Vegetarianism is not a new concept in Asian countries because of the
existence of religions like Buddhism & Taoism, which encourage the
abstinence of meat. However, vegetarianism does not equate to FF or even
LF. Many processed vegetarian mock meat foods are loaded in fat/oils to
enhance its flavour & to prevent the gluten or soy from becoming soggy,
sticking together or staling too quickly.
Since most of you out there seem to be on very strict diets, I would advise
you to be very careful with the Asian Vege products... here in Singapore,
I've found that many Chinese (i.e. from China) manufacturers do not place a
FULL description/account in ENGLISH of the ingredients they use on the
package. They may place only the first 3 main ingredients or a very general
description on stickers and use those stickers on all their products... in
other words, one might read "Soy, Water, Salt..." in alll the stickers and
be mistaken that they are all made with those ingredients, in that
particular order... the only way to be certain is to read the label that's
in Chinese or other language as well.
Some of my friends are strict vegetarians, and they avoid such mock meats
because "they're loaded with fat". I accompany my grandma to the Chinese
temple every 1st and 15th day of the month to eat a "free" vege. meal...
and I have never had any dish made with gluten that was not soaked in
fat... oil was also used in the mock fish/pork made with mushrooms & soy to
bind the ingredients together....So, my advice is, read the labels
carefully and double check by dipping your fingers into the thawed food to
feel if it's oily.
Karen
from Singapore
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Karen Lim
bem40147@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
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