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  #1   ^
Old Fri, Dec-29-17, 17:35
JeffPrice's Avatar
JeffPrice JeffPrice is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 50
 
Plan: LCHF
Stats: 411/366/249 Male 76"
BF:
Progress: 28%
Location: East Tennessee & Bolivia
Default Chinese

Greetings,

Now, I --KNOW-- that Chinese food can be tricky. However, have any of you found any "safe" choices on a Chinese menu?

I know there are 100 variables as well. Recipe, location, etc. Any input would be helpful.

Thanks,
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  #2   ^
Old Fri, Dec-29-17, 18:05
Meme#1's Avatar
Meme#1 Meme#1 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 12,456
 
Plan: Atkins DANDR
Stats: 210/194/160 Female 5'4"
BF:
Progress: 32%
Location: Texas
Default

There are mostly two type of sauces at Chinese restaurant. Red or White. The red is usually syrup and the white is usually corn starch.
My choice would be the white and have some type of chicken and veggies. If you can get enough to eat without the rice or eggroll which are usually the filler carbs. You can also eat the insides of the eggroll and throw away the wrap.
It's hard to eat well there, I've tried. I've asked for stir-fried dishes with sesame oil and maybe chili paste but I didn't get it. They didn't even have sesame oil...
They're pretty set in their ways.
Good Luck!
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  #3   ^
Old Fri, Dec-29-17, 20:54
doreen T's Avatar
doreen T doreen T is offline
Forum Founder
Posts: 37,201
 
Plan: LC paleo/ancestral
Stats: 241/188/140 Female 165 cm
BF:
Progress: 52%
Location: Eastern ON, Canada
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by JeffPrice
Greetings,

Now, I --KNOW-- that Chinese food can be tricky. However, have any of you found any "safe" choices on a Chinese menu?

I know there are 100 variables as well. Recipe, location, etc. Any input would be helpful.

Thanks,

I realize you're not following the Atkins diet, however there are some helpful articles at atkins.com website for making low-carb choices when dining out at different restaurants.

Love Eating Out? Love This! offers general tips for making choices at any restaurant, then goes on to list specific cuisines, including Mexican, Thai, Chinese, French etc.

Dining Out, Chinese Style is about Chinese dining specifically.

Check to see if the restaurant has a website with their menu available online. Preview in advance, and maybe even send an email to enquire about ingredients .. you can always claim you have allergies .

Best of luck
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  #4   ^
Old Fri, Dec-29-17, 22:35
Meme#1's Avatar
Meme#1 Meme#1 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 12,456
 
Plan: Atkins DANDR
Stats: 210/194/160 Female 5'4"
BF:
Progress: 32%
Location: Texas
Default

It just hit me that if you have a Chinese restaurant that makes tea smoked duck and you like it, that's a great choice with some veggies.

Also if you skip a combo meal because of the accompanying carbs and just order a full entrée of chicken/veggies like Moo Goo Gi Pan (spelling?) that would give you more food. Just eat the meat and veggies and leave as much sauce as you can.

I think the hot and sour soup verses the egg drop are about the same as far as carbs go because the Chinese restaurants in the US mostly all use the thickener, corn starch.

The only Asian restaurant that I've seen that have clear broth soups are Japanese restaurants.

It always astonishes me how the hot and sour is the same everywhere I go so I wonder if they don't buy it pre-made.
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  #5   ^
Old Sat, Dec-30-17, 09:46
cshepard cshepard is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 425
 
Plan: Low Carb Paleo
Stats: 156/120/125 Female 64"
BF:
Progress: 116%
Location: BC, Canada
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Here's my tactic. I only go to Chinese buffets. For one thing, many dishes at my local have sauces that are a bit thinner/oily with probably less cornstarch like the shrimp in garlic and the riblets in black bean sauce. By going to a buffet you can make a better judgement on this. If the sauce seems too thick (with cornstarch) I will take a small bowl of eggdrop soup to dip the meat or veg into, washing off much of the sauce. They also have a few meat items that are not coated with cornstach or flour at all like roasted duck and fish.
Since I don't go out to eat very often, maybe only twice a month, I don't worry if some carbs sneak in on my meat and veg choices and use some fasting to make up for it!
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  #6   ^
Old Sat, Dec-30-17, 12:50
JeffPrice's Avatar
JeffPrice JeffPrice is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 50
 
Plan: LCHF
Stats: 411/366/249 Male 76"
BF:
Progress: 28%
Location: East Tennessee & Bolivia
Default

Hi everyone. Thanks for your input on this question.
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  #7   ^
Old Sat, Dec-30-17, 16:05
JeffPrice's Avatar
JeffPrice JeffPrice is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 50
 
Plan: LCHF
Stats: 411/366/249 Male 76"
BF:
Progress: 28%
Location: East Tennessee & Bolivia
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by doreen T
I realize you're not following the Atkins diet, however there are some helpful articles at atkins.com website for making low-carb choices when dining out at different restaurants.

Love Eating Out? Love This! offers general tips for making choices at any restaurant, then goes on to list specific cuisines, including Mexican, Thai, Chinese, French etc.

Dining Out, Chinese Style is about Chinese dining specifically.

