When you're craving a culinary treat, few cuisines are as tempting as Asian food. If you're trying to diet, though, you may be wondering whether it's possible to eat at a Chinese restaurant and not consume too many calories. Fortunately, eating at an Asian restaurant means you have plenty of healthy choices available. If you're ready to tantalise your tastebuds without going crazy, here are some dishes to look out for.
Avoid Crispy and Battered Food
An excellent rule of thumb when eating at any restaurant is to avoid crispy and battered food. Usually, they're deep fat fried, which means they're laden with unnecessary calories that don't always add to the taste. If you usually head towards dishes such as crispy shredded beef, try beef in black bean sauce or another flavoursome alternative.
Try Steamed Dumplings
When you're trying to find a starter that you can share with others at your table, try steamed dumplings. They're small pockets of dough that the chef packs with a combination of meat and vegetables. If the Chinese restaurant you're visiting features fried dumplings on the menu, ask the waiter if the chef will steam them instead.
Delve into Soups
Asian restaurants usually serve a selection of soups that have unique tastes you won't find elsewhere. If you're not into sharing starters, tucking into a soup is usually the next best thing. They're tasty but they won't leave you feeling bloated, so you'll have plenty of room for your main course.
Schezuan Dishes
Schezuan dishes that don't feature any fried components are amongst the healthiest choices available at Chines restaurants when it comes to sugar and fat. However, they do tend to feature a lot of salt, so make sure you balance your serving out with a decent portion of vegetables. Additionally, quench your thirst with water rather than a diuretic such as alcohol.
Spring Rolls
As one of the most popular side dishes in Asian cuisine, spring rolls contain an enjoyable mix of vegetables. Sometimes they'll feature fish or meat. Although chefs fry the pastry, they're still low in calories. One area where you can gain calories though is through the dipping sauces. If you can't enjoy a spring roll without dipping, try soy sauce rather than anything that's laden with sugar.
When you make conscious cuisine choices at your visit to a Chinese restaurant, you won't disrupt your diet. If you're ever unsure as to whether a dish is healthy or not ask the waiter. Consider these options when you next visit a Chinese restaurant.
Share15 July 2020
When I decided to ask my girlfriend to marry me, I of course wanted the night to be really special. I knew she wanted to have a full movie proposal where we go to a fine dining restaurant, eat great meals and then have me get down on one knee and ask her to marry me. I checked which restaurants offered that kind of service and I even gathered some pictures from her favourite movie so I can get a place that perfectly matches what she was after. I ended up making this the perfect night. This blog is all about finding fine dining restaurants for the special dinners in your life.