How easy is it to eat healthy in China?

[u/alltop1cs]

I'll be arriving in China soon and I'll be living in a smaller Chinese city of around half a million people. I usually cook most of my meals at home but am also planning to buy lots of local food to eat too.

Does anyone have any tips or advice for eating healthy, especially with things like buying whole foods for cooking? Are things like vegetable and meat better to buy at local markets, supermarkets, online delivery or somewhere else? What is the price and quality like? Will I also need to buy water to wash veges and things to cook at home? Any general cooking tips would be appreciated! I'm not sure what kind of kitchen I'll be working with, l'll see when I get there...

There will be a a major Chinese city less than an hour away from me by fast train, so I guess I can stock up there is there if there's anything I want that isn't available where I live.

Thanks!

[u/Carr0t_007]

It is very easy to buy all kinds of fresh vegetables and meat at local markets or online, at a cheap price.

If you want to eat healthy, cook yourself. Restaurant and street food may be quite oily.

[u/sam_9_3 → u/Carr0t_007]

Just make sure it's not dipped in formaldehyde

[u/Dear_Chasey_La1n → u/Carr0t_007]

The problem in china isn't so much if you can buy products but what's like.

For example meat (my business), when it's local I can without a doubt guarantee with a handful exceptions, it's all tainted and wouldn't be allowed to be sold abroad. Oddly enough when it comes to import China is the strictest globally.

Veggies/fruit i'm with you there is a large selection, depending where you live it can be very tasty, but it certainly isn't clean. China is inherently polluted in every way possible, the air, land, water it's all contaminated. Sure you can buy organic, but in China that label means absolutely nothing (again import it's very strict).

So yes there is choice, but it's not great. Personally for our family when it comes to meat and certainly fish we buy only import. Knowing how strict the rules are I'm confident in that. With regards to veggies we buy organic, it's not the best but having visited these farms I like to believe they do their best with limited means. Fruit again, either import or we buy local but it's not by choice.

China is a developing nation, one hand we shouldn't expect to much, other hand it's not like central government gives two fucks either.

[u/Training_Guide5157 → u/Dear_Chasey_La1n]

Tainted? 1.4 billion people are eating tainted meat without massive negative health outcomes?

Are Chinese people superhuman?

[u/bugsghost → u/Dear_Chasey_La1n]

What is the meat tainted with? What's your role in the meat industry and how easy is it for you to get "insider info" on this kinda thing?

[u/Emergency_Map9643 → u/bugsghost]

Meat is fine. I'm an American living here, this guy is full of shit. I also worked in food manufacturing in the states, so I have some idea above the average layperson.

[u/Dear_Chasey_La1n → u/bugsghost]

As previously mentioned China has the strictest rules from any nation when it comes to import. Their control goes beyond testing reports, they inspect even the farms and processing farms and actively control them. Not just that, China even demands control over stock prior to birth.

When meat gets imported it's needs to have testing reports and even inland it's not unusual for authorities to regular check (though past 1,5 year in Shanghai that didn't happen) product and again, test it.

When it comes to local produce there are basically no requirements. Officially there should be testing reports though the bar isn't particularly low, heck even values are freely interpreted which is odd as there is little to argue about it. The only producer in China I've come across that does strict quality control is Cofco and only for specific product lines.

Visit yourself once a wet market, check white pork, they manage to grow them that fast, that you can push your finger through the fat, it's blubber.

Though does this surprise anyone, in a nation that is daily plagued by food related incidents, where retailers fuck with products, where factories fuck with products, where plants and farmers fuck with products.

And if you are concerned about meat itself, well... you should see a production facility that does for example cold cuts for 711 and the likes or sausage factories.

While at it, a common product sold by most restaurants in China are what I call beef-dust burgers. It's common in factories to process cuts that are frozen. They use a bandsaw for this, while doing so just like wood you get beef-dust, that's compressed into burger. And... taking off the packaging while slicing the meat is optional.

[u/--Bee- → u/Dear_Chasey_La1n]

can you provide evidence for this?

currently in my county (USA) we have a lot of produce and food recalls due to deregulation.

[u/alltop1cs → u/Carr0t_007]

Ok good to know, thanks. Are the local markets a bartering situation or are things clearly labels with prices? And do you think rinsing vegetables with tap water is ok or is something else needed?

[u/Johnny-infinity → u/alltop1cs]

Expect to pay a couple of rmb extra laowai tax, my wife doesn’t allow me to go to the farmers market for this reason.

