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by seanmcdirmid 2795 days ago
Cantonese invented sweet and sour pork, which is very much fried. I think you’ll find healthy and unhealthy options in most Chinese styles fairly equally. Now the stuff they sell at restaurants in the states is another story, but that is more about clientele.
2 comments

> but that is more about clientele.

Yeah, absolutely agreed. Most 'traditional cuisines' tend to be fairly healthy. My pet theory on this is along the lines of an evolutionary standpoint.. if it wasn't healthy, the people eating it would have been more likely to die off.

Unfortunately North American's got all the delicious foods from all the cultures that immigrated :)

Traditional food for the average person is very healthy. Of course, the average Cantonese person was very poor until decades ago. Most of the dishes that have made it abroad usually consists of tastier fare for a more wealthy population.

We know a wealthy Chinese woman as far back as 600BCE had high cholesterol and a heart attack. https://allthatsinteresting.com/xin-zhui-lady-dai

I've never seen sweet and sour pork in hk (and people there refer to it as western cuisine)