Fried Carrot Cake (Chai tau kueh)

Fried carrot cake (Chai tau kueh)

Also known as fried radish cake.

INGREDIENTS (provided by auntie selling chai tau kueh at pasar malam)
radish – shred finely and squeeze out juice
rice flour
tapioca flour
sugar
salt
soya sauce
sesame oil
water
turnip (chai poh)
taugeh(green bean sprouts)
chopped spring onions
egg
oil

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

	Fried Carrot Cake (Chai tau kueh)
Energy (kcal/100g)	140
Total Carbohydrate (g/100g)	18
Protein (g/100g)	3.2
Total Fat (g/100g)	5.7
Saturated Fat (g/100g)	1
Cholesterol (mg/100g)	8.8
Total Dietary Fiber (g/100g)	2.7
Total Sugars (g/100g)	3.2
Calcium (mg/100g)	25
Sodium (mg/100g)	540

Table 1: Nutritional Content of Fried radish cake. [Adapted from Food and Environmental Hygiene Department 2005]

NUTRITIONAL VALUE

Chai tau kueh is made from gluten free rice flour, bean sprouts and turnips with the radish. Turnips and radish are stir fried with seasonings. It’s high in Vitamin A. Radish contained is largely made up of water (more than 90%) yet contains as much potassium as bananas. It is also an excellent source of Vitamin C and folate and a good source of magnesium. The flesh is slightly sweet and rich in phytochemicals that have anticancer, antibacterial and antifungal properties. The radish also contains three digestive enzymes which is therefore a digestive aid. Quick fried with salt and chili with radish is good for digestion. Rice flour is another indispensable ingredient. The mixture of rice flour and tapioca flour is used here for the combination of denseness and gooeyness. Since rice flour is high in protein and contains no gluten, it is an excellent substitute for people who cannot tolerate gluten in their diets because of an allergic reaction. It’s very low in saturated fat and sugar content, but high in manganese. No cholesterol and sodium to be with it. As can be seen, the turnips inside the fried radish cake serve as condiment that benefit us as providing no excess fat due to low calories, high quantity of Vitamin C and antioxidants that help curb free radicals and destructive oxidation reactions and preventing as well as healing up a wide range of health problems because of high nutrient content. Its large amount of lutein helps prevent cataracts and cardiovascular disease (Lifestyle Lounge, n.d.). It is rich in calcium, phosphor, folic acid and magnesium, essential for all-round human body development. Besides, bean sprouts on the fried radish cake contain significant amount of proteins, Vitamin C and number of essential B vitamins needed for our body proper functioning. Bean sprouts can be served for people on dieting as they are very low in calories and can be eaten without any dressing over it (Spice Diva, 2008).

METABOLISM INVOLVED

Carbohydrate metabolism

The main ingredient of chai tau kueh is rice flour which is a carbohydrate source food. Once the chai tau kueh is ingested, our body is able to break down the carbohydrates into glucose units in small intestine and glucose is absorbed into the blood stream. The cells in our body can utilize carbohydrate metabolism to generate ATP as energy source. The oxidation of glucose is called glycolysis. This pathway cleaves the six carbon glucose molecule into two molecules of the three carbon compound pyruvate (Adam, 2000). Each molecule of glucose that is consumed results in the formation of 2 ATP and 2 NADH during aerobic respiration. The pyruvate is converted to Acetyl-CoA and following to enter citric acid cycle to generate 4 NADH, 1 FADH₂ and 1 GTP. Glucose-6-phosphate is the product in the process of phosphorylation of glucose in glycolysis, it can undergo pentose phosphate pathway to generate 2 NADPH and various carbon sugar. NADPH functions as a reductant in various synthetic pathways such as fatty acid and steroid synthesis (Diwan, 2007). The ribose-5-phosphate, produced from this pathway, is used for the production of nucleotides. Another pathway of glucose metabolism is glycogenesis whereby the excess glucose is converted into glycogen. Glycogen is stored in the liver and muscles until needed when glucose levels are low.

