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Keto Chinese Food Ideas- Try Mouth-watering Recipes!
Wondering what keto Chinese food to try out? Here are a few ideas and other information you can use to prepare the best keto Chinese food you have ever had. Imagine eating tastier food that helps lose weight and is keto-friendly, isn’t it something we always want in our lives? Let’s get started.
Well, navigating through a Chinese buffet or menu can be quite challenging when you have to stick to high fat and low carb diets like the keto diet. Although Chinese dishes are loaded with veggies of all kinds, they are often prepared using key ingredients like noodles and rice along with sugary and starchy sauces to add a touch of Chinese food. The food is also battered and fried which can make your keto journey a bit hectic. Having cravings for Chinese food is quite normal.
These food are difficult to include in a keto diet because a keto diet restricts carb intake to nearly 50 grams of total carbs. This is total carbs minus fiber intake per day.
Fortunately, there are few keto Chinese food ideas for that craving Chinese food but are on a keto diet. You can either prepare the dishes at home or go to a proper sitting place but make sure they do not add some sauces to enhance the taste, it might increase your carb limit.
Below given are some of the most friendly keto Chinese food ideas to try at home.
Keto Chinese Food
1. Egg Foo Young
Eggs are best for someone following a keto diet. This is basically a Chinese version of the omelet we mostly prepare. Egg foo young is filled with several veggies like onions, sprouts, beans, and cabbage that makes it healthy and fit to be prepared for everyone. You may also add some other ingredients like shrimp, beef, pork, chicken, etc to the eff foo young when you are serving it.
This keto Chinese food recipe is low in carbs as it contains vegetables, onions, and meat fillings. You may use a healthy alternative for oil white preparing it.
2. Egg Drop Soup
If you want a keto Chinese food idea to prepare at home instantly, this might be the one you are looking for. Egg drop soup is definitely the easiest choice here. All you have got to do is combine the eggs, broth, and any keto-friendly thickener, for instance, xanthan gum and you are good to go.
On the other hand, if you are planning on ordering this dish, you might have to think twice as in restaurants the chefs mainly thicken the sauce using the one and only- cornstarch. This makes the recipe highly rich in carbs for people who have been following keto diets.
It is best to prepare it at home. Feel free to include some chopped scallions in your recipe just make sure you avoid high-carb fried wonton strips.
3. Steamed Or Boiled Seafood
Chinese buffets often have seemed or boiled shrimp, crab legs, or crawfish. You might have eaten something familiar in restaurants. You can easily try any seafood option as it is completely free of any carbs and highly rich in protein. Pair this keto Chinese food with stir-fried or steamed veggies and you are good to go. Seafood is the best option to consider as it helps you stay in ketosis white by having a Chinese buffet.
4. Moo Shu Pork
Moo shu pork is a dish featuring vegetables, scrambled eggs, and sliced pork. This stir-fried dish is extremely delicious to try out. The vegetables used are most mushrooms and cabbages dipped in a light sauce that is low in carbs. It is often served with rice but you may replace it with something keto and enjoy your meal.
It is probably an ideal meal to prepare at home as you will be able to count on the carbs by preparing this sauce from a scratch. Plus it is entirely better than the one you get at restaurants as other ingredients are not used to thicken the sauce, they only add on to the carbs and thus calories disrupting ketosis.
5. Pork Belly
If you wish to try traditional Chinese food, this might be the one you are looking for. Just visit your local butcher shop ad pick pork belly. This is mainly used to prepare bacon and high in fats. This allows to develop a crispy exterior when cooked, isn’t it satisfying?
Although most Chinese pork belly recipes contain sugary ingredients, you can just replace it with some keto-friendly options and you will have a traditional keto Chinese food recipe prepared within no time.
6. Broccoli And Beef
Well, beef and broccoli might have crossed your mind while thinking of the keto Chinese food ideas. This is a classic Chinese dish made by stir-frying the main ingredients beef and broccoli in a light sauce.
It is a better Chinese takeout option as the beef is water velveted or marinated in cornstarch. You can totally skip marinating beef in cornstarch for a keto-friendly option. This will help reduce carbs. The cornstarch often tenderizes the meat but it is not something you should consider while on a keto diet.
You can rather use baking soda velveting so prepare this recipe.
7. Stir-fried Mushrooms
Stir-fried mushrooms are mostly found in all Chinese restaurants. You will see halved mushrooms in savory brown sauce. These mushrooms dishes are highly popular and low in carbs too, given that you use the right ingredients for ketosis.
