Chinese food has always been a favorite of mine—and apparently of just about everyone else in America. Even in the smallest towns, there is almost always a Chinese restaurant. The balance of sweet/sour/spicy flavors—and the fact that it’s already cut up into easy-to-eat bite-size pieces—might be part of it. Making restaurant-style Chinese food healthy means getting rid of the sugar first, and then the fat. Using a large nonstick pan over high heat reduces the fat. A good low-fat, sugar-free Asian stir-fry sauce does the rest.

　　

Ingredients

serves 4

　　Four 3 ounce lean filet mignon steaks, thinly sliced

　　Salt and freshly ground black pepper

　　1 tablespoon sesame oil

　　1 medium Vidalia onion, sliced thin

　　2 cups broccoli florets

　　2 cups cauliflower florets

　　3/4 cup Rockin’ Asian Stir-Fry Sauce (page 210) or store-bought low-fat, low-calorie Asian sauce, such as Seal Sama Teriyaki Sauce

　　1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

　　

Step 1

Heat a large nonstick sauté pan over high heat. Season the meat with salt and pepper to taste. When the pan is hot, add 1/2 tablespoon of the sesame oil. Add the meat and cook until it is light golden brown and still a little pink in the center, 4 minutes. Transfer the meat to a plate and tent it with foil to keep it warm.

　　

Step 2

In the same pan, over high heat, add the remaining 1/2 tablespoon sesame oil. When the oil is hot, add the onion, broccoli, and cauliflower. Stir-fry the vegetables until they are almost tender, about 6 minutes.

　　

Step 3

Add the Asian sauce and bring the mixture to a simmer. Add the meat and cook to warm it through. When the mixture is hot, stir in the cilantro. Season with salt and pepper to taste, if desired, and serve.

　　

healthy tips

Step 4

Eat more broccoli! There is more broccoli in this book than any other vegetable because of its tremendous health properties and ease of use. One cup of broccoli has only 30 calories—and so many nutrients. Eating a cup of broccoli nets your body twice the amount of vitamin C as the same amount of oranges—and almost half the calcium in the same amount of milk, with far fewer calories. An easy way to add broccoli to almost any dish is to add small-cut raw florets to the soup pot, pasta water, roasting pan, microwave dish—whatever you’re cooking in—for about the last 5 minutes of cooking time.

　　

nutrition information

Step 5

Fat: 62g (before), 10.7g (after)

　　

Step 6

Calories: 1,024 (before), 237 (after)

　　

Step 7

Protein: 23g

　　

Step 8

Carbohydrates: 13g

　　

Step 9

Cholesterol: 57mg

　　

Step 10

Fiber: 3g

　　

Step 11

Sodium: 956mg

　　Now Eat This by Rocco DiSpirito. Copyright © 2010 by Rocco DiSpirito. Published by Random House Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved.Hailed as the "Leading Chef of his Generation" by Gourmet magazine, Rocco DiSpirito received the James Beard Award for his first cookbook, Flavor. He went on to author Rocco's Italian-American (2004), Rocco's Five Minute Flavor (2005), Rocco's Real-Life Recipes (2007), and Rocco Gets Real (2009). DiSpirito also starred in the Food Network series Melting Pot, the NBC hit reality series The Restaurant, and the A&E series Rocco Gets Real.