Nutrition Guide for Chinese Food

Chinese cuisine is actually quite healthy, as it emphasizes vegetables, includes no cheese and utilizes a lot of seafood and lean poultry. Another plus is that Chinese cooking uses vegetable oil, which, in moderate amounts, has enough unsaturated fat to counteract the cholesterol-raising properties of the saturated fat it contains. Unfortunately, your local Chinese takeout probably doesn't produce completely authentic Chinese dishes. Instead, it probably cooks Americanized versions of these dishes, which are usually much higher in calories, saturated fat and, especially, sodium. Chinese takeout can actually be worse for you than pizza or fast food if you don't order carefully.

The Basics

Chopsticks Encourage Healthier Eating Habits

When eating at any Asian restaurant, eat as an Asian person would: with chopsticks. Not only does it slow down your eating, causing you to realize you're full before you've overstuffed, but it also will keep you from picking up too much excess sauce. And it's in the sauce that the average Chinese meal hides unhealthy ingredients like blood-pressure-raising sodium and cholesterol-raising saturated fat. Sometimes, as in buffets, the sauce is simply unavoidable. For this reason, it's always best to choose restaurants where the food is made to order instead of sitting under a heat lamp. If healthy vegetables and lean meat sit in a warm pool of sticky sauce all day, much of their nutritional value gets cooked away. Plus, they get soggy. Made-to-order options are more willing to answer requests like, "Please don't add salt." Also important to realize is that the crispy chow mein noodles that often come free with your meal are very high in fat. Just because it's free doesn't mean you have to eat it. As a matter of fact, you'd probably be better off if you didn't eat anything with the word "crispy" in its name. Finally, remember to compare the portion you're served with what you would normally eat. Chinese restaurants frequently give you much more food than you would ever serve yourself at home. Those famous take-away boxes exist for a reason; just eat half, then take the rest home for the next day.

Sauces

Always Choose Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce

It is because of sauces that seemingly healthy food, like steamed vegetables, becomes quite the opposite. To avoid this, when you place an order at your favorite Chinese restaurant, ask that the sauce be placed on the side. This way, you have more control. Instead of dumping the sauce over your food, try dipping your chopsticks in sauce before picking up the meat, vegetable or carbohydrate. This way, you'll get the sauce's flavor without ingesting huge amounts of fat and sodium. Always ask for reduced-sodium soy sauce. The flavor is the same but the difference in sodium content is notable. Sweet and sour sauce, duck sauce and plum sauce all contain a lot of sugar. Hoisin sauce has sky-high levels of sodium. Flavorings like rice-wine vinegar, wasabi and ginger are your best bets. Hot mustard is OK in small quantities but remember that each packet has a substantial helping of sodium inside.

Appetizers

Order Your Dumplings Steamed, Not Fried

A standard starter at Chinese restaurants is the egg roll. Wrapped in dough, diluted with fillers and deep-fried, one egg roll is high in fat and, often, sodium. Try a spring roll instead. While it still isn't a health-superstar, it does have fewer calories, less sodium and about half the saturated fat of the bigger and more thickly wrapped egg roll. If dumplings are more your taste, order them steamed instead of deep- or pan-fried. Choosing the vegetable filling over pork will halve your saturated fat intake, not to mention lower calories and sodium. Barbecued spare ribs are some of the worst starter options, so avoid these in general. Crab Rangoons, too, are best passed up. When it comes to salads, watch for creamy dressings or crispy noodle toppings. Soup can be a good choice if you're watching your waistline but not your blood pressure. Hot and sour, egg drop and wonton soups are all low in fat but remain relatively high in sodium.

Meat and Tofu Dishes

While Steamed Chicken is a Good Start, Ordering the Sauce on the Side is Still Important

Many Chinese mains, as served in the U.S., start with "crispy" meat or tofu. This means that the meat is breaded and deep-fried before ever getting near the sticky sauce. These include menu favorites like General Tso's Chicken, which carries almost an entire day's worth of fat, and Orange Chicken or Beef, which can give you more than half your daily allowance of saturated fat and about two-thirds of your calories. Perhaps worst of all, it blows maximum recommended amounts of sodium out of the water. Even tofu versions start in the deep fryer, negating their perceived healthfulness. But crispy dishes aren't the only dangers. Kung Pao Chicken, for instance, won't be easy on your waistline. Because much of that fat comes from peanuts, though, it is still a better option than its crispier counterparts. Ultimately, you should look for anything that's steamed, stir-fried, roasted or broiled--but be sure to order the sauce on the side. A better option is Moo Goo Gai Pan, which is fairly low in calories and saturated fat; iit has quite a bit of sodium, but less than most other choices. Beef with Broccoli can be fairly healthy as long as, when you order, you request less salt in it than usual. Without all the sodium this dish isn't so bad. This is also true for some shrimp dishes like Shrimp with Garlic Sauce and Szechuan Shrimp.

Vegetable Dishes

Steamed Vegetables are a Fantastic Choice

Some vegetable dishes can fool you by calling the sauce something unthreatening like "garlic sauce." Sauces like this are frequently oil-based. Certain vegetables, like eggplant and spinach, really absorb that oil so, despite your best efforts to leave the sauce on the plate, the calories and saturated fat levels can get quite high. Steamed vegetables are easily available at most Chinese restaurants. As long as you get them cooked without sauce and don't proceed to load on the hoisin or soy sauce, this is one of the healthiest choices you can make.

Rice and Noodles

Steamed White Rice is Good but Brown Rice is Even Better

In fried rice, the calories, saturated fat and sodium are all over the top, even if you choose steamed chicken or shrimp instead of pork or beef. Lo Mein is even worse. Chow Mein noodles are, frankly, appalling in terms of health. One of the easiest ways to make your Chinese dinner healthier is to order plain steamed rice with your meal. Even better, go with steamed brown rice, which is higher in fiber. Try to eat more of the rice and less of the entrée. The rice will satisfy you without filling you up with fat.

References

• Help Guide: Healthy Fast Food
• My Fitness Pal: Nutrition Facts
• The Daily Plate: Nutrition Facts