BellaOnline Forums Food and Wine Chinese Food Do you think Chinese food is healthy or unhealthy?

What are your thoughts on Chinese food? Do you feel that it's healthy or unhealthy?

Do you find there is a lot of fat in the Chinese that you eat? Do you feel that it's full of calories?

I would love to know your thoughts on this.

I think that it depends on what type of Chinese food you order. Many dishes such as fried rice, egg rolls, and anything with fried meats are going to be loaded with fat and calories. If you stick to dishes with fresh vegetables, seafood and chicken, they are much healthier.

I have to agree with chloe - depends on what and where you eat. There is an all you can eat Chinese buffet that I go to once in blue moon and it all fried appetizers - you feel so greasy after eating.

But every once in awhile we will head into Chinatown (Boston) and have some really good fresh and healthy Chinese dishes. Lots of fish and veggies. Yummy!

The heathier dishes like stir fry, veggies and the soups are better than the fried rice, the breaded sweet and sour dishes, etc.

Food like vegetable rice, fried rice, fishes, soups all these are healthy with rich calories.

Depends on what u going to eat.Well, i love Chinese food a lot.

50/50 healthy to unhealthy. It all depends on what you get.

Depends on how you make it. Unfortunately, most stuff you get from the Chinese restaurants are not healthy. It can be overly salty, full of fat and MSG.

I dont think you can make a blanket statement whether Chinese food is healthy or not. Like most cuisines, there are items that are unhealthy, and there are other items that are quite healthy. For example, most stir frys have a healthy helping of veggies, a small quantity of meat with can be chicken white meat, and you can do this with brown rice. Thats about as healthy as you can get!

What about foods like Moo Goo Gai Pan and Chicken or beef with broccoli, or even Won-ton soup?
Those are my absolute favorites. They have a lot of veggies.

I think it depends on where your eating. Some restaurants use a lot of oil in their moo goo gai pan and beef with broccoli. And some places have an option where you can have the meats and veggies steamed and then served with the sauce on the side. Wonton soup is usually pretty healthy in my opinon

I feel, some Chinese dishes are healthy like, soups, noodles, shrimp dishes, curry & sauces. I order the same whenever I visit Chinese restaurants in Detroit. But some dishes like szechuan fried-rice, szechuan fried noodles seem to be more oily.

I order egg drop soup, and steamed veggies and it seems really healthy to me! Of course you CAN order deep fried sugar-coated food too, but that's probably true in any cuisine

I didn't realize this. I always order the moo goo gai pan when I am in the mood for ultra healthy because I thought it was always the healthiest option on the menu. From now on I will check with the waiter about the oil content.

I think Chinese food at most restaurants is bad for you but if you make it yourself or go to an upscale place you might get food that is more authentic and natural.

I feel that chinese food in restaurants are quite unhealthy. Even stir-fries, they use quite a lot of oil. And famous dishes like lemon chicken, sweet and sour chicken, are all deep fried. But, if you get home cooked food, then the oil content can be controlled. ___________ my blog: partyplanningmenus.blogspot.com

I love Chinese food, but I know the stuff I get when I eat out is not the healthy kind. When I fix Chinese food at home, I know it's much more healthy. But I just love Panda Express!

I'm pretty sure that every Chinese restaurant I've gone to has had steamed options. So you don't have to get the "fried in oil" food - you can go for the steamed dishes instead!

Hmmm. Traditionally, Chinese food is made with plenty of oils, pork and salt. But if you make your own Chinese food you can lighten up on the oils and sodium when you stir-fry.

It CAN be healthy but I don't think the restaurants worry about health first.

Also, you have to know what to choose. There are healthier options. Steamed fish (still has oil though), etc.

Healthy food = food that does not contain excessive proportions of fats and sugars but which contains a good proportion of protein, vitamins, minerals etc.
Unhealthy food = food that does contain excessive proportions of fats and sugars, but does not contain proportionate amounts of proteins, minerals, vitamins etc.

My eating pattern consists of predominately healthy foods - everything in moderation.

