cakes) in the dish of
soy sauce, for example. On a good business day, the saliva of hundreds
may be mixed in that dish of soy sauce. And consider yourself
fortunate if the dish of soy sauce was used just for one day. If the
shop had kept the soy sauce out there for a couple of days at a time,
it would be just like sharing the diseases of thousands.
Fire-roasted meat or fish, salted fish, and smoked foods also have
carcinogenic substances. In particular, there are reports of
considerable connections between colon cancer and meats. Grilling
meats right on the fire, a process in Korean known as "jikhwa-gui,"
could give rise to PHA or bensopyrene as the oils that drop into the
fire are burnt or the animal protein strands are burnt. The unusually
high rate of stomach cancer in Japan is traced to the Japanese' love
for roasted fish. PHA is found in car exhaust or diesel engines, while
bensopyrene is a toxic substance in tobacco.

Moreover, it was revealed that some lower-quality olive oils imported
from Spain, Turkey and Italy have large quantities of carcinogenic
bensopyrene.

Experts agree that that there is a strong connection between these
dietary practices and the occurrence of diseases. In particular, 30 to
40 percent of cancer cases are related to diet, a rate that would
roughly correspond with smoking. Prof. Shin Myeong-hui of
Sungkyungkwan University Medical School stressed, "To put this a
different way, if we were to change only our dietary culture, we could
prevent 35 percent of cancer cases."

Putting into practice a cancer-preventing diet would be surprisingly
simple. Dr. Ah Yun-ok, president of the Korean Cancer Association,
said, "It's basic that one eat foods rich in fiber like vegetables and
fruits, and if we were to change improper dietary practices alone like
eating spicy, high calorie foods, irregular meals, or preferences for
instant food, we could prevent cancer to some extent."



url: http://english.chosun.com/w21data/ht...410210018.html

On 4 Nov 2004 16:39:56 -0800, (ggg) wrote:

I found this article when I was satisfying my curiosity about a Korean
infomercial I used to see.

I'm adding it to this thread because the article mentions that sharing
from a communal pot is a bad idea. I know some Chinese foodies who
are so strict about not dipping in with their own utensils but I'm
glad this is being promoted by non-Chinese too.

who knows, maybe you'll get lucky and be hit by a bus.

your pal,
blake

ggg wrote:
KR wrote:

Whatever the contents of the hot pot, drinking the liquid is not going
to be any worse for you than it would be to eat the dunked foods if
they were cooked some other way (stir fried for example)

Cooking in broth may "draw out" flavors and other components from the
dunked food, but it doesn't increase them over what is already there.

I would think that if you start with a healthy broth, and cook good
food in it, you're not going to wind up with some sort of scary
chemical cocktail.

Best - krnntp



I think there's at least one Chinese article about this every winter and
it's not about how dirty the restaurant hotpot soups are though they do
mention that those soups are heavy concentrations because of the reuse.
I think the purines post is correct. It's the same reason to not
overdo on soup stocks but I have big plans for broths this winter. I'm
going to lay off lentils and beans though.

I wonder if purines and uric acid is why cooks blanch meats first in the
cooking process. My dad always did this and lately we've been boiling
chicken before baking or stewing the meat. Isn't it true that animals
release something toxic (was it doodoo) into their bloodstream/flesh
when they are being killed? Our HK friends warn against not cleaning
mushrooms - they blanch them first too. Culinary rules don't take
precedence over hygiene with them.


Ugh! Reuse?

I thought that the (clean) water and ingredients created the soup at the
end.

Anyway, in order for the purines to be released into the water, you have
to cook it completely, to the point where the meat is waterlogged. The
purines are just in the meat. (It's not the same as uric acid.)
Boiling meat removes the purines, so according to some, you can then eat
the meat, even if you suffer from gout.

However, I think, even that boiled meat should be avoided. (I have
gout, and eat a little meat, and almost no red meat. This seems to help
a lot.)

A lot of the uric acid in your body come from breaking down DNA: in the
foods you eat, and also in your own body (from losing weight, for
example). Normal people have a pretty high level of uric acid in their
blood (it's an anti-oxidant -- also think about how much you urinate
away). People with gout have a slightly higher level, and suffer for
it. :-(

Boiled meat will still have a lot of DNA in it.

yes, reuse especially the two color sichuan one - the spicy red side.
You can say no. It's not impolite to refuse food.