There's nothing wrong with carbs

 I lost more than 65 pounds many years ago through eating low-fat and not counting my carbs. This brings much joy to people who have been on a carbohydrate-free diet and crave a simple bowl of rice. 

“Rice never made anyone fat,” I tell people. It’s part and parcel of Asian cuisine. It needs to be there. In my opinion it is the fat that puts on weight and stops you from losing kilograms. I agree that low carbs can be good in a diet, but let’s concentrate on the fat content first.

Carbohydrates are good at breakfast. We can burn them off through the day and they give us energy when we need them. You don’t want to eat carbs before bed. In my travels I love the cities in Asia that have breakfasts of congee, sushi and egg-fried rice. I am a big believer in the claim that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. 

Whenever I guest as a chef at a hotel in Thailand or any Asian city, I always like to design a breakfast menu. I still have my menu at the Vie Bangkok, so give it a try. 

On my visits to Bangkok, there is nothing better than waking up early, sitting by the Chao Phraya River and enjoying a wonderful hotel buffet. I love the Asian hot dishes at the Peninsula and the romance of sitting outside at the Mandarin Oriental. I’ve also had spicy soups just behind the Shangri-La, where I was filming a show for South Korea. 

So try this for a week and see how you feel: Have all the carbs before 1pm, and none after lunch. Have protein and vegetables for dinner. Don’t worry about amounts. Avoid cream, butter, cheese, deep-fried food and anything else involving a lot of oil. Keep the fat content down to less than five grams of saturated fat a day. Eat potatoes, pasta, fish, chicken, seafood, fruit and vegetables. This was the diet to have in the ’80s and worked for many people. 

I have created a healthy low-fat egg-fried rice dish and make it for my eldest daughter all the time. When she has friends over they all love it too. Gnocchi is a wonderful Italian staple, and with this sun-dried-tomato sauce, it is rich and full of flavour – and it’s low in fat.

 

EGG-FRIED RICE

Serves four

Cooking time: 20 to 30 minutes

 

Ingredients:

1 pound of rice

1 onion

1 clove garlic, crushed

4 eggs, whisked 

1 1/2 cups frozen peas

2 tablespoons oyster sauce

2 tablespoons sesame seeds 

2 tablespoons sesame oil 

1 tablespoon soy sauce

6 green onions, chopped

A handful of fresh cilantro leaves, chopped 

 

Directions:

Cook the rice while chopping the onion and garlic and frying them in a large pan with a little olive oil for a few minutes. Add the eggs and scramble for two minutes. Drain the cooked rice and add to the egg. Mix all ingredients well and cook for two to three minutes, stirring all the time.

 

GNOCCHI IN SAUCE

Serves 4 

Preparation time: 15 to 20 minutes

 

450g Gnocchi 

1 cup tomato puree

2 tablespoons sun-dried-tomato paste

2 tablespoons virgin olive oil

Sprig of parsley

 

Bring a large pan of water to a boil. Add the gnocchi – it will sink to the bottom. Once it rises to the top again, in four to six minutes, it’s ready to serve. Drain and set aside. Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the garlic for 30 seconds. Then add the tomato paste and puree and cook over medium-light heat for three minutes. Finally, add the gnocchi to the pan, cook another minute, and serve with the sprig of parsley.

 

>>> British celebrity chef Daniel Green loves to create healthy recipes that are easy to follow. His column “Make It Today” will share his passion of good food that is low in fat but modern and full of flavour and will run every last Sunday of the month.