Steamed Chive Dumpling (Part 1)

Ingredients of Steamed Chive Dumpling

1. 1 cup of white rice flour
2. 0.5 cup of water
3. 2 cups Chinese chives
4. 4 tsp of ginger
5. 2 tsp garlic
6. About 3 chili peppers
7. 2 tbsp rice vinegar
8. 2 tbsp sesame oil
9. 1/4 cup glutinous rice flour (available at Asian supermarkets)
10. 1/2 cup potato or tapioca flour
11. 1 tbsp soy sauce

Nutritional Value

Process

Metabolism Involved

Carbohydrates usually are ingested in the forms of polysaccharides, disaccharides and monosaccharides. In the body, carbohydrates digested, absorbed, and transported to appropriate cells for metabolism.

Table 1: Major digestive enzymes involved in carbohydrate digestion.

Enzyme		Source	Effects
Salivary amylase		Salivary glands	Starch converted to polysaccharides + maltose
Pancreatic amylase		Pancreas	Starch converted to disaccharides + maltose
Sucrose		Intestine cells	Sucrose converted to glucose + fructose
Maltose		Intestine cells	Maltose converted to glucose + glucose
Lactose		Intestine cells	Lactose converted to galactose + glucose

The primary site of digestion is small intestine, and monosaccharides are absorbed into the capillaries then transported in blood to continue metabolism. Monosaccharides are absorbed by diffusion and active transport. In the passive diffusion the substance simply diffuses across the cell membrane; in the facilitated diffusion, a receptor in the cell is needed to transport the substance from the intestine to the cell.

Commonly call fat in our diet as lipid. Lipids are insoluble in water therefore their digestion and absorption are more complicated than carbohydrates. While lipids enter the small intestine, they stimulate hormonal secretion by the intestine that culminates in the secretion of bile from the gallbladder and lipases from the pancreas into the intestine lumen. The bile salts serve as emulsifiers, breaking up the lipids droplets into smaller segments that may be hydrolyzed by the lipid enzymes, pancreatic lipases, and cholesterases. Basically, lipids are hydrolyzed into FFAs, glycerol, cholesterol, and phospholipids, which through an intricate process are then absorbed into the cells of the intestine mucosa. After that they combined into a fat droplet called chylomicron. Then it leaves the intestinal cell and is absorbed by the lacteal in the villi, where it is eventually transport in the lymphatic system to the blood.

Figure 1: Processing of dietary lipids in vertebrates [David and Michael 2004]

In protein digestion, proteases in the stomach and small intestine break protein down into amino acid. Amino acid pass to blood through the wall of small intestine and then to the liver via the portal vein. Body cannot store amino acids per se. Through the process of determination the amino group containing the nitrogen is removed from the amino acid, leaving a carbon substrate known as an alpha-ketoacid. The excess nitrogen must be excreted from the body. In essence, the live forms ammonia from the excess nitrogen; the ammonia is converted into urea, which passes into blood and is eventually eliminated by the kidneys into the urine.

Figure 2: Overview of Protein Metabolism (Protein: How much protein do athletes need - and how safe are high-protein diets? [online] availabe from: http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/protein.html)

Evaluation for steamed chive dumpling

Steamed dumpling can be considered as healthier food in Malaysia! It is not a kind of fried food and it's slightly high in fiber. We can achieve RNI of Vitamin C while we are consumed two servings of it's. This is strongly recommended to smoker who do not like citrus fruits. Besides that, it is suitable consumed by all of us. But the sodium content on its may quite high, if 8 servings of chive dumpling are consumed it would the reach the adequate intake of 19-50 years old population (1500mg). So that, it is not encourage to hypotension patients.