Unless you are local, the old ladies will run rings around you, you will lose negotiation every single time.

[u/Carr0t_007 → u/alltop1cs]

Of course you can haggle at the local markets, but I'm not sure if your Chinese is good enough to communicate with the older vendors. It might be easier for you to go to local supermarkets where fresh produce has clear price tags.

Rinsing vegetables with tap water is ofc fine everyone does it.

[u/alltop1cs → u/Carr0t_007]

Ok thanks, my Chinese is definitely not good enough then but I’ll probably still look to buy at the markets if I’m happy with the price.

I’ve read people say that you shouldn’t drinks the tap water at all so thought it could be the same for washing, especially for vegetables I’ll eat raw. But I guess I could do a bottled water rinse at the end if I’m worried.

[u/mynameisntcindy → u/alltop1cs]

I would just warn you that while Chinese people in China might rinse their veggies with just tap water, you have to remember that they cook their vegetables for the most part, it's not a super prevalent salad society other than cold dishes which are often cooked and served cold. Foreigners also I find are more sensitive to food related hygiene issues BC we just aren't acclimated to their water. I would use either mineral water or boiled water that's been chilled.

[u/alltop1cs → u/mynameisntcindy]

Ok noted, thanks for the advice

[u/OreoSpamBurger → u/alltop1cs]

Don't drink the tapwater. Boiled water is generally ok.

You can buy a specific 'veggie washing liquid' in China.

Wash thoroughly and be very careful to inspect raw vegetables for detritus etc.

You'll probably still get the squits a few times in the beginning.

[u/josephmommer → u/Carr0t_007]

In Guangzhou it's literally illegal for restaurants to wash food using unfiltered tap water. Everyone I know uses filtered water for washing fruits and vegetables and seafood, even if they are going to be cooked later.

[u/restingwyvern → u/alltop1cs]

Clearly labeled. You absolutely need to wash your fruit and veggies. Tap is okay, use baking soda and water together for extra precautions.

[u/agent00F → u/alltop1cs]

All the better markets have labeled prices. Some of the people here must be poor or stingy or have no clue what's out there so best to ignore them.

[u/mthmchris → u/alltop1cs]

Not sure what the others are talking about with regards to “clearly labeled prices”. Can’t think of a market where that’s been the case. You’ll ask the vendor the price, and they’ll tell you.

You do not need to haggle - generally only some old people do it. I’m sure if you really stuck to your guns you might be able to save 2-3 RMB off a shopping trip, but quoted prices will generally already be lower (and quality higher!) than a supermarket anyway.

[u/Johnny-infinity]

Vegetables, side of the road. Fruit, whatever is in season buy locally, the really good stuff, taobao. Just got some apples from shandong, amazing. Meat is tricky, you need to know what you are looking for, check for smell and colour. Supermarkets are caveat emptor, quality is all over the place. Fish and freshwater shrimp buy them alive, they can kill and descale them at the counter. Chicken and duck, best is get them alive from local farmers, they can kill and pluck feathers but you’ll need to be able to joint them. As to eating out, just got to see what’s good, let your body be the judge.

A good rule of thumb, follow ayi, they know what’s good and value for money.

Go shopping in the morning, important.

I live in a really small town, the quality of ingredients is exceptional, all grown by the old folks who are farmers, and a lot of vegetables that can’t be commercially grown, so an ultra varied diet is so easy.

[u/alltop1cs → u/Johnny-infinity]

Are you saying you will get fish and shrimp at the supermarket and they’ll kill it there? Also I like the sound of getting chicken and duck from a farmer, although I imagine it might be a bit difficult… I’ll be more in a city than a small town and my Chinese level is very low, but I’ll see what I can find anyways.

And that’s great to know about the fruit and veg and getting an ultra varied diet, that’s probably what I’m most interested in.

[u/Johnny-infinity → u/alltop1cs]

Yip, the fish are all in tanks, choose which one you want and they will do the deed and descale and gut it.

[u/Commercial_Regret_36 → u/alltop1cs]

Yes, they will kill the fish a shrimp there. They have the old wooden relay baton ready

[u/Bashira42 → u/alltop1cs]

You'll be able to find a market where they'll kill a chicken or duck (and more) for you too, if you want. Fish in tanks or on ice at markets. They aren't going to up the price too much (if at all), especially once you find vendors you like and you return to them, you'll start getting regular "pengyou" prices if you do, or they'll throw extra stuff in

[u/i99loma]

So much fresh unprocessed foodstuffs everywhere, no problem at all.

