Stir-fried Oats Noodles with Pickled Vegetables

Stir-fried Oats Noodles with Pickled Vegetables

　　Stir-fried Oats Noodles with Pickled Vegetables features crispy pickled vegetables and chewy oat noodles. It is a dish rich in the distinctive flavors of Shanxi Province and also a healthy choice. Oats are an annual herbaceous plant, and their nutritional content is more than seven times that of other types of flour, making them comparable to refined flour. Oats are highly nutritious, with an average protein content of 15.6%, which is 100% higher than rice, 75% higher than corn, 66% higher than wheat flour, and 60% higher than millet. The composition of the eight essential amino acids is relatively balanced, and the lysine content is even higher than that of rice and wheat flour. Oats are also high in fat and calories—their fat content is 5.5 times that of rice and 3.7 times that of wheat flour. The main component of oat flour fat is unsaturated fatty acids, among which linoleic acid can help lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease. It also offers certain preventive benefits against cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases commonly seen in diabetics and the elderly, but “it is not easily digested and should not be consumed in excess.”