EATING CHAI TAU KUEH IN A HEALTHIER WAY

At first glance, the chai tau kueh served looks oily on the dish and this bridges excessive use of oil and frying of radish cake (Patrica, 2009). On the other hand, we know that palm oil is the main source of cooking oil in Malaysia. Palm oil contains more saturated fat than unsaturated fat. High intake of chai tau kueh which is cooked with much palm oil containing saturated fat gradually increases the LDL cholesterol, thus increasing the risk of heart disease. The study on nutrient values of chai tau kueh arises in recent, showed that chai tau kueh was found to be high in total fat. Food high in total fat is energy-dense and excessive intake of it may increase risk of obesity (Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, 2005). Lesser oil is advised to add in to fry the radish cake and after frying, the food is transferred to the bowl and set aside from the oil left in the pan. More or other shredded or finely chopped vegetables, mushrooms can be added to this to increase the fiber intake. If gluten-free soy sauce is being used, the fried radish cake will be more gluten-free (Maki, 2009). Instead of frying the radish cake, it is much more encouraged to be steamed as frying foods may double the calories of the food (Dotti, n.d.). From the nutritional information above, 100 g of chai tau kueh contains 540 mg of sodium which is considered high level. The high level of sodium is mostly contributed by chai poh (pickled radish), soya sauce and salt. Adequate intake (AI) of sodium for adults is 1500 mg/day. High level of sodium by the reason of high consumption of chai tau kueh will increase the risk of high blood pressure and heart attack. Besides, it is also associated with decreased absorption of calcium (Ellie and Sharon, 2008). In order to reduce the sodium level, season to taste with salt in small amount as the sausages is quite salty already. Another problem that we need to pay much more attention on or concerned is the burned food. Normally people will not take account of safety or health while consuming over-heated chai tau kueh that is sold by the vendors. Carcinogenic compound such as acrylamides that are produced by high temperature cooking of carbohydrates (chai tau kueh is mainly made from rice flour). Acrylamide induces gene mutations and cause benign and malignant stomach tumours in animal tests. It also damages to the central and peripheral nervous systems. To minimize the risk of acrylamide in chai tau kueh, it should not be cooked excessively, particularly for too long or at too high temperature.

Done by
Chong Pik Han 1000716619
Kho Pik Fang 1000715946

REFERENCES

1. Lily, N., 2006. Char Chai Tau Kueh [Online]. Available from: http://lilyng2000.blogspot.com/2006/05/char-chai-tau-kueh.html [Accessed 22 February 2009]
2. Patrica, 2008. Do you have any Question on Singapore Local Delicacies? [Online]. Available from: http://www.mywoklife.com/2008/09/do-you-have-any-question-on-singapore.html [Accessed 22 February 2009]
3. Maki, 2009. Vegan Turnip Cake or Daikon Radish Cake [Online]. Available from: http://justbento.com/handbook/recipe-collection-mains/vegan-turnip-cake-or-daikon-radish-cake [Accessed 22 February 2009]
4. Lifestyle Lounge, n.d. Benefits of Turnips [Online]. Available from: http://lifestyle.iloveindia.com/lounge/benefits-of-turnip-1531.html [Accessed 22 February 2009]
5. Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, 2005. Nutrient values of Chinese Dim Sum [Online]. Available from: http://www.cfs.gov.hk/english/programme/programme_rafs/programme_rafs_n_01_03_ra_dim_sum.html [Accessed 22 February 2009]
6. Dotti, n.d. Chinese/ Asian Foods [Online]. Available from: http://www.dwlz.com/WWinfo/chinese2.html [Accessed 22 February 2009]
7. Spice Diva, 2008. Health benefits of bean sprouts [Online]. Available from: http://www.ayushveda.com/womens-magazine/health-benefits-of-bean-sprouts/ [Accessed 22 February 2009]
8. Adams, D., 2000. INTRODUCTORY METABOLISM MODULE [Online]. Available from: http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/08366/h&p2carb.htm#intr_top. [Accessed 19^th February 2009]
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