That white paper bag with those familiar red letters is a welcome sight when you’re hungry and don’t feel like cooking. I get it – Chinese takeout is fast, tasty, and usually gives you enough food for two meals. But what you might not know is that some of those go-to dishes are much worse for you than they appear. That sweet and sour chicken might taste amazing, but the nutritional facts would make you think twice. Ready to learn which dishes are the biggest offenders? Some of your favorites might be on this list.
Orange chicken contains more sugar than dessert
When you open that container of orange chicken, you’re getting more than just chicken with a bit of sauce. That sticky, sweet coating is packed with sugar – often more than you’d find in a candy bar. A typical serving of orange chicken from a takeout place can have up to 19 teaspoons of sugar! That’s like eating three scoops of ice cream before you even get to your fortune cookie. And that doesn’t include the white rice that usually comes with it, which adds even more carbs to your meal.
Besides all that sugar, orange chicken is usually battered and deep-fried before being coated in sauce, making it a calorie bomb. One serving can pack around 1,500 calories and 70 grams of fat – that’s roughly 3/4 of what most people should eat in an entire day! The combination of fried food and sugary sauce means you’re getting very little nutrition for a whole lot of calories. If you can’t resist orange chicken, try sharing it with someone else and adding a side of steamed vegetables.
Crab rangoon has almost no actual crab
Those crispy little triangles might taste amazing as an appetizer, but they’re hiding a not-so-little secret. Despite the name, crab rangoon typically contains very little crab – if any at all. Most restaurants use imitation crab meat, which is actually made from processed white fish with food coloring and flavorings to make it taste crab-like. The filling is mostly cream cheese mixed with garlic, onions, and a tiny amount of that fake crab. So you’re not getting the protein benefits you might expect from a seafood dish.
What makes crab rangoon so bad is that each little triangle is wrapped in a wonton wrapper and then deep-fried until golden. Just four pieces can contain around 200-300 calories and 13-20 grams of fat. And who eats just four? It’s too easy to munch through an entire order without realizing it. The combination of cream cheese and deep-frying means you’re starting your meal with a hefty dose of saturated fat and refined carbs before you even get to your main dish.
General Tso’s chicken is a sodium nightmare
That spicy, tangy General Tso’s chicken might be one of the most popular Chinese takeout dishes in America, but it’s far from healthy. Like many American-Chinese dishes, it was created to please American tastes and barely resembles anything you’d find in China. The chicken is battered, deep-fried, and then coated in a thick sauce that’s loaded with salt, sugar, and oil. This combination creates a perfect storm of unhealthy ingredients that taste great but do no favors for your body.
The sodium content is where General Tso’s chicken really becomes a problem. One serving can contain up to 2,300 milligrams of sodium – which is the entire recommended daily limit for an adult! That much sodium can make you feel bloated and puffy the next day, and regularly eating high-sodium foods can contribute to high blood pressure over time. The dish often comes with very few vegetables, making it mostly fried meat and sauce on white rice – not exactly a balanced meal by any standards.
Fried rice has more calories than plain rice
Fried rice seems like a simple side dish, and you might think it’s not much worse than plain rice. That couldn’t be further from the truth. The cooking process involves frying cold rice in lots of oil, often adding butter for flavor too. Those little bits of egg, peas, and carrots don’t add much nutrition compared to all the fat that soaks into every grain of rice. Even worse, many restaurants use day-old rice that’s been sitting around, which isn’t exactly the freshest option.
A typical container of restaurant fried rice can contain around 1,500 calories – that’s as much as many people need in an entire day! The oil used to fry the rice adds a lot of fat, and the soy sauce adds plenty of sodium too. Fried rice often has only tiny amounts of vegetables, so you’re not getting much fiber or nutrients to offset all those calories. If you’re ordering Chinese takeout, you’re better off getting steamed rice instead and adding a vegetable dish on the side.
Lo mein noodles soak up oil like a sponge
Those slippery, soft noodles might seem harmless, but lo mein is one of the worst choices on the Chinese takeout menu. The problem starts with the noodles themselves, which are refined carbohydrates similar to white pasta. Then comes the cooking method – the noodles are stir-fried in a wok with lots of oil, which they absorb like little sponges. By the time they reach your takeout container, they’re soaked with oil and coated in sauce.
A single order of beef lo mein can pack around 1,100 calories and 40 grams of fat. That’s before you add any other dishes to your meal! The sodium content is also through the roof – often exceeding 3,000 mg in a single serving. The vegetables mixed in with the noodles are usually minimal and overcooked, so they don’t provide much nutritional value. If you’re craving noodles, you’re better off choosing a broth-based soup with noodles instead, which will have less oil and fewer calories.
Sweet and sour pork is more sugar than meat
That bright red sauce should be your first clue that sweet and sour pork isn’t doing your body any favors. The color comes from food dyes, and the sauce is basically a mixture of sugar, vinegar, and more sugar. The pork itself is cut into small pieces, battered, and deep-fried until crispy before being coated in the sticky sauce. This means you’re getting very little actual meat compared to the amount of batter and sauce you’re consuming.
A typical order of sweet and sour pork can contain up to 16 teaspoons of sugar and 1,300 calories. The combination of fried food and sugary sauce creates a double whammy of empty calories. The few pieces of pineapple and bell pepper don’t count as meaningful vegetable servings. If you must order sweet and sour something, ask for the sauce on the side and dip your food sparingly. Better yet, try a dish with a lighter sauce like a simple garlic sauce instead.
Egg rolls are mostly cabbage and wrapper
Egg rolls seem innocent enough – they’re not very big, and they have vegetables inside, right? Not exactly. While they do contain some shredded cabbage, the filling is mostly low-quality ingredients mixed with oil. The small amount of meat inside is usually heavily processed. But the biggest problem with egg rolls is the wrapper, which absorbs lots of oil during the deep-frying process. That crispy exterior that makes them so satisfying is also what makes them so unhealthy.
Just one egg roll can contain around 200 calories and 10 grams of fat. Most people eat at least two or three, which means you’re starting your meal with 400-600 calories before you even get to the main dishes. The dipping sauce that typically comes with egg rolls adds even more sugar and sodium to the mix. For a lighter appetizer option, try steamed vegetable dumplings instead, which aren’t deep-fried and contain more actual vegetables.
Beef and broccoli isn’t as healthy as it sounds
Among all the deep-fried options on the menu, beef and broccoli might seem like a smart choice. It has protein from the beef and vegetables from the broccoli – what could be wrong with that? Unfortunately, the dish isn’t as straightforward as its name suggests. The beef used is often lower-quality cuts that are tenderized with baking soda and cornstarch before cooking. This gives the meat that soft texture, but it also means you’re not getting the highest quality protein.
The sauce used in beef and broccoli is usually made with lots of soy sauce, sugar, and oil, making it high in sodium and fat. One order can contain up to 1,000 calories and 2,000 mg of sodium. The dish typically includes more beef than broccoli, so you’re not getting as many vegetables as you might think. If you want to make beef and broccoli a healthier option, ask for extra broccoli and the sauce on the side so you can control how much you use. You can also request that they use less oil when cooking it.
Now that you know what’s really in those containers, it doesn’t mean you have to give up Chinese takeout forever. Just make smarter choices – opt for steamed dishes instead of fried ones, ask for sauces on the side, and load up on vegetable-heavy options. And remember that portion control matters too – those containers usually hold 2-3 servings, not just one. Being aware of what you’re eating is the first step to enjoying your favorite foods without the guilt or surprise afterward.
