By Do you love your Chinese takeout? Do you miss kung pao chicken or sweet and sour chicken with fried rice after starting your diet? Then worry not we have got you covered with top healthy chinese food you can eat even in your diet. In this article we have compiled dietician approved healthy chinese food that you can enjoy in your diet without feeling guilty.
Chinese food is a comfort food for many people. Be it broke college student that wants to eat a full meal for lunch or to sooth heart breaks to ordering takeout for office parties chinese food is enjoyable at any time. Chinese food is great for the tastebuds but not so good for your gut health.
As chinese food contains mainly fried and starchy items that can create stomach problem when eaten regularly. But these are certain healthy chinese food that you can eat regularly without hampering your health overall.
Since restaurants use lots of oil to fry ingredients used in the chinese dish you can also make it on your own. When you make chinese food yourself you can limit your oil while frying food for a chinese dish. This way you can occasionally enjoy chinese dish as well.
Is Chinese Food Healthy?
In general, chinese food specifically authentic chinese cuisine is healthy food. Asian supermarkets are known to have a wide range of vegetables and fruits that are used to make authentic chinese food. But the chinese food you have in the US, or the UK is another version of chinese food that’s generally eaten as fast food in Asian counties.
The westernized Chinese food uses excess oil and limited ingredients only available in that country. You would hardly ever find any authentic chinese food restaurant in the major cities. Instead westernized takeaway joints are opened regularly in every corner of the city.
The westernized chinese food dishes are full of sugar and salt that increases the blood sugar lever and causes hypertension as well. But you can choose to make the authentic chinese food recipes which are healthy and can be customized to decrease salt, oil, and sugar and certain ingredients that causes harm to out body.
So here are some to the top healthy chinese food dishes that you can add in your diet without feeling guilty.
Top Healthy Chinese Food You Can Add In Your Diet
Here are top healthy chinese dishes you can enjoy as much as you want without harming your health. These dishes are easy to make at home or can be found at popular Chinese restaurants and takeaways.
If you can’t get any of these healthy chinese food dishes just buy the ingredients and make it yourself which would make it more health. As Chinese food uses very specific sauces and ingredients that are mostly available in this global age.
Bok Choy
You might have tried this authentic chinese food dish in your life, if not you might have heard about this dish. A simple dish with so much flavor is usually paired with soups or ramen bowls. Bok choy is a green leafy plant full of vitamins and fiber. This dish is healthy chinese food to add to your diet especially for people who have vitamin deficiencies.
You can try making the bok choy dish with chopped garlic in light oil and stir fry the bok choy for few seconds until the garlic coats the bok choy. You can add a bit of oregano and salt to the dish for taste. Bok choy is a great chinese dish for people predisposed to developing cancer.
Chinese Broccoli
Another healthy chinese food dish is chinese broccoli which is a very popular chinese dish in Chinese menu items. Chinese broccoli is sweat and chewy dish that adds lots of vitamins and minerals to your diet. If you are not a fan of steamed broccoli then you can try making this dish at home.
Broccoli is a great source of vitamins and minerals and is a great vegetable to add to your balanced diet. The minerals and vitamins from this broccoli dish support the overall nutrition of a person. Since this dish is so flavorful you can eat your heart’s content without feeling guilty.
Savoy Cabbage
These are several kinds of vegetables in an Asian supermarket. Vegetables like bok choy, cabbages, cauliflowers, purple cabbages, bamboo shoots, lotus stem and the list go on and on. One such ingredients Chinese love eating is cabbages.
The savoy cabbage is one such healthy chinese food dish you can add to your diet. This dish comes in two variations, stir fry or as a salad. The texture of this dish is crunchy even when cooked. This makes a great side for savory dishes and soups.
Chinese Water Spinach
Chinese water spinach is another variety of long, leafy greens. It’s another green that often appears as stir-fried dish in chinese household. This green is full of vitamins that are found in normal spinach in Europe and America but without the grassy taste. Water spinach can also be paired with other vegetables to make a dish as well.
Bamboo Shoots
Bamboo shoots are neutral vegetables with few calories and unique texture. Bamboo shoots are widely available in south-Asian and east-Asian countries, and they make stir-fries, tempura, vegetable recipes and even adds them to soups sometimes.
Bamboo shoots have a crispy yet tender texture quite like asparagus. Bamboo shoots go well with anything due to their neutral taste. Bamboo shoots are cut in slices to make chinese pickles too.
Lemongrass
Lemongrass doesn’t necessarily make any dish, but its citrus flavor compliments many dishes like seafood, poultry and beef recipes.
Steamed Buns
Chinese healthy food included the steamed buns which are a chinese bun made of flour, yeast, baking powder, milk, oil, yeast and sugar. You can make these steamed buns recipe easily at home customizing the ingredients.
Steamed buns are mainly ordered as a side dish or as an appetizer. Steamed buns can also be filled with meat or vegetables which add protein and fiber to your meal. You can opt for steam buns made of rice flour to make your steamed buns healthier.
