Chinese restaurant food: wok carefully.When it comes to eating out, Americans love Chinese. And Chinese restaurants deserve credit for keeping a lid on saturated and trans fat trans fat n. 1. A trans fatty acid. 2. Trans fatty acids considered as a group. trans fat A fat containing trans fatty acids. , thanks to vegetable oil, no cheese, and a host of seafood, poultry, and (hooray!) vegetable dishes. (While the sat fat in some dishes seems high, the unsaturated fat unsaturated fat: see saturated fat. in their oil lowers bad cholesterol bad cholesterol LDL-cholesterol Cardiovascular disease Cholesterol transported in the circulation by low-density lipoprotein, the elevation of which is directly related to the risk of CAD and cholesterol-related morbidity See LDL-cholesterol. Cf Good cholesterol. more than the oil's saturated fat saturated fat, any solid fat that is an ester of glycerol and a saturated fatty acid. The molecules of a saturated fat have only single bonds between carbon atoms; if double bonds are present in the fatty acid portion of the molecule, the fat is said to be raises bad cholesterol.) But Chinese restaurant food is loaded with salt and--if you're not careful--delivers a load of calories, thanks to its oil, noodles noo·dle 1 n. A narrow, ribbonlike strip of dried dough, usually made of flour, eggs, and water. [German Nudel. , and deep-fried batter or breading. Here's a guide to a few dozen popular dinner-size dishes from a typical Chinese restaurant menu. The numbers are based on our independent lab analyses, as well as information from two nationwide chains. Just remember that dishes vary from restaurant to restaurant. (Too bad real menus don't disclose calories, sodium, and saturated fat, as our mock menu does.) Information compiled by Danielle Hazard, with help from Kirsten Bokenkamp and Kate Sherwood. CHOP TIPS * Veg out. Look for dishes that feature vegetables, not meat or noodles. Ask for extra broccoli, snow peas, or other veggies Veggies of Nottingham, also known as Veggies Catering Campaign, is a campaigning group based in Nottingham, England, promoting ethicalbum alternatives to mainstream fast food. . * Don't go deep. Order your chicken, tofu tofu Soft, bland, custardlike food product made from soybeans. Believed to date from China's Han dynasty (206 BC–AD 220), tofu is today an important source of protein in the cuisines of East and Southeast Asia. , or seafood lightly stir-fried or braised braise tr.v. braised, brais·ing, brais·es To cook (meat or vegetables) by browning in fat, then simmering in a small quantity of liquid in a covered container. , not breaded, battered, and deep-fried. * Hold the sauce. Use a fork or chopsticks, not a spoon, to get the food from the serving platter to your plate. That keeps the salty (or sugary or fatty) sauce on the platter, not soaked up by your rice and, eventually, your waist. * Don't add in-salt to injury. The food is salty enough without adding more. Each tablespoon of duck sauce Noun 1. duck sauce - a thick sweet and pungent Chinese condiment hoisin sauce condiment - a preparation (a sauce or relish or spice) to enhance flavor or enjoyment; "mustard and ketchup are condiments" or hot mustard has 100 mg of sodium; hoisin sauce hoi·sin sauce n. A thick, sweet, pungent sauce used in Chinese cooking. [Chinese (Cantonese) hoísin, seafood, equivalent to Chinese (Mandarin) h has 250 mg; soy sauce has 1,000 mg. * Urp! Many entrees have 1,000 to 1,500 calories (not counting the 200 calories in every cup of brown or white rice). Share or ask for a doggie bag doggie bag n. Variant of doggy bag. Noun 1. doggie bag - a bag for food that a customer did not eat at a restaurant; the transparent pretense is that the food is taken home to feed the customer's dog doggy bag . APPETIZERS & SOUPS EGG ROLL (1) Calories: 200 Sat Fat: 2 grams Sodium: 400 mg SPRING ROLL (1) Calories: 100 Sat Fat: 1 gram Sodium: 300 mg A thinner wrapper and smaller size give spring rolls fewer calories than egg rolls. BBQ BBQ barbecue SPARE RIBS
