What Kind of Chinese Food is Keto-Friendly?
As popular as the keto diet has become for healthy weight loss, people still find themselves craving specific cuisines. Chinese food, with its delicious flavor combinations, happens to be at the top of that crave list for many.
But, thankfully, there are a few keto Chinese foods that keto followers are allowed partake in, even when they’re on the regimen. That’s mostly because a handful of Chinese recipes are more keto-friendly than the others. A lot of oriental dishes happen to contain massive amounts of carbs and sugars – which are a strict no-no on the keto diet.
Don’t worry though, you can still enjoy the delightful flavors of Chinese food without harming ketosis. All you have to do is pay attention to what comes next.
Chinese Food Items To Avoid While On Keto
The biggest dangers to your state of ketosis among Chinese recipe ingredients are as follows:
1)Noodles
2)Wontons/ Dumplings/ Spring or Egg rolls
3)Rice
4)Sugar-heavy sauces
You can avoid the dangers of affecting your keto diet by avoiding any Chinese recipe that includes the four ingredients listed above. Grains like rice, oat, and wheat are not allowed in keto because they contain a high number of carbs. Additionally, even though some Chinese recipes make use of brown sugar, it can still affect your glycemic index and affect your ketosis.
It’s true, rice, grain, and sugar add some great texture and piquancy to Chinese food, but they also happen to contain a lot of starch and sugar. Eating such things can affect your body’s transition of burning fat instead of carbs to fuel itself.
Here’s a list of some of the dishes you want to give a wide berth to if you plan on staying on the keto bandwagon:
*Sauces: Some Chinese recipes include a sauce-like gravy that’s thickened with the help of cornstarch.
*Soups: Avoid thick soups for the same reason that you dodge sauces – some contain cornstarch, while others, like chicken dumpling soup, include wheat.
*Velveted meat: Some recipes in Chinese cuisine make use of the velveting technique, where the meat is coated in a layer of cornstarch for texture. This is another option you want to duck (excuse the pun).
At this point, you’re likely thinking that you’re never going to be able to have Chinese food again. That’s not true. You can’t tweak a recipe to fit your keto bill at any Chinese restaurant, but you can cook a Chinese meal to suit your needs – if you’re persistent enough.
Keto-friendly Chinese Recipes
The good news is that Chinese cuisine is rich, vibrant, and very diverse. This means there are a lot of recipes out there with varying amounts of sugar, carbs, and starch that you can eat without breaking your keto diet plan.
Here’s what a few of them are:
*Pork belly
*Egg foo yung
*Szechuan prawns
*Steamed fish/tofu with vegetables
*Beef and broccoli
*Egg drop soup
*Sizzling shrimp platter
Remember, you may or may not be able to control the sugar and carb content of a dish in most restaurants, but if you choose to cook these recipes at home – you’ll be in the clear.
