Tips on Eating Healthy Chinese Fare

It’s Chinese New Year and perhaps you are planning to cook a favorite Chinese dish or eat out with family and friends to celebrate. Several of my favorite Chinese dishes are super tasty but not ideal for my diet.

Dumplings and chow mein noodles, twice-cooked pork and roasted duck are all delicious, but are also high in fat. Plum sauce and other tasty marinades are high in sugar. Two hundred calories and 400 milligrams of sodium are wrapped in every egg roll! Fortunately, for us Chinese food lovers, there are some small changes we can make to our food prep or ordering out…and still enjoy our favorite dishes.

Interested learning some tips for preparing healthy Chinese feasts? There’s a two-part article full of healthful and tasty suggestions, written by a group of doctors from the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, including Drs. Enoch Choi, Amy Lin, Terence Lin,  Albert Wang, Angela Wong, Sandra Wong and Edmund Tai. The first part covers how central food is to Chinese culture and identity, and offers suggestions on how to pick the healthier options. Part two has recommendations for healthy ordering at restaurants, as well as some diet-smart food changes.

You’ll see that some small changes to your food preparation and restaurant ordering can help you to improve your health – and learn some new cooking ideas along the way. Gung Hay Fat Choy – happy Chinese New Year!