Calories: 600 Sat Fat: 14 grams Sodium: 900 mg An order is equal to two pork chops. Some appetizer. VEGETABLE DUMPLINGS (6 steamed) Calories: 400 Sat Fat: 3 grams Sodium: 1,100 mg PORK DUMPLINGS (6 steamed) Calories: 500 Sat Fat: 6 grams Sodium: 900 mg Add just 10 calories per dumpling if you get them pan-tried. (All bets are off for calories in the deep-fried wonton appetizer.) Dipping sauce means even more sodium. EGG DROP Soup Egg drop soup (traditional: ; pinyin: dàn huā tāng; literally "egg flower soup") is best known as a Chinese soup of beaten eggs, chicken broth, and boiled water. Condiments such as table salt, black pepper, and green onion are also commonly added. Calories: 100 Sat Fat: 0 grams Sodium: 900 mg HOT & SOUR SOUP Calories: 100 Sat Fat: 1 gram Sodium: 1,100 mg WONTON SOUP Calories: 100 Sat Fat: 1 gram Sodium: 800 mg Soups are bad for your blood pressure (but not your waistline). Think of every 1/2-cup side of fried noodles Fried noodles are common throughout East and Southeast Asia. Many varieties, cooking styles, and ingredients exist. Stir-fried
VEGETABLES STIR-FRIED GREENS Calories: 900 Sat Fat: 11 grams Sodium: 2,200 mg Yikes yikes interj. Used to express mild fear or surprise. [Origin unknown.] ! Spinach and other greens are packed with vitamins, but (thanks to the added oil and salt) your waist and blood pressure pay a price for them. EGGPLANT IN GARLIC SAUCE Noun 1. garlic sauce - garlic mayonnaise aioli, aioli sauce sauce - flavorful relish or dressing or topping served as an accompaniment to food Calories: 1,000 Sat Fat: 13 grams Sodium: 2,000 mg Eggplant isn't a vitamin-rich superstar, but it is a vegetable. It also really soaks up the oil, which boosts the calories and saturated fat. TOFU & MIXED VEGETABLES (HOMESTYLE TOFU) Calories: 900 Sat Fat: 9 grams Sodium: 2,200 mg Blame the deep-fried tofu (bean curd curd the proteinaceous part of milk precipitated by rennin. Usually contains some fat when whole milk is used. ). Ask them to stir-fry it instead. SZECHUAN STRING BEANS Calories: 600 Sat Fat: 6 grams Sodium: 2,700 mg String beans in chili-pepper-garlic sauce don't sop up as much oil as spinach or eggplant, but the sodium is still ridiculous. STIR-FRIED MIXED VEGETABLES (BUDDHA'S DELIGHT) Calories: 500 Sat Fat: 2 grams Sodium: 2,200 mg A veggie lode. Mix it with a vegetable-poor dish to create two (or three) healthier meals. MA PO (HUNAN) TOFU Calories: 600 Sat Fat: 4 grams Sodium: 2,300 mg A pound of soft tofu (bean curd) with scallions isn't too bad if--like the samples we analyzed-it comes without the pork that some restaurants add. SEAFOODS SHRIMP WITH GARLIC SAUCE Calories: 700 Sat Fat: 4 grams Sodium: 3,000 mg Shrimp stir-fried with veggies. The calories and saturated fat--but not the sodium--stay on the lowish side. SHRIMP WITH LOBSTER SAUCE Calories: 400 Sat Fat: 3 grams Sodium: 2,300 mg Shrimp in wine sauce with a sprinkling of mushrooms, egg, and scallions isn't quite as good as shrimp with snap peas, broccoli, or other veggies. But at least it won't pad your midsection mid·sec·tion n. A middle section, especially the midriff of the body. like battered, deep-fried dishes will. SZECHUAN SHRIMP Calories: 700 Sat Fat: 2 grams Sodium: 2,500 mg Shrimp stir-fried with vegetables in chili-pepper-garlic sauce. It's likely to be almost half vegetables, so the calories (though not the sodium) stay under control. If it's breaded and deep-fried or contains nuts, the calories climb. Chicken CHICKEN WITH BLACK BEAN black bean see castanospermum australe, erythrophleumchlorostachys. SAUCE Calories: 700 Sat Fat: 5 grams Sodium: 3,800 mg Expect 1/2 to 3/4 pound of sliced stir-fried chicken with chunks of green pepper and onion. If only it weren't so high in sodium. GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN General Tao redirects here. For Tao Pai Pai, see Tao Pai Pai. General Tso's chicken is a sweet and spicy deep-fried Hunan Chinese dish that is popularly served in American and Canadian Chinese restaurants. The origins of the dish are unclear. Calories: 1,300 Sat Fat: 11 grams Sodium: 3,200 mg The name may sound exotic, but it's essentially fried chicken with a smattering of vegetables. LEMON CHICKEN Calories: 