Chinese restaurant Jiang Hu opens in East Setauket

The Stony Brook Chinese-restaurant boom, which has spread east to Centereach and Selden, is now making inroads north into East Setauket. Jiang Hu has opened in the little peaked-roof building that used to be Little Joe’s III pizzeria (where it shares quarters with Cupeez Drive-Thru).

The menu concentrates on the authentic Chinese cuisine of a number of regions: soup dumplings, scallion pancakes, seaweed-pork soup red-braised pork belly with chestnuts, salt-and-pepper shrimp, cumin lamb and spicy kidneys. A specialty of the house is whole fish braised in a hot pot at your table. Starters are all under $9; most mains stay below $20. (Diners looking for what the menu calls “American dishes” will find General Tso’s and Kung-Pao chicken, shrimp with broccoli, orange chicken and more, almost all priced below $15.)

Jiangnan Zheng owned three restaurants in his native Fuzhou, in southeastern China, before moving to New York three years ago. After buying a house in Miller Place, he spent a year looking for and hiring staff for his first Long Island restaurant, which he hopes will appeal to both Chinese immigrants, like himself, and American-born customers. "If Americans order four dishes, I will try to get them to order one authentic Chinese dish." He's had luck introducing newbies to sliced pork with onion and pepper, chili beef and spicy shrimp.

Both types of customers are well advised to come by for lunch where select “American” dishes can be had for $9.50 plus soup and rice; select authentic Chinese dishes are served, over rice, for $11.95.

It’s an attractive little place, done up in shades of pickled wood, teal and aqua. For now, the pizzeria's deck ovens are still in situ, between dining room and kitchen, but they are hidden by a row of curtains.

Cook The Delicious And Healthy Chinese Food At Home

Opinion is divided as to whether Chinese food is good for you. Some say that there is a lower incidence of heart disease and some cancers among the Chinese but others consider that a normal Chinese meal is incredibly unhealthy. This latter opinion is based on the levels of salt, fat and calories in such a meal. Needless to say, reality isn't quite that cut and dried and some valid information has been overlooked. As with any other cuisine the exact content of the meal is what counts.

Chinese food has evolved freely with time. Over the course of more than 5000 years , these culinary practices have been polished and improved and have flourished with the passing of time. For example, steaming, a basic cooking technique, was practiced prolifically centuries before the creation of the first dynasty. Through trade, non-indigenous ingredients made their way to the kitchens of the court combining with the native harvests to produce exceptional, unusual and marvelous dishes.

An expertly prepared Chinese course is expected to appeal to more senses than just the tongue. Its hues should be tantalizing to sight, the ingredients should be of equal size and it should smell delicious. There should be contrasting tastes and textures within the meal; if one dish is sharp, it should be offset by another one that is smooth. A bland dish is paired with a flavorful one, thereby always trying to create a balance. It is important to have this equalization of yin and yang.

Real Chinese food is mostly vegetarian. Fats and meats are applied sparsely for punches of flavor and very few recipes are deep fried. This is because oils and meats can be scarce and expensive in China. As a result, real Chinese food is quite beneficial to your health because most of the recipes are low calorie and low in carbohydrates. Chinese people also love to incorporate bean curd instead of meat and dairy. Bean curd or tofu is full of good fats and proteins and are a great substitute for meats.

Furthermore, Chinese food is quite economical and easy to make if you have the right cookbook and ingredients . Chinese food is very open to flexible interpretations of recipes and you can often substitute ingredients to spark new creations. Chinese chefs have learned to make a lot with very little , and this can be applied in our kitchens to save resources. Frugality is definitely a virtue in the Chinese culture, and it is sometimes said that a Chinese chef can make dirt and bark taste good. This is a testament to the ingenuity and practicality of Chinese cuisine.

In conclusion, if you love Chinese food but feel guilty about eating it, then you should make it at home with fresh and healthy ingredients. You will find a new appreciation for the culture and genius of the Chinese people and improve your health at the same time. Just remember that Chinese food is not the deep fried and artificially colored goop you see at every American Chinese restaurant.