Yes, it depends, do you know the soup is healthy food, so delicious.

i think Chinese food is healthy because there food mostly contains chickens, mutton food which gives high energy to the body...

depends on the sauce its cooked in, whether it contains excess salt or msg... can be really healthy but sometimes its just cheap and nasty with extra unwanted additives.

maybe some Chinese food is too fat... but i prefer too eat Chinese food

To me, it's a good news/bad news thing. I eat a lot more vegetables when I eat Chinese, but there seems to be a LOT of salt in the typical American-style Chinese restaurant food. I think it depends a lot on what you order and how much you eat. It's often hard for me to NOT inhale the whole dinner (even though there is easily enough for two meals most times I order).

Chinese food is fine as long as you don't make it a practice to have it every day.

It depends on what Chinese you are going to eat, some are health and nutritious while some are unnhealth or junk food.

I don't know , but chinese food is delicious, i never forget the taste.

It totally depends on what kind of food we order...

Jane, I agree with you. A nice tofu dish with veggies in a light sauce is very healthy. General's Chicken-not so much!

I was faced with the American Chinese buffet problem last night. We took my mother-in-law out for her favorite restaurant. I can't eat salt. Was there anything there without salt - very little. Oh the fresh fruit. That tasted like shoe leather. Depends on the restaurant. This place used enough oil and salt for 80 restaurants.

It also depends on the kind of food you eat. If it's a roadside meal, then you don't know what's gone into the food.

Personally, any food that you make yourself at home is healthy (or can be made healthier) since you are in control. You can adjust & decrease the amount of oil, butter, sauces, salt.....

Lightly cooked stir-frys with just a little oil & LOTS of flavor by way of aromatics, spices & herbs can make your veggies and lean proteins sing! Also, portion control & size are important too. Everything in balance & moderation :-)

When I visit China, the food there is very different -- more veggies, lighter sauces, not greasy or everything deep fried. It is however full of flavor!

This is the same for Indian food -- it's much healthier at home than in an Indian restaurant.

As with any other cuisine, it is what you make of it. I think traditional Chinese cooking is healthier than what you get at the local chinese restaurant (where everything is breaded, deep fried and covered in a sauce).

Steamed veggies in some broth with fish or chicken...yum

Lila-

I think the main ingredients have the potential to be very healthy. As Sadhana says, making it at home allows you to control the results.

I live 1 mile from China Town in Chicago and I find it rather oily. I often think a little now and then is okay, but eating it regularly couldn't be good for me. That said, I love the taste, but tend to go for Thai when I want it fast.

Dear Lila,
Where I live in the province of Quebec,you can have your food prepared in front of you,so YOU control what is put in your plate.

loong

I have a favorite Chinese food dive here in Phoenix. The service is horrid the food is wonderful.I wonder if they barely pass health inspection. And on more than one occasion, I've wondered if they recycled food off of tables. A tall charge I know....but I do have strong reasons to be suspect. That said, Chinese food is healthy if you make healthy selections, avoid fried selections, ask for no MSG, and tell them to "go light" on the oil they use to stir fry. Funny note, the place where I go, the service is horrible and they would rarely follow any of my requests. And YES the food is still that good to overlook all of the other concerns.

I think it is very much on the cooking of it. I used to buy alot of takeaway stuff that was definately not good for you! For the past year i have been cooking at home with ingredients i buy myself and so know what I am putting in it. I must say, there is a little thing called MSG that i had never heard of in my 'takeaway' days but will now not touch. It is an artificial flavour enhancer that nearly all takeaways had used, check labelling ingredients before buying your soy sauce and oyster sauce as it really is not good for you.

I agree also that it very much depends on the ingredients used in preparation of the food. Most restaurants and pre-made box chinese food are laden with unhealthy ingredients.
My local newspaper ran a recipe for cashew chicken a while back, and the nutritional analysis showed the homemade version to be a healthy meal. It tastes better than already made, too

I think Chinese food is very healthy, Chinese exports to foreign things are carefully selected.Grew up in an eating Chinese food is very healthy. BellaOnline ALERT: Raw URLs are not allowed in these forums for security reasons. Please use UBB code. If you don't know how to do UBB code just post here for help - we will help out!

Well, it depends on what you want to eat. It just like some of us like to eat hamburger which has high calories,some of the Chinese food also have fat, but some dishes are really healthy and delicious.