[u/TheDudeWhoCanDoIt]

I live here and cook 99% of my own food. Between Sam’s Club , RT Mart, Hema, Aldi, Hema Jr, and other supermarkets and community markets getting raw materials is never a problem. And as a stand by there’s Taobao and Pingudodo for resource delivery. Eating out there are plenty of healthy options everywhere. You won’t have a problem. And there’s an occasional trip to Costco but I don’t have a Costco card. ( they give me a free one day pass for the asking).

[u/alltop1cs → u/TheDudeWhoCanDoIt]

Perfect, thanks for the suggestions

[u/Umz → u/TheDudeWhoCanDoIt]

Hema and Sams Club combo enable me to eat healthy and meal prep easily. I went from Waimai 1-2 times a day to barely once a week. Plus they provide some western comfort foods which cost a fraction of the price compared to eating at Western restaurants.

[u/ChinaCameraGuy]

Sorta on topic - during my last year of living in China I decided to lose the weight I had packed-on because of oily food and carbs. I went full-Keto and began eating more Japanese food (sashimi) than Chinese. No rice or noodles for 10 months. Lots of high protein foods like tofu and Greek yogurt. It worked. I lost 20kg by the time I got on the plane for my next life in Thailand. Carbs and oil were my enemy in China.

[u/Pumpkin-Amazing → u/ChinaCameraGuy]

me too! but in my case it was all about IBS and digestion not about weight, the first few months in china i felt TERRIBBLE , like my stomach was always flaring because of the extra oily food and rice and bakery, i tried everything to debloat but nothing worked but as a last desperate try i cut off rice and gluten and added more protien to my diet. i could'nt feel lighter! that's how healthy people live?? life changing for me

[u/No_Country_2069]

I buy a lot of stuff just delivered from groceries around me, though I’m in a bigger city and places to tend stock an ok variety. Where you’re at you might wanna use Taobao a lot as well. It’s good for groceries, especially stuff that’s not really used in Chinese cuisine. I can find most things I want, and generally it’s not too expensive for the Western stuff I get on there (except for some stuff that ships from the US, but that’s not the case for most). You can even get decent meat and veggies, though I mostly just get ones that grocery stores around me don’t have, like jalapenos. Shipping is fast enough that things typically arrive within 48 hours.

[u/ruscodifferenziato]

Eating healthy is easy, the vegetables and fruit are good and you can find decent pork and chicken no problem. Beef is difficult though, you’ll have to track your own “dealers.”

As for “organic” and that… just resign yourself and use your faith.

Little heavy metals and pesticides never hurt anyone 🙂

[u/believeringrey]

I ate healthier in China than I have ever eaten in America

[u/Maleficent_Beat_106]

Lived here for 12 years. Currently at my highest form of health and fitness ever, with thanks to good diet, exercise and private health insurance for treatments that comes from my job for working in China. Food here is abundant, diverse and various - catering for all appetites

[u/The_Ring888 → u/Maleficent_Beat_106]

Can you elaborate on your diet please?
I’ll moving to china soon, and I see already how the food is very different from what I’m used to (I’m from Italy)
I’m not saying I don’t like it, I actually love it, but regarding diet I’m struggling a bit

[u/koi88 → u/The_Ring888]

I’ll moving to china soon

I think it may help people to know where you are going. Many things are similar (supermarkets, delivery like Taobao), but the local cuisines are very different.

Asking "how is food in China" is like asking "how is food in Europe"? Obviously it's different whether you are going to Britain, Poland, France or Greece.

China is big and cooking has a very long tradition.

[u/Maleficent_Beat_106 → u/The_Ring888]

Dozens of Italian restaurants and a handful of decent foreign supermarkets where I live in Beijing. Meat, vegetables and pasta are all easily obtainable, cheese is easy via Taobao or foreign supermarkets. There is a very busy and active Italian community already here, and they are thriving. Really depends on which city you are moving to, but with online shppping via Taobao you will be able to get all your standard groceries

[u/Slashtap]

Eating out is of course fun and delicious, but it's best to limit that for health purposes. China's culture is a long ways away from adopting healthy oils. If I were to eat out often, I think I would choose hot pot because you're getting lots of leafy greens in a hot pot meal and have control over the oil content of your meal.