Mushrooms are low in calories as well as carbs, making them the perfect mix for a keto meal.
8. Sauteed Green Beans
Another common keto Chinese food is sauteed green beans. Depending on the restaurant you chose to eat today, it might be served with some sauce or simply sauteed in oil along with some garlic to enhance the taste.
You can use this recipe with proteins like baked fish or boiled shrimp. It is an easy way to enjoy the deliciousness of Chinese with keto-friendly options. Also, sauteed green beans are an easy recipe to prepare without using many ingredients.
9. Stir-Fries
The easiest way to prepare your own keto-friendly food at home is just stir-frying low-carb veggies with some lean meat in oil. The keto Chinese food thus prepared will be of your choice. Some delicious suggestions you may use include chicken, shrimp, pork with zucchini, beef, cauliflower, cabbage, bean sprouts, mushrooms, etc.
To add extra flavor and spice to the recipe prepared you can add some ingredients like grated ginger, soy sauce, crushed garlic, sesame oil, pepper flakes, crushed peanuts, and fresh chili.
Stir-fries are highly versatile which means you can use any keto-friendly ingredients as per your calories requirements and taste at home.
10. Baked Fish
You can call this keto Chinese food recipe the staple of Chinese buffet lines. Baked salmon is mostly preferred and is seasoned with sauce which makes it more delicious. Salmon not only tastes amazing but also has several health benefits. It is rich in protein and omega 3 fatty acids. Also, this recipe is a perfect fix for keto dieters as it is carb-free.
11. Chop Suey
Chop suey is quire similar to a recipe we discussed earlier. It is the same as moo shu pork as it is stir-fried meat, veggies, and eggs in a light sauce. This dish is commonly prepared with chicken and served with rice. Some people love eating chop suey with noodles too but that is not an option for keto dieters.
While you order this recipe at a restaurant, make sure you ask them not to bring noodles or rice and add extra veggies to the portion instead. When you prepare this recipe at home, just make a large portion with high veggies and serve it with any low-carb noodles, zucchini noodles. or riced cauliflower.
12. Kung Pao Shrimp
This is again and the stir-fried dish prepared with peanuts, shrimp, chilies, and bell pepper in a spicy sauce. This recipe varies highly depending upon the restaurants and chefs. All love to try different things, right?
You might see at some places it is prepared with thick gravy while including proteins and veggies. In some places, the sauce may be thin. Regardless of all such things, it is an excellent option for those who are on keto as long as you are not eating noodles or rice along with kung pao shrimp. Thi recipe is really easy to prepare and you can make it for your breakfast as it takes less time.
13. Hot And Sour Soup
We cannot really miss a hot and sour soup when talking about keto Chinese food ideas. Hot and sour soup such as egg drop soup starts with eggs and a base of broth. It may also feature bamboo shoots, spices, vinegar, tofu. and several mushrooms.
As the name suggests, this soup is sour and spicy. Restaurant versions of this group are often thickened using cornstarch which has a lot of carbs. You can avoid carbs by preparing your hot and sour soup at home itself.
14. Steamed Veggies
This is again a traditional Chinese method used for veggies. Steaming is very common when it comes to preparing most Chinese dishes. Some popular examples include steamed greens and steamed dumplings.
You may steam greens like Chinese broccoli or bok choy. You will get them in any Asian market. Just steam the veggies with salt, oil. and pepper to prepare a side dish for your Chinese meal.
15. Chicken And Broccoli
Similar to the previous recipe for beef and broccoli, you can also prepare chicken and broccoli. It is prepared from stir-fried broccoli with water velvet chicken. Some restaurants prepare and serve the dish with veggies like onions ad carrots to enhance the taste and look of the recipe.
Although it may contain some carbs when you eat it at a restaurant, it is still a better choice than most recipes having sugary sauces and breaded meats. If you are preparing at home, you can modify the ingredients and prepare a complete carb-free recipe with a lot of other veggies as seasoning.
16. Keto Chinese Meatballs
This Chinese keto food is definitely the favorite recipe of all. This recipe is made with beef. They are high in flavor, you can prepare the keto-friendly sauce and dip the meatballs to enjoy the great taste.
You will need avocado oil, ground beef, spinach, vinegar, basil, etc to prepare this recipe. Use garlic or ginger paste to give it an authentic taste.
