Watch out for hot pot tofu skin, oily and sizzling; after winter ends, your weight will break the scale.
The fried tofu skin and tofu pockets commonly eaten in winter hot pot are generally thought to be high in oil, but just how high is their fat content? The Cereal Food Industry Technology Research Institute took the initiative this year, buying samples at convenience stores and traditional markets, and found after testing that fat content averaged more than 30 percent, with one fried tofu skin sample reaching as high as 75.2 percent fat. Dietitian Tong Yu-wen believes the fat content of fried tofu skin and tofu pockets is on the high side and can easily burden the human body.
Fried Tofu Skin Common in Winter Hot Pot Is High in Fat, Reaching Up to 70 Percent
This year, when the Cereal Research Institute carried out a project testing the composition of soy products, it found that stored samples of fried tofu skin and tofu pockets gave off a strong rancid oil smell, so it added fat content testing to the project on its own initiative.
Lin Mei-hsin, head of the Cereal Research Institute's testing division, said testing found that fried tofu pockets had a fat content of about 20 to 30 percent, while fried tofu skin averaged more than 50 percent fat, with the highest sample reaching 75.2 percent, meaning that out of every 100 grams, 75.2 grams were fat.
Lin Mei-hsin explained that fried tofu pockets are half-fried and half-moist, yellow on the surface but still white inside, and still retain a certain amount of moisture, so their fat content is about 20 to 30 percent, whereas fried tofu skin is fried dry inside and out, so its fat content is higher.
Lin Mei-hsin said that hot pot is popular in winter, and the chances of eating fried tofu skin and tofu pockets also increase. If shrimp dumplings, swallow dumplings, meatballs, sliced meat and other ingredients are added to the hot pot broth, then over the course of one hot pot meal, "the fat content can easily spike."
Besides High Oil Content, Packaging Plasticizers Also Dissolve Into the Oil
According to recommendations from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the daily fat intake for people in Taiwan, China is two to three tablespoons of oil. Estimating one tablespoon at 15 grams, that is about 30 to 45 grams of fat. Tong Yu-wen, a dietitian at Taipei Yongan Elementary School, believes the fat content of fried tofu skin and tofu pockets is indeed on the high side, and if measured against the total intake across three meals a day, it can easily burden the body and cause health problems such as fatty liver and high triglycerides.
Besides its high fat content, the packaging of fried tofu skin also has room for improvement. Loose fried tofu skin sold in traditional markets is mostly packed in plastic bags, and plasticizers may dissolve into the oil. According to the Cereal Research Institute's test results, fried tofu skin was found to contain trace amounts of plasticizer (DEHP), and when fried tofu skin was placed in a plastic bag for one month and tested again, the plasticizer content also rose slightly, indicating that plasticizers from the plastic bag mix into the fried tofu skin, which is likewise worth noting.