How to make chestnuts

Chestnuts, commonly known as hairy chestnuts, are a specialty of my country and are known as the "king of thousands of fruits". Chestnuts contain about 60% sugar, 26% starch, 3.7% protein, and 2% fat. In addition, they also contain a variety of vitamins and inorganic salts. The rich unsaturated fatty acids and vitamins contained in chestnuts can prevent and treat diseases such as hypertension, coronary heart disease, and arteriosclerosis.

According to traditional Chinese medicine, chestnuts have the functions of nourishing the stomach, strengthening the spleen, tonifying the kidneys, strengthening the waist, strengthening the tendons, stopping bleeding and reducing swelling. They are very suitable for treating soreness of waist and knees, waist and leg discomfort, increased urination caused by kidney deficiency, chronic diarrhea caused by spleen and stomach deficiency, and fractures, blood stasis, swelling and pain, and tendon and bone pain caused by trauma.

Nutritional value of chestnuts

Chestnut belongs to the category of nuts, but it is not as oily as walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds and other nuts. It has a high starch content. The carbohydrate content of dried chestnuts reaches 77%, which is equivalent to 75% of cereals; fresh chestnuts also have 40%, which is 2.4 times that of potatoes. The protein content of fresh chestnuts is 4% to 5%, which is not as much as peanuts and walnuts, but slightly higher than cooked rice. But in some aspects, chestnuts are more nutritious than grains. Chestnuts are rich in vitamin B1 and B2. The content of vitamin B2 is at least 4 times that of rice. Every 100 grams also contains 24 mg of vitamin C, which is incomparable to grains. It is probably difficult for people to imagine that the vitamin C contained in fresh chestnuts is more than tomatoes, which are recognized to be rich in vitamin C, and more than ten times that of apples! The minerals contained in chestnuts are also very comprehensive, including potassium, magnesium, iron, zinc, manganese, etc. Although the content is not as high as that of hazelnuts and melon seeds, it is still much higher than that of ordinary fruits such as apples and pears, especially the potassium content is outstanding, which is 4 times higher than apples, which are known to be rich in potassium.

Medicinal value of chestnuts

The shiny chestnuts also have high medicinal value. Chestnuts have the functions of strengthening the spleen and stomach, replenishing qi, nourishing the kidneys, and strengthening the heart. They are mainly used to treat nausea, vomiting blood, and bloody stools. They are suitable for people of all ages. Chestnuts are rich in soft dietary fiber and have a lower glycemic index than rice. As long as sugar is not added during processing and cooking, diabetics can also enjoy them in moderation.

Precautions for eating chestnuts

Although chestnuts have high nutritional and health value, they also need to be eaten in the right way. You can't eat a lot of chestnuts at one time. Eating too much will easily cause bloating. Just eat 6 to 7 chestnuts a day and stick to it to achieve a good nourishing effect. Dr. Fan also suggested that people should eat chestnuts as snacks between meals or cook them in meals, rather than eating a lot after meals. This is because chestnuts contain more starch, and eating them after meals will easily lead to excessive intake of calories, which is not conducive to maintaining weight. Dr. Fan warned consumers not to blindly pursue white or golden color of the flesh when buying chestnuts. Golden flesh may be chemically treated chestnuts. On the contrary, if the flesh is a little brown in the middle after frying or cooking, it is caused by the "browning reaction" of the enzyme contained in the chestnuts. As long as the taste does not change, it is not harmful to the human body.

How to make chestnuts

Dish: Chestnut chicken wings

Calories: 2403.94 kcal

Process: Stir-fry

Flavor: Five-spice

Category: Private dishes, spleen conditioning, nephritis conditioning, hemostasis conditioning

Ingredients: 500g chicken wings

Accessories: chestnuts (fresh) 500g

Seasoning: 15g soy sauce, 10g salt, 20g green onion, 15g ginger, 75g vegetable oil, 3g MSG, 15g cooking wine, 5g sesame oil, as appropriate

Production process:

1. Wash the chicken wings, pluck the hair off, cut off the wing tips, and chop into 3 pieces.

2. Wash the raw chestnuts with skin, cut them into cross shapes, put them into a pot of water and cook them thoroughly, then remove the skin.

3. Place the wok on high heat, pour in raw oil and heat it, stir-fry thoroughly, add chicken wings and stir-fry, add soy sauce, rice wine, salt and appropriate amount of water, bring to a boil, skim off the foam, add chestnut meat, and simmer slowly over low heat. When the chicken is cooked and the chestnuts are crispy, use high heat to thicken the marinade, drizzle with sesame oil, add MSG and mix well, remove from the pan and serve on a plate. It can be eaten after cooling.

