For many, enjoying a Chinese takeaway is a cherished weekend ritual. However, concerns about cholesterol, blood pressure, and weight gain often accompany this indulgence.

The good news is that you can savor your favorite Chinese dishes without consuming excessive calories in a single meal.

Juliette Martin, a registered nutritional therapist, shared with the Daily Mail: “Takeaway foods, known for their high salt, sugar, and fat content, can impact health, especially with frequent consumption.”

“Chinese takeaways, in particular, are typically high in salt, which over time can adversely affect blood pressure and lead to issues like fluid retention and bloating,” she elaborated.

Excessive salt intake can elevate blood pressure by causing the body to retain more water, which in turn strains the blood vessels.

Over time, this can heighten the risk of heart disease and stroke. For instance, dishes like beef with black bean sauce can contain over 6 grams of salt per serving—matching an adult’s entire recommended daily salt intake—making them a poor choice for regular takeaway indulgence.

She continued: ‘Diets high in saturated fats and refined sugars have also been linked to obesity and inflammation, increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers.’ 

NHS guidance sets the maximum daily intake of free sugars—meaning sugar added to food as part of its production process or recipe and the ones found naturally in fruit juices and honey—at 30g, which equates to 210g per week. 

Getting a Chinese takeaway is a much-loved weekend treat

But just one tablespoon of hoisin sauce—the glossy base element of crispy duck pancakes—can contain up to 5g of sugar, meaning regular takeaways can easily push you over the daily maximum intake. 

‘The idea of a Chinese takeaway isn’t the first meal a nutritional therapist would recommend, but there are healthier options you can select for an occasional indulgence.’   

The main thing, says Ms Martin is to look for dishes based on whole foods, and which are lightly stir-fried, poached, or steamed, not deep fried. 

As a rule, the less breading and batter the better. 

‘You need to make sure your meal has plenty of protein and fibre as these take the longest to digest, so you’ll stay fuller for longer,’ she said. 

‘As a nutritionist I am always thinking about the plate—palm size of protein, half vegetables and then carbs, so try and emulate this when you have a takeaway. 

‘Often the issue isn’t the food itself—having the occasional Chinese takeaway unlikely to cause adverse health issues—it’s the portion sizes and the frequency’. 

With this in mind, Ms Martin looked through a typical Chinese takeaway menu to identify healthy swaps, and the dishes to avoid if you’re looking to keep blood sugar spikes at bay, protect your gut and look after your heart.

Shrimp with lobster sauce 

Despite its name, shrimp with lobster sauce is actually made using fermented black beans, not lobster. 

In addition to stir-fried shrimp, this dish typically contains peas, garlic and spring onions making it relatively low in calories but high in protein, with over 31 grams of the macronutrient per 185g serving. 

Ms Martin said: ‘With a good source of lean protein and fibre, this is one of the healthiest dishes Chinese takeaways tend to offer.’ 

The omega-3 fatty acids found in prawns can also help lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, reducing the risk of heart disease, whilst selenium plays a critical role in protecting your body from oxidative stress.  

She added: ‘To boost the available fibre and minerals, see if you can add Chinese broccoli which is high in beta carotene and vitamin E, which will help prevent vision loss and boost immune function.’ 

Beef and broccoli 

Ms Martin says: ‘Don’t hold back on the vegetables like the wok fried greens, Chinese broccoli, pak choi, and bok choy. They are all cruciferous vegetables which will help support liver detoxification and balance hormones. 

‘They will also provide a good source of fibre, which should help you feel fuller and reduce the likelihood of overeating, which I think we all do with takeaways!’ 

With the added beef, this should provide over 30g of protein per serving and a healthy punch of iron.

Don’t hold back on the vegetables like the wok fried greens, Chinese broccoli, pak choi, and bok choy which are all cruciferous vegetables, the nutritionist said 

Since the broccoli soaks up a lot of sauce, the nutritionist suggests asking the restaurant if they can make your order with less sauce, or even without, to help reduce salt intake, which could help manage blood pressure spikes. 

In general, lighter sauces like garlic sauce, ginger scallion sauce, or rice wine tend to be lower in added sugars and fats compared to sticky sauces like hoisin. 