Miso Soup
You might have heard about miso soup from all the anime you have seen online. If not then miso is a fermented Japanese soyabean paste that is used in soups, traditional Japanese recipes and cuisines. But did you know miso soup is also a popular menu item at Chinese restaurants?
Soybeans are fermented with several nutritious ingredients like seaweed, koji, salt, rice, barley and other ingredients to make miso paste. Thus, the miso paste is full of probiotics and iron, vitamin K and calcium. Miso soup contains seaweed along with miso paste to make a nutritious choice for your diet especially in your breakfast and lunch menu.
Steamed Seafood Or Fish
Steamed foods are among the healthy Chinese food you can have in your meal. Anything steamed or boiled with minimal added condiments is extremely healthy and offers an authentic or original taste of the used ingredients.
Chinese menu is known to have some of the healthiest streamed fish items that are rich in high protein. Not only this steamed fishes or seafood are high in omega-3 fatty acids that are essential for healthy body. Steamed fish usually is made using scallions and ginger. Steamed fish or seafoods can be eaten without adding any condiments like salt.
For flavor you can sprit a lemon and have the steamed fish. You can also add a side of the dipping sauce and a portion of vegetables to make a balanced meal. Just ensure your portion size is limited so that you don’t fill up too much with proteins only and leave other important nutrients in a balanced meal.
Rainbow Stir Fry
Vegetarian dishes are also full of nutrients like vitamin, minerals, protein, etc. This healthy Chinese food is a stir-fried dish made of vegetables like baby, corn, edamame, cabbage, purple cabbage, carrots, and beans.
It’s a colorful dish that is loved by kids as well due to its aesthetics, and it also tastes heavenly. You can also add tofu or lentils as a protein into this dish. This dish is a great for vegan who wants to avoid high calories food but want savory food as well.
Cucumber And Mushroom Salad
Cucumber and mushroom salad is among the healthy Chinese food items you can order at any Chinese restaurant. It’s a savory dish packed with lime, sugar, and pepper with mushroom and cucumber. This dish contains fiber and is a great appetizer before the entrée.
If you are a vegan, then this vegetarian dish is a must try for you. Beef And Broccoli One of the healthiest Chinese food dishes you can order is a beef and broccoli which is a nutritious dish. This dish has protein and fiber which is good for gut health.
You can easily make this dish at home with low calories by replacing beef with chicken. Chicken is a very good source of lean meat that’s good for people on a diet as well.
Glass Noodles With Chinese Steamed Scallops
Glass Noodles with Chinese Steamed Scallops is one of the healthy Chinese food dishes you can add to your diet. This is a dish that has a combined sweet and salty flavor. The sauce made of caramelized garlic tossed with glass noodles and scallops is a delectable combination.
It’s a filling dish that you can have without any sides. It’s a low-calorie dish so if you want a filling dish without worrying about calories then this dish is the one.
Steamed Dumplings
The ultimate comfort food that would light up your mood is steamed dumplings. Steamed dumplings are similar to steamed buns. Steamed dumplings contain meat, and vegetables which are healthy source of protein and fiber.
Dumplings usually have seasoned pork or cabbage fillings. They can be steamed or fried but steamed dumplings are healthier option. So if you are trying to cut down on your calories intake opt for steamed dumplings. Steamed dumplings can be paired with soy sauce-based sauces but it is high in sodium or salt so limit the intake.
Moo Goo Gai Pan
Moo goo gai pan is a stir-fried dish made from vegetables and chicken. Vegetables like broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, and water chestnuts are used along with chicken tossed in light sauce. This dish is low in calories and contains protein which makes it a great filling meal on its own. You can pair this dish with a bowl of rice to get a balanced diet.
Egg Drop Soup or Hot and Sour Soup
Soups are healthy food for our body. It’s easy to digest for your stomach and low in calories. One such low calories soup dish is egg drop soup. This healthy Chinese food dish is light, contains egg and chicken broth.
Another soup dish you can try is the hot and sour soup which is made with bamboo shoots, mushrooms, ginger and eggs. Condiments are also added to this dish to make it flavorful like spices and vinegar that adds hot and sour flavor to the dish.
If you want a more filling meal, then add glass noodles to the soup to make it more filling or add a side of steamed dumplings to fill your stomach. Soups are generally light on our stomach so you can eat as much as you want.
Chop Suey
Chop suey is a stir-fry dish made from thinly sliced vegetables, eggs, and meat tossed in light sauce. You can add any form of protein in this dish beef, pork, tofu or chicken. Chop suey can be made using noodles also. You can make chop suey at home using limited amount of oil. Chop suey is a healthy Chinese food dish as it’s full of protein and vegetables so it’s nutritious for our body.
Baked Salmon
Try the baked salmon a great menu option in Chinese restaurants. It’s rich in protein and low in calories. Salmon is rich in omega-3 fats that are healthy fats so you can eat it. The dish is low in calories and can be paired with a side of rice or steamed vegetables.
Conclusion
There are always going to be some healthy options to choose whether you are in a restaurant or ordering takeout or making it yourself. So why not opt for these dishes when ordering from a chinese restaurant. These listed healthy chinese food are flavorful so you won’t have to worry about tasting bland food.
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