Check to see if the restaurant has a website with their menu available online. Preview in advance, and maybe even send an email to enquire about ingredients .. you can always claim you have allergies .

Best of luck


Thank-you for these links!!!
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  #8   ^
Old Sun, Dec-31-17, 16:54
Meetow Kim Meetow Kim is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 166
 
Plan: Atkins Concept
Stats: 225/190/175 Male 70.5"
BF:
Progress: 70%
Location: Central Virginia
Default

New here, but when I realized Chinese could be a low carb option, I was so excited.

So, here's my take; first, find real Chinese food. Most "Chinese" places make food for Americans who love sugar and tamed down "Americanized" Chinese food. For instance, Chinese people dont eat General Tso's Chicken...because its NOT Chinese food! Its one of the many inventions Chinese cooks made to satisfy the American Palate.

Look for and learn to love authentic Chinese food. Most of it is not what most Americans (assuming this is an American Website) are eating THINKING they are eating Chinese food. Looking in to ACTUAL Chinese food you will discover its not all sweet, thick, saucy dishes.

For me this is easy because I have been searching out and finding authentic Chinese food in my area. There are many selections in real Chinese food that are not unlike a dish you might make yourself at home...like a basic stir fry. What can be hard to find out is if a dish has sugar or cornstarch or flour, etc. in it before ordering...usually because in an actual Chinese place, there is going to be a bit of a language barrier...plus, nobody likes that diet freak that has to know every single thing, allergens, etc. that may be in the food and complains that the rest of the world is not catering to THEIR diet issues!

I started eating less rice years ago. First as a strategy to get my money's worth at buffets...it was always silly to me to go to a buffet of all these potentially great foods, and fill up on rice...but for some people, they simply cant "Chinese" without the rice...and THAT may be the closest thing to actual Chinese eating they do! Because the Chinese DO use a lot of rice to stretch their proteins. Since discovering authentic Chinese food, I simply find myself naturally not eating much rice with any Chinese food these days, so not having any will be a breeze for me (I'm just starting my diet tomorrow).

Also, with the exception of the rice that Chinese people always eat, pay attention to any Asian people in the restaurants you go to and ask someone what THEY are eating. You dont see many fat Asians do you? The funny thing is, many of the times I have done this, I exposed a fact that most people dont know...Chinese people dont eat what they are feeding their customers!...at least not in the places that cater to the American Palate only. Often what you see them eating is home cooked food not on the menu!

I stopped eating at Chinese buffets. What I mean by that, is I dont eat steam table food. I'm am finding that most buffet food is just not that good...but then again I cook pretty well, so I'm a bit snobby I guess. The only Chinese buffet I go to in my town anymore has sushi! I know, that's Japanese, but real sushi places will crush your budget...a Chinese buffet with decent sushi can be had for $8-$16 all you can eat...that's a good deal. I mostly eat a big plate of sushi with soy sauce and wasabi on the side, some Kimchi if they have it (That's Korean actually) and a bowl of broth from the wonton soup with hot chili sauce and green onions in it. Then I may...or may not have a very small sampling of a few steam table options, but almost never the saucy or sticky looking stuff and never, even when I'm not dieting, do I eat anything like spring rolls or the other fried selections... I prefer to deep fry at home and simply do it far better than any buffet food.

That said...While I always removed at least half of the rice from my sushi and sometimes all of it, Sushi technically has rice, and I'm about to quit rice for a while. So, "Sashimi" is the ticket...basically raw fish and no rice. But some restaurants charge extra for that because they want you to fill up on rice! Fortunately the place I go to hasn't run me off yet. I stopped going to the sushi chain restaurant in my area because they get upset when you dont eat the rice. It's all you can eat, except they charge more for the meat without the rice! I find that outrageous, they are rigid about it, so I simply do not spend my money there anymore. You can go to many decent grocery chains and buy shashimi these days.

So, once you have found a Chinese restaurant that offers "authentic" Chinese food...one with tables where you actually sit down and order and tip your server...try talking to your server before you order. No, not to blame the restaurant for not catering to everyone's pain in the rear dietary issues, but to ask about the food they serve. Ask them what they eat, what actual Chinese people like on the menu, and sure, tell them you are looking for something without a lot of sugar or cornstarch. Don't use terms like "Is this low carb?"...they are not in your diet world, they are not there to explain what items are "Atkins friendly". BUT, they do understand words like sugar, corn starch, flour and they often have seen the food being cooked and may know whether a dish is sweet or has a thickener in it. When I express interest in "Actual" Chinese food at a proper Chinese restaurant, I usually get a fairly good reaction from the server who likes the fact that I'm interested in the real deal stuff and enjoys helping me choose. It depends on the restaurant, but I have good luck at the the places in my area that have actual Chinese food.

My preferences is Szechuan, but I love spicy food. Beware, just because a menu says Szechuan doesn't mean the dish is authentic. Many take out Chinese menus dont even have the real stuff on it because most Americans are clueless about the actual cuisine of China and dont like it. They are looking for the same old stuff you see on every menu everywhere. Like many Mexican places (a whole other conversation), they have developed menus based on what has sold well for decades to Americans, not real Chinese food.

Last edited by Meetow Kim : Sun, Dec-31-17 at 17:06.
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