17. Keto Eggplant Burgers (Quezi He)
This recipe makes the best appetizer and a perfect lunchtime snack for a keto-friendly opinion. In this keto Chinese food or recipe, you will require slices for grounded pork burgers, you may use beef or chicken as per your likings. Chicken dipped neatly into a flavorsome sauce is all you need for snack time.
18. Gluten Free Spring Rolls
we cannot miss spring rolls in Chinese keto food recipes. You will require red onions, garlic, carrots, green beans, ground chicken, and rice papers to prepare this delicious dish.
This recipe cannot be completed without some spring rolls and these tasty gluten rolls are perfect to carry anywhere. They make the best snack to be carried in your boxes.
19. Keto Beef Teriyaki
This dish not only appears great but the taste is even better. You can toast the sesame seeds before adding them to stirfry, this will helo enhance all the flavors and works great with ginger.
You can serve the beef with cauliflower rice to present a traditional Chinese dish in the dining. Some of the main ingredients used in this recipe include gluten-free tamari, curly kale, white button mushrooms, fresh ginger, applesauce, and beef sirloin steaks.
20. Marinated Grilled Flank Steak
If you are looking for a simple recipe, you must try this ultra-delicious flank steak. Chinese keto food ideas are incomplete without marinated flank steaks. This recipe is really easy to put together and the secret behind this is in the marinade. This can be prepared easily in a bowl, you just have to mix the ingredients up.
You will need thyme, chili powder, flank steak, coconut aminos, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, paprika, onions, lemon juice, salt, etc to create a mouth-watering dish.
How To Make Keto Chinese Food At Home
If you are still not sure how to make your own keto Chinese food recipe or how to convert a delicious Chinese recipe to keto-friendly, here are some strategies you can follow and enjoy every meal.
Prepare Your Own Recipe
You will notice that many Chinese buffet lines offer their stir fry bars so that you can prepare the recipe at home without struggling to find all the ingredients. Alternatively, you may seek out those recipes that offer Mongolian barbecues or hibachi grills. keto Chinese food prepared at home by yourself is the best thing to try.
You can find a standalone Mongolian barbecue restaurant which generally offers a wide variety of veggies and meats than restaurants. Make sure you are keeping the dish low in carbs by loading it with eggs, meat, and veggies. It is also good to opt for any oil, hot sauce, soy sauce, etc to season your dish rather than using a heavy carb sauce like teriyaki or hoisin.
Do Not Use Rice And Noodles
This is really crucial to keep in mind, although there might be cravings for noodles and rice with Chinese dishes, you must avoid them. When you are ordering Chinese keto food from a restaurant, make sure you ask them not to add noodles or rice. You can always replace these with alternatives like extra steamed veggies, shredded cabbages, riced cauliflower, and zucchini noodles.
Avoid Any Thick And Sugary Sauces
Any sauce that is sweeter, thicker, less translucent, and high added colors will be higher in carb counts than the normal ones. You might have seen some Chinese sauce that is dar red, sweet, and thick in nature. You must know that they are highly loaded with carbs and calories.
Avid eating any such sauce as it has many sweet ingredients and cornstarch to thicken the sauce. keto Chinese food recipes should not include cornstarch.
Avoid Water-Velveted And Breaded Meats
Usually, the friend and breaded meats are used in Chinese recipes especially in some popular dishes like butterfly shrimp, sweet and sour sauces, and Tso’s chicken. Thock breading and use of sugar sauce will make the dish extremely high in cars thus interrupting your ketosis process.
When you are dining out, try to avoid water velveted meats as they are marinated in cornstarch. Look for meats marinated in baking soda to avoid extra carbs and thus extra calories.
Substitutes To Use
Here are some of the most common ingredients used in Chinese food that you must avoid with some substitutes to prepare a Chinese keto food recipe:
- Noodles- Instead of regular noodles, just use cabbage cut into ribbons, zucchini noodles, or shirataki noodles.
- Rice- Use cauliflower rice, shirataki rice, or broccoli rice.
- Wonton Wrappers- You can use shredded mozzarella cheese or cabbage leaves.
- Sauces- Try to prepare your own sauce without any sugar, you can use keto-friendly sweeteners instead.
- Battered meat- Use grated parmesan cheese, almond meal, flax meal, or crushed pork rinds.
These were some delicious keto Chinese food recipes that you may prepare at home.