Dish: Stir-fried chicken with chestnuts

Calories: 1192.11 kcal

Process: Stir-fry

Taste: Salty and sweet

Category: Home-cooked dishes, Qi and blood supplement, conditioning, nourishing the body, conditioning, strengthening the spleen and stimulating appetite, conditioning, delaying aging, conditioning, osteoporosis conditioning

Ingredients: 250g chicken breast, 200g chestnuts (cooked)

Excipients:

Seasoning: 10g green onion, 10g ginger, 5g garlic, 10g cooking wine, 5g sugar, 3g salt, 5g soy sauce, 10g starch (pea), 2g MSG, 5g oyster sauce, 10g sesame oil, 30g peanut oil, as appropriate

Production process:

1. Cut the tender chicken into 2 cm square pieces, put them in a bowl, add refined salt, stir and marinate, and coat with wet starch. Cut the green onion into sections, slice the ginger, and mince the garlic.

2. Put the cooked chestnuts into a 70% hot oil pan and fry until golden brown, then remove from the oil and drain.

3. Heat the oil in a pan, add the battered chicken pieces and fry until cooked, then remove from the pan and drain the oil.

4. Leave a little oil in the pan and heat it up, add onion segments, ginger slices, and minced garlic, pour in chicken pieces and chestnuts, add cooking wine, add broth, sugar, salt, MSG, oyster sauce, and soy sauce, stir-fry for about 3 minutes, add pepper and sesame oil, thicken with wet starch, sprinkle with sesame oil, and serve.

Dish: Braised beef with chestnuts

Calories: 1693.13 kcal

Process: Simmer

Taste: salty

Category: Private dishes, strengthening the spleen and appetite, conditioning, strengthening the waist and kidneys, regulating qi and blood, conditioning, replenishing deficiency, nourishing the body, conditioning

Ingredients: 750g beef (fat and lean)

Accessories: chestnuts (fresh) 250g

Seasoning: 10g green onion, 5g ginger, 5g cooking wine, 4g soy sauce, 5g sugar, 3g cinnamon, 4g salt, 3g pepper, 5g sesame oil, 20g lard (refined), 10g starch (peas), as needed

Production process:

1. Rinse the chestnuts, cut them into cross-shaped incisions, put them into boiling water, boil them for a while, remove them, and peel off the outer shell and inner skin. Rinse the beef, cut it into large pieces, put it into the pot and boil it until it is about 50% done, wash off the blood and odor, remove it, drain it, and cut it into pieces.

2. Put the pot on the fire, add the cooked lard and heat it, add the beef and stir-fry briefly, then add cooking wine and soy sauce, stir-fry and serve.

3. Take a casserole, put a bamboo mat on it, put in beef, chestnuts, scallion knots, ginger slices, cinnamon, sugar, salt and appropriate amount of water, bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat until cooked and the soup thickens, remove from heat, remove scallions, ginger and cinnamon, pour into a wok and bring to a boil, add pepper powder, thicken with wet starch, drizzle with sesame oil, and serve.

Dish: Chestnut Chicken Wings

Calories: 1350.87 kcal

Process: Burning

Taste: Salty and sweet

Category: Private dishes Osteoporosis conditioning Beauty conditioning Anti-cancer conditioning Malnutrition conditioning

Ingredients: 500g chicken wings

Accessories: chestnuts (fresh) 150g

Seasoning: 2g green onion, 2g ginger, 10g cooking wine, 10g soy sauce, 3g salt, 30g vegetable oil, 3g star anise, 15g white sugar, as appropriate

Production process:

1. Remove the hair from the chicken wings, clean them, and deep-fry them in hot oil for a while;

2. Boil the chestnuts, peel them, split them in half and set aside;

3. Heat the pan with oil, add onion, ginger, aniseed, cooking wine, soup, fried chicken wings, soy sauce, sugar, bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat for 20 minutes;

4. When the chicken wings are cooked through, add salt to taste and add the chestnuts to the cooked chicken wings.

Dish: Fried sugar chestnuts

Calories: 995.03 kcal

Process: Stir-fry

Taste: Sweet

Category: Private dishes, hypertension treatment, anti-aging treatment, oral ulcer treatment

Ingredients: chestnuts (fresh) 150g

Excipients:

Seasoning: 55g peanut oil, 20g lard (refined), 5g white sugar, 8g starch (pea)

Production process:

1. Make a small cross-shaped cut on each chestnut, until the skin is broken. Add water to the pot, until the water covers the chestnut by 1 cm. Cook over medium heat until the skin is softened, and peel off the skin while it is still hot.

2. Pour peanut oil into the pot, heat it to 60%, add chestnuts, fry until golden, remove and drain the oil. Melt the lard into the pot, pour in the fried chestnuts, dilute 15 grams of wet starch (8 grams of starch and 7 grams of water) with water and put it in the pot. When the sauce thickens, add sugar, stir and serve.