Lettuce wraps over spring rolls 

It’s not only main menu items which have healthier swaps, side orders and starters  do, too. 

A portion of spring rolls is a favourite add on to many people’s orders, but the deep fried parcel of crunchy vegetables is high in saturated fats, and calories. 

‘Spring rolls tend to be deep fried, meaning they’re going to drive up blood pressure and increase inflammation in the body,’ Martin explained. 

‘Deep fried foods are very inflammatory and can make your digestion more sluggish, slowing down stomach emptying, which in turn leads to heartburn and acid reflux.’

One serving of spring rolls typically sits around 382 calories and contains 30g fat. Too much saturated fat cause cause cholesterol to build up in you arteries, increasing the risk for heart disease and stroke. 

But you don’t need to skip the tasty little extras completely. 

As lot of Chinese takeaway restaurants have started offering other Asian cuisines, including Thai and Vietnamese, it’s possible to find summer rolls on some menus. These are similar to spring rolls in that they are vegetables wrapped in rice paper or but they are served cold and raw,  rather than deep fried. 

Summer rolls, which often contain prawns, can have as few as 85 calories per serving, making them a much lighter choice.

Similarly, some restaurants offer lettuce wraps which are a similar concept but use a crunchy iceberg lettuce leaf as the outer shell. 

These lighter alternatives are full of vegetables packed with vitamin A which supports growth, development and immune function and and crufucious vegtables like Pak choi which protect against cell damage by neutralising reactive compounds called free radicals which drive inflammation. 

Summer rolls are a healthier alternative to spring rolls 

Ms Martin added: ‘Instead of spring rolls, I would choose something that’s fresh or at least steamed, not fried, so you still get the flavour you’re craving but with reduced fat content.’ 

Steamed dumplings 

In general, steamed dishes such as dumplings, vegetables or seafood tend to be lower in salt than deep or stir-fried foods, but if you’re trying to reduce your salt intake, Ms Martin advises opting for a vinegar based condiment over a salty hoisin or oyster sauce—which can contain over 11g of salt per 100g. 

‘Steamed dumplings are great because they often contain a whole protein source along with some vegetables,’ Martin explained. 

Whole proteins, like prawns, pork, or chicken, contain all the amino acids we need that the body can’t produce on its own, making steamed dumplings a great option. 

They are full of flavour but likely to be less processed than some of the other deep fried sides, like crispy wontons, which are typically low in protein and high in fat. 

Rice over noodles 

‘Even things that seem ‘healthy’, like egg fried and special rice is fried in oil, not steamed like plain jasmine rice, adding even more fats to your meal,’ Ms Martin explained. 

Egg fried rice can also contain up to 5g of salt per portion, just 1g shy of an adult’s total recommended daily allowance, making it a no go for people wanting to reduce their sodium intake.

Martin added: ‘If there is brown rice go for that – its higher in fibre which will help stabilise blood sugar levels.’ 

Whilst both noodles and white rice are refined carbohydrates, which tend to cause blood sugar levels to spike, increasing the risk of obesity, insulin resistance and heart disease, plain rice is usually better than a noodle dish. 

According to Ms Martin, you usually end up eating less rice compared to if you had dished up a salty portion of Peking-style noodles. 

Steamed dumplings are a healthier choice 

Soups and broth  

‘Soups and broths tend to be more gentle on our digestive systems’, Ms Martin said. 

‘Starting with this lighter option could also reduce the likelihood of overindulging, though some that are paired with fried noodles, or full of crispy wontons may still contain unhealthy fats.’

Both hot and sour soup—which is typically made with mushrooms, bamboo shoots, eggs and ginger in chicken broth—and egg drop soup offer a good amount of protein and contain anti-inflammatory ingredient such as ginger, spring onions and garlic making them a great low-calorie starter. 

Soups and broths are a great low calorie option 

Kung pao chicken or tofu

Kung pao chicken is a spicy Sichuan dish that contains stir-fried protein—like chicken or tofu—peanuts, chili peppers and vegetables. 

Not only is it high in protein, with one serving providing over 16g, and micronutrients like nacun and selenium—which support metabolism, immune system and thyroid function—it is also topped with peanuts which are a great source of healthy fats. 

To take this dish to the next level, Ms Martin suggests throwing in some extra veggies to bump up fibre content.