When it comes to Chinese takeout, beef and broccoli feels like one of the healthier options. But after Chinese restaurant Full House Kilmarnock revealed its trade secrets in a TikTok, viewers were left questioning everything.
The video, which has amassed 3.8 million views, was posted on restaurant Full House Kilmarnock’s (@fullhousekilmarnock) TikTok page.
It showed every step of making beef and broccoli. The first step involved throwing broccoli in a pan of deep, bubbly oil and frying it. This was followed by throwing in bright red chunks of meat and frying it alongside the broccoli until it browned. The chef then added… wait for it… more beef to fry.
They then strained the broccoli/beef concoction before adding grey-colored oil to another frying pan and frying the broccoli and beef with salt, MSG, sugar, oyster sauce, potato starch, dark soy sauce, sesame oil, and Shaoxing wine. Finally, they poured the food into a Tupperware container.
BroBible reached out to the restaurant via Facebook message.
How Did Commenters React?
As previously reported by BroBible, one Chinese restaurant laced food with opiates to keep customers coming. With that in mind, deep-fried broccoli might not seem so bad—but many commenters were shocked.
“Just p—- me off,” one wrote. “Who tf frying broccoli?”
“Not me thinking beef broccoli was the healthier option,” a second added.
“I’m fine with everything other than deep frying the broccoli,” a third shared. “Isn’t it usually steam fried?”
“So that’s why the version at home doesn’t taste as good, it’s not fried lol,” a fourth added.
“I had NO IDEA its basically deep fried,” a fifth said, adding laughing emojis. “I thought it was steamed or something. Wow so not the semi healthy meal I’ve been pretending it was.”
And a sixth declared, “Maybe, and hear me out, we don’t need to pull back the curtain on everything.”
Should You Deep Fry Vegetables?
According to Mashed, deep-frying vegetables can be considerably more fattening. The outlet quotes registered dietitian Sue Heikkinen, who says that fried vegetables involve “added calories in the form of fat from the cooking oil and carbs from the batter or breading.”
As an example, Mashed highlights how Heikkinen notes that fried zucchini from Carl’s Jr. is 330 calories while raw medium zucchini is just 33 calories. In turn, the breading and frying increased the calorie count by 900%.
That being said, there are some benefits to deep-frying veggies. According to Mashed, Heikkinen says that “frying actually reduces the loss of minerals such as potassium and the water-soluble B-vitamins and vitamin C compared to boiling, which leaches some of these nutrients into the cooking water.”
She goes on to add that “because vegetables are typically fried quickly, there is less loss of heat-sensitive folate and vitamin C compared to longer, high-temperature cooking methods.”
@fullhousekilmarnock
Still, she emphasizes that people “shouldn’t use this as an excuse to opt for fried veggies.” So, if you’re looking to serve delicious, cheap, healthy food, it might be time to avoid the deep frying.