Kung Pao Chicken is a healthy meal idea made with lean protein, tons of veggies, and an easy kung pao sauce.
A 1-cup serving of seasoned Szechuan Chicken has around 179 calories, 9.3 grams of carbohydrates, 8.5 grams of fat, and 25 grams of protein. Compared to 100 grams of Kung Pao Chicken with 129 calories, 9 grams of fat, and 9.8 grams of protein.
1. Steamed fish or seafood with ginger, scallions and soy sauce. Steamed fish and veggies are packed with fiber and protein. One of the healthiest places you can choose an entree on a Chinese restaurant menu from is the seafood section, according to Amy Yiu, RD, a registered dietitian with Health Stand Nutrition.
Nutrition Facts
There are 779 calories in a 1 order (604.000g) serving size of Restaurant, Chinese, kung pao chicken. The calorie breakdown is 49% fat, 21% carbs, and 30% protein.
Chinese Restaurant Kung Pao Chicken Without Rice (1 order) contains 41.5g total carbs, 32.4g net carbs, 42.2g fat, 59g protein, and 779 calories.
Calories and Fat
A 3.5-ounce serving of Kung Pao Chicken contains 129 calories. This accounts for 6.4 percent of the calories you may eat every day if you follow a 2,000-calorie diet. This dish has 6.8 grams of fat, or 68 percent of its calories. Quite a bit of the fat comes from peanut oil and peanuts.
Best: Soups
Wonton, egg drop, or hot and sour? Take your pick. Each typically has fewer than 100 calories per cup. Plus, the broth helps fill you up, so you won't eat as much of the heavier dishes.
The building blocks of kung pao chicken are chunks of boneless chicken, chili peppers, and peanuts. A bit of soy sauce adds a necessary punch of salinity and scallions give it a nice zing. Corn starch is added to give everything a glossy and smooth texture. The dish is always served with a side of white rice.
Kung pao chicken is a popular Chinese restaurant dish of stir-fried chicken, peanuts and vegetables. It's traditionally made with specialty ingredients, like Sichuan peppercorns, Chinese black vinegar, Chinese rice wine, and whole dried red chilies.
Ding Baozhen loved to cook and especially liked chicken, peanuts, and spicy peppers. Using those ingredients, he created Kung Pao chicken. Originally a home dish of the Ding family, guests loved it so much that the popularity spread.
Look for dishes that are steamed or stir-fried or try pairing a couple small items - like steamed dumplings or egg foo yung - with a cup of soup. Watch out for fried dishes, like orange chicken and szechaun beef, which can hit over 600 calories per cup!
Kung Pao Chicken is a dish featuring small pieces of diced chicken, peanuts, and chilies. While the dish originated in Sichuan province, its fame brought it to other provinces as well, each with their own regional variation.
Kung pao chicken contains 209 calories in a serving of 162 g. This serving contains 11 g of fat, 16 g of protein, and 11 g of carbohydrates. On the other hand, it contains only 0.4 grams of sugar and 4.4% of dietary fiber, and the rest is made up of complex carbohydrates.
Other healthy Chinese food orders the Nutrition Twins recommend include chicken dishes accompanied by a green vegetable, like chicken with broccoli, chicken with snow peas, or chicken with green beans. "All are good options for getting lean protein and nutrient-rich vegetables," they explain.
For soups, try hot and sour, egg drop, or wonton soup. When you're in the mood for dumplings, reach for steamed or pan-fried veggie, shrimp, beef, pork, or chicken ones. Decide on your main. For entrees, explore steamed lean proteins like chicken or shrimp with vegetables or egg foo young with chicken.
Go for steamed dishes
In general, steamed dishes such as dumplings, vegetables or seafood tend to be lower in salt than deep- or stir-fried foods, although be careful with any accompanying sauces: as above, chilli- or vinegar-based condiments are a better choice than salty soy.
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Fried appetizers, such as egg rolls, and fatty options, such as spareribs, contain a lot of calories and saturated fat. Broth-based soups, such as egg drop, wonton and hot and sour are lower-calorie choices. Opting for a serving of soup as an appetizer might also help you eat less at your primary meal.
A typical serving of Kung Pao chicken can have over 900 mg of sodium. By using my low sodium soy sauce substitute and chicken breasts, this version has just 57 mg of sodium per serving.
INGREDIENTS: SOY SAUCE (WATER, WHEAT, SOYBEANS, SALT, SUGAR, SEASONING, LACTIC ACID, SODIUM BENZOATE - PRESERVATIVE), WATER, SUGAR, GARLIC, GINGER, COOKING WINE (CORN SYRUP, WATER, RICE SEASONING, DISTILLED VINEGAR, FERMENTED WHEAT PROTEIN, FLAVOR, CALCIUM CARBONATE, SOY SAUCE [WATER, WHEAT, SOYBEANS, SALT], SODIUM ...
Your Fresh Market Kung Pao Chicken With Rice (1 serving) contains 46g total carbs, 43g net carbs, 6g fat, 27g protein, and 340 calories.