I really hate Digouyou as everyone does. I had such a bad and incredible experience at Fu Hua Yuan (Newly decorated and located at the corner between Jian She Lu and Wen Lin Jie). The second I ate their Mu Gua Shui and a big bowl of Noodles, I felt really bad in my stomach and hard to digest this food. I vomitted twice along the way back home.
We are now talking about 2 oils synonymously. But they are not the same.
Gutter oil is retrieved from drains, refined like biodiesel, and illegally reenters the food channels
Recycled oil come from the kitchens' deep fat fryers and is filtered and reprocessed, and is legally sold for food use. This is done in Europe, and I assume the USA.
Still at this moment my advice (of the other thread) stands firm as I haven't had food poisoning or anything else serious: go eat at halal (Muslim) restaurants. They are all over the city and all over southern China (especially Yunnan).
Why? Because it's against their belief to poison their fellow (Muslim) humans. That should (according to my wife) include not using recycled cookin oil.
That means neither recycle it themselves (bad oil is also bad according to their belief), nor bought oil (someone else may have made pork with the oil and god knows what else).
Just an inside tip :)
I loooove! dried beef and eat it every single day without any problems whatsoever. I do very much avoid kebabs as they do give me the runners (meat is not refrigerated all day long).
As far as I know in most EU countries it had been forbidden to recycle oil for human consumption for more than a decade. All recycled oil was used for pig food. That was until some assholes put engine oil and stuff in it. Then it was forbidden to use home cooking oil for recycling. Only companies (restaurants and such) can still recycle their oil for pigs.
Let me follow up with some wiki thing about the Digouyou here. First, yeah the oil is basically mixture of all kinds degraded oil and human wastes, you name it, it will be very disgusting to even think about the ingredient here. Degraded oil will poison your brain and liver because it will cause terrible oxidation in your body, with high load of free redicals, so long-term dose will cause memory loss and overall Heath issues, like rectum cancel. Second, becterials can be overgrowth in the oil. Some people believe the heat can kill most of organism in the oil, yes they are right at some point, but everything. Some becterials or yeast species with spore can survive over 400 F environment, and this is also a hypothesis to explain how life started on earth back to billions years ago. I believe the becterials are the main cause of diarrhea and stomachache, since the major spices in the recycled oil is Aspergillus flavus and Clostridia difficile. At last, someone above is absolutely right, the oil contains high level of heavy metal, mainly are lead, mercury and arsenic, because the oil was processed in condemned place. I wish everyone enjoy the food here and stay healthy at meantime.
I see this thread has now degenerated into the usual pissing contest.
I only buy and use Wesson Canola oil. I don't trust any oil sold in China.
I use butter
My wife (and many other Chinese) think peanut oil or corn oil or soy oil is good.
I have bought tallow or lard and melted it at home but my wife and her family think I must be from the village. I explain it is better than highly processed high temperature man made oils BUT belief is one thing and the evidence is another!
I try to eat a ketogenic diet high in fat and moderate in protein and very low in carbohydrates. To live longer give up the grain and eat less meat. Given the up tick in diabetis in China (114 million and growing) a diet that does not spike glucose and insulin response might be just what is needed!
PS Wesson Canola oil is IMO not good
What makes BUCKO think it is good? Not good clinical data or population studies unless sponsored by the seed and oil industry.