Chinese cuisine has some of the best low-calorie options of any restaurant tradition - steamed dumplings, clear soups, stir-fried vegetables, and fish preparations that use very little oil. The problem is that the Americanized Chinese restaurant menu is dominated by deep-fried, sugar-glazed, and oil-heavy dishes that bear little resemblance to traditional cooking. A single order of General Tso’s chicken can top 1,300 calories, while a properly ordered Chinese meal can come in under 600.

This guide walks through what to order, what to skip, exact server phrases, drinks, portion control, and common questions for eating low calorie at a Chinese restaurant.

What to Order

Steamed dumplings (200-300 cal for 5-6): Steamed, never pan-fried. Pork or vegetable both work; skip the dipping sauce or use it sparingly.
Hot and sour soup (90-150 cal per bowl): One of the lowest-calorie soups on any menu - broth-based, vinegary, and filling.
Won ton soup (100-180 cal per bowl): Clear broth with a few pork dumplings. Light and satisfying as a starter.
Buddha’s delight (luo han zhai) (200-350 cal): A vegetable and tofu dish, traditionally Buddhist, that’s steamed or lightly stir-fried. One of the lowest-calorie mains available.
Steamed fish with ginger and scallion (250-400 cal): Whole fish or fillet steamed and topped with aromatics and a touch of oil. Ask for the oil on the side.
Moo goo gai pan (300-450 cal): Chicken and mushroom stir-fry, one of the lighter chicken dishes because it skips heavy sauces and breading.
Steamed vegetables with tofu or chicken (250-400 cal): Most restaurants will steam a vegetable platter on request. Add a lean protein and a light garlic sauce on the side.
Brown or steamed white rice (100-200 cal per cup): Order rice on the side and measure a single cup rather than eating from the shared bowl.

What to Avoid

General Tso’s, orange, or sesame chicken (1,000-1,500 cal): Deep-fried chunks coated in sugary sauce. The single biggest calorie trap on a Chinese menu.
Kung pao chicken (600-900 cal): The sauce is oily and sweetened, and the dish is loaded with peanuts. Better than General Tso’s but still heavy.
Egg rolls and fried spring rolls (150-250 cal each): Fried wrappers soaked in oil. Two before the meal adds 300-500 calories.
Fried rice (500-800 cal per order): Made with day-old rice stir-fried in oil, often with egg and ham. The oil adds up fast.
Chow mein or lo mein (500-900 cal): Oil-soaked noodles. A full plate is a meal’s worth of calories from fat alone.
Sweet and sour pork (800-1,100 cal): Battered, deep-fried, and drenched in bright-red sugar syrup.
Crab rangoon (300-500 cal for 4): Cream cheese and imitation crab in a fried wonton wrapper - essentially a dessert appetizer.

How to Customize Your Order

“Steamed, please - no oil.” (Most menus have a “diet” or “steamed” section.)
“Sauce on the side, please.”
“Brown rice instead of white, please.”
“Could you make that with less oil?”
“No MSG” - this doesn’t lower calories but is a common request that signals you’re ordering health-conscious.
“Steamed vegetables instead of fried rice as my side.”
“Could you do that stir-fried with garlic and ginger, light on the sauce?”
“Half the sauce, please.”

Many Chinese restaurants have an explicit “steamed dishes” page in the menu - often labeled “diet menu” or “health-conscious.” Start there.

Drink Choices

Drink: Hot tea (green, jasmine, or oolong) is the traditional pairing and is zero calories. Water with lemon is the other easy choice.
Skip: Sweetened iced tea, lemonade, and the colorful syrup-based “Chinese restaurant drinks.” A large sweet tea can add 200-300 calories. Beer is fine in moderation - a light beer is around 100 calories - but go easy if the meal is already rich.

Portion Control Tips

Chinese food is served family-style, which is both the trap and the solution:

Order one dish per person plus a soup. For two people, that’s a soup, a vegetable dish, and a protein - plenty of food, reasonable calories.
Serve rice into your own bowl. Take one cup and stop. Don’t eat family-style straight from the rice tub.
Start with soup. Hot and sour or won ton soup takes the edge off hunger before richer dishes arrive.
Use the plate method. Half your plate vegetables, a quarter protein, a quarter rice.
Ask for a to-go box early. Chinese food reheats well - portion out leftovers before you’re full.
Chopsticks slow you down. If you’re comfortable with them, chopsticks naturally pace the meal.

A Smart Ordering Sequence

A reliable plan at a Chinese restaurant: start with a clear soup (hot and sour or won ton), order one steamed or lightly stir-fried vegetable dish and one lean protein (steamed fish, moo goo gai pan, or steamed chicken and vegetables), request brown rice on the side, and use the dipping sauces sparingly. For two people, that is a soup, a vegetable, a protein, and a shared bowl of rice - a complete, balanced meal for around 500-700 calories each.

The biggest single lever at a Chinese restaurant is the cooking method. “Steamed” and “stir-fried