1,400 Sat Fat: 13 grams Sodium: 700 mg It's like eating three McDonald's McChicken sandwiches plus a 32-oz. Coke. The culprit? The deep-fried breading. KUNG PAO CHICKEN Kung Pao chicken (also spelled Kung Po chicken) is a classic dish in Sichuan cuisine, originating in the Sichuan Province of central-western China. The dish is named after Ding Baozhen (1820–1886), a late Qing Dynasty official. Calories: 1,400 Sat Fat: 13 grams Sodium: 2,600 mg The calories may be high (thanks to nuts). But at least you're getting stir-fried (not battered and deep-fried) chicken and veggies. Moo Goo GAI PAN moo goo gai pan n. A Cantonese dish of chicken, mushrooms, vegetables, and spices sautéed together. [Chinese (Cantonese) m Calories: 600 Sat Fat: 4 grams Sodium: 1,800 mg Stir-fried vegetables and chicken keep the calories and saturated fat (but not the sodium) relatively low. CHICKEN CHOW MEIN (WITH CRISPY NOODLES) Calories: 700 Sat Fat: 10 grams Sodium: 2,500 mg Chow Mein varies. Our numbers are for vegetables and chicken served with rice (not soft noodles). Add 120 calories if you eat the thin, crispy fried noodles that come on the side. MEAT MU SHU PORK (WITHOUT THE PANCAKES) Calories: 1,000 Sat Fat: 13 grams Sodium: 2,600 mg Two-thirds of the dish is veggies. Add roughly 90 calories for each 8-inch pancake or 60 calories for each 6-inch pancake. Mu Shu Chicken cuts about 200 calories and 5 grams of sat fat. ORANGE (CRISPY) BEEF Calories: 1,500 Sat Fat: 11 grams Sodium: 3,100 mg Orange (or Crispy) Beef has roughly 3/4 pound of flour-coated, deep-fried meat that isn't outweighed by the garnish of vegetables. Shrimp or chicken might trim the sat fat, but you'll still be downing more than 1,000 calories and two days' sodium. BEEF WITH BROCCOLI Calories: 900 Sat Fat: 9 grams Sodium: 3,200 mg Although more than half the dish is broccoli, the 1/2 pound of beef still packs half a day's worth of saturated fat. SWEET & Sour PORK Calories: 1,300 Sat Fat: 13 grams Sodium: 800 mg More sugar means less salt. Sweet & Sour Chicken may be slightly lower in calories and saturated fat. But either way, you're eating more oil-soaked breading than meat. Numbers for the meat, vegetable, chicken, and seafood dishes don't include rice. Add 200 calories for every cup you eat. A typical takeout carton of rice contains about two cups. RICE & NOODLES CHICKEN CHOW FOON FOON Fork/Spoon Calories: 1,200 Sat Fat: 7 grams Sodium: 3,400 mg Like the thinner lo mein noodles, these soft, wide, rice noodles are a blow to your belly and blood pressure, and the veggies are still largely AWOL. COMBINATION (HOUSE) FRIED RICE Calories: 1,500 Sat Fat: 10 grams Sodium: 2,700 mg Why blow three-quarters of a day's calories on 4 or 5 cups of salted white rice, oil, and meat sprinkled with vegetable bits? A single version (vegetable, shrimp, chicken, beef, or pork) still has at least 1,000 calories. COMBINATION (House) Lo MEIN Calories: 1,100 Sat Fat: 7 grams Sodium: 3,500 mg Beef, chicken, pork, shrimp, vegetables, and oily noodles. Budget fewer calories for the solo chicken, shrimp, or vegetable version, but it's still a load of greasy refined carbs. COMBINATION (House) CHOW MEIN (WITH SOFT NOODLES) Calories: 1,200 Sat Fat: 9 grams Sodium: 3,600 mg This version of chow mein features soft egg noodles stir-fried with beef, pork, chicken, shrimp, and a smattering of vegetables. It looks like Io mein on the plate ... and on your hips and arteries. You can lose a few hundred calories by switching to a single version (chicken, shrimp, or vegetable). Two meals in one. Most chicken, tofu, beef, or pork dishes have 50 to 100 grams of protein--at least a day's worth--so it makes perfect sense to eat only half and take the rest home. Daily Limits (for a 2,000-calorie diet): Saturated Fat: 20 grams. Sodium: 1,500 milligrams. The use of information from this article for commercial purposes is strictly prohibited without written permission from CSPI CSPI Center for Science in the Public Interest CSPI Corporate Service Price Index CSPI Cumulative Schedule Performance Index . |
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