Had ever tasted some chinese dishes. Can accept just jew of them, don't like

I think chinese food taste very good, but is not so healthy. Is ok to eat once a week but not every day.

i know chinese food is very sweet , but i think it is unhealthy .

Armanie,
I agree! Definitely delicious! I think it's great that they can make some in a lower fat version.

I like to think its healthy.. After all Younever see an overweight Chinese person

I think that the Oriental fast food restaurants are the worst places to get your oriental fix when you crave any Chinese food. There loaded with MSG, sugar and other things you really are not aware of. Making your own is far better for your health. I prefer to make my own even if it takes longer to prepare.

to AmyR ,

Dear Amy In a rough part of my life,I was a dishwasher in a chinese restaurant.
The staff never ate what was on the menu.This is not real chinese food.

Do you know that real chinese food is more varied than french cuisine.

loong

I don't think all Chinese food are greasy. The sioapo,cuapao and some soups are good. Most soups like niddo or hototay are heavenly. I am not Chinese but we cook chicken and white noodles in the house. It all depends on how you prepare your dishes, instead of using unhealthy cooking oil, you can switch or just use a few drops of it to enjoy the flavors of China :)

I think it depends on what you eat.Foods of each country have something healthy and unhealthy, I think such as pork braised in brown sauce has a lot of calories , and TOFU and dumplings are both nutritious and delicious.

Depends what type of food you are eating...but yeah I love Chinese food a lot.. so dont think much about healthy or un healthy..:D

It depends - if you make it at home, you control the ingredients & can make it very healthy! So start cooking - make it with less oil, use organic low sodium soy sauce & lots of fresh organic veggies!

Great authentic read on Chinese food and restaurants in America by someone that knows what they're talking about, there is a book out by Jennifer 8. <--Yes, that is her name on the cover - Jennifer 8. It has to do with luck.
1) - Always ask at the restaurant if they MSG or as it is also called ACCENT. Order what they don't use it in. This is the stuff that makes your face swell up and gives you intense headaches.
2) - Stick with the veggie dishes and offerings that have light sauces and a minimum of frying.
One day after the lunch hour I stopped at the old David Kwan's in Phoenix, AZ. The help was being fed. They had a huge pan of vegetables with little or no sauce and they really dove into it.
They weren't eating all that Americanized mess that we get to look at on the buffet. It was a whole different dish they were eating and they ate it with gusto.

I just looked up the title of the Jennifer 8 book -- It's the Fortune Cookie Chronicles. Very eye opening written by a woman who grew up on Chinese food and is now a journalist.

Love Chinese food. I would consider most dishes with steamed meats and vegetables healthy.

I had Chinese for lunch yesterday. Jade has a great combo plate -- huge helping of sweet and sour pork, sweet and sour chicken, fried rice and an egg roll. $4.99. I should have taken a pic of the plate. It was so heaping and delicious. I brought home enough for two more lunches or dinners!
Next time I'm going to do a veggie plate. I know they fry in peanut oil but when you kook at what I ate, it was all fried.
So next time I will say, veggie plate, light on the sauces, put those on the side. No frying.

Whether it is healthy or not depends on how it is cooked and which ingredients are used. Some Chinese food is just bad for you, but oh so tasty. Other food is tasty and good for the body. Everything in moderation!

Daisy, that meal doesn't sound healthy but it sure sounds tasty!

Very tasty Encore. Lol! Next time I think I'll get a steamed veggie plate and bring it home to eat as lettuce wraps.

I think：tomorrow to try to eat a Chinese meal, then comment！

I do not care. It is good so I like it and eat it. The key is moderation so if you do eat something that is unhealthy then do not eat it like your stomach has no end.

Many Chinese restaurants are cooking "Americanized" food meant for a US market which barely resembles what actual Chinese people in China would eat. The foods are often full of fat and sugar, again, because it's what the US market demands. They are rarely healthy items. I strongly believe that we should support and encourage restaurants which provide more traditional Chinese meals, both to support an authentic experience and also to eat healthier foods. We only have one body. We need to take care of what we have, lest we lose it.