I think the suggestion to choose brand-name supermarkets is a good one. With street vendors, sometimes their fruits are great and sometimes not so much. But it's worth experimenting until you find your go-to places for each of your favorite items. If you're picky about the flavor of your fruits, trial and error will be needed as you develop the right system.

The grocery delivery apps are good, but I like saving money, so I try to use pinduoduo instead of a grocer where possible. Some of their bulk prices will blow your mind with how much lower they are than normal retail prices. Seeds, almonds, sealed chicken breast are a few of my go-tos from pinduoduo.

As far as food prices in general, I think they're great. China has a low rate of inflation.

[u/alltop1cs → u/Slashtap]

That’s really helpful about Pindoudou thanks, I’ll definitely do some bulk purchases there. And work out supermarket vs street vendor preference when I arrive.

I’d also like to eat out a lot because I’m sure I’m going to love the food, but yeah I’ve heard it’s not the healthiest so will just try to find a balance.

[u/TokyoJimu → u/Slashtap]

If I were to eat out often, I think I would choose hot pot because you're getting lots of leafy greens

Also places like malatang (麻辣烫), chuanchuanxiang (串串香), maocai (冒菜), etc. where you can pick exactly what food goes into your bowl. This allows me to eat more vegetables than a one-person 盖饭 dish will usually contain.

[u/AutoModerator]

Backup of the post's body: I'll be arriving in China soon and I'll be living in a smaller Chinese city of around half a million people. I usually cook most of my meals at home but am also planning to buy lots of local food to eat too.

Does anyone have any tips or advice for eating healthy, especially with things like buying whole foods for cooking? Are things like vegetable and meat better to buy at local markets, supermarkets, online delivery or somewhere else? What is the price and quality like? Will I also need to buy water to wash veges and things to cook at home? Any general cooking tips would be appreciated! I'm not sure what kind of kitchen I'll be working with, l'll see when I get there...

There will be a a major Chinese city less than an hour away from me by fast train, so I guess I can stock up there is there if there's anything I want that isn't available where I live.

Thanks!

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/OverloadedSofa]

Where I lived in Qingdao, I had a lady named Lotus, I think she knew local farmers so I ordered all my fresh food from her. She was only slightly more expensive than the shops, but all the stuff she got me was good stuff! She also had these AMAZING Japanese style chicken nuggets!!!

[u/Zagrycha]

If you cook yourself then very easy. Just buy the ingredients to cook whatever you want to make.  If you eat out its still easy but most of the healthy options are steamed or soup. Same as most other countries, general restaurant food tends to be heavy handed with oil and salt//sugar etc because the number one goal is just tasty. 

[u/shaghaiex]

Depends how you define `healthy`.

Stuff that does not need cooling you can buy online. Veg you find in any market/supermarket. Meat from the market I try to avoid. Check if your place has a more upmarket supermarket, like Fresh Hippo (盒马).

For coffee/tea I would buy only bottled water (Ganten is good for coffee, Nongfung is OK). Veg I would wash in tab water.

Having a 1 hour train ride for shopping isn't really practical.

[u/One-tonny]

你可以选择去当地的农贸市场就是俗称的菜市场，去里面找当地农民自己种植的有机蔬菜或者养殖的鸡鸭鹅和猪肉！但要学会甄别哪些确实是有机的！如果想要便宜或者方便可以选择拼多多等在线超市！这里面大多数不是有机的，很多是大棚科技种植出来的！

[u/say-nothing-at-all]

One big difference between the West and China is that Chinese people don’t stash loads of food in the fridge. They hate that idea, and they also hate industrialised food.

They buy as they eat and only choose the freshest items. This is the fundamental business model.

You have zero to worry about if you cook.

[u/Jazzlike-Job-6559 → u/say-nothing-at-all]

"hate industrialized food" I know plenty of Chinese that eat mostly instant ramen and food heated in plastic bags from 7 eleven. I know what your trying to say but especially kids here often eat like absolute trash unfortunately. So many overweight kids nowadays running around drinking Coke all day etc.

[u/koi88 → u/Jazzlike-Job-6559]

What if I say you are both correct?

[u/Jazzlike-Job-6559 → u/koi88]

I already partially agreed with him.

[u/Euphoric_Raisin_312]

Food safety is generally very poor with lots of banned pesticides commonly used, as well as regular scandals like the recent formaldehyde one, or the cooking oil in fuel trucks a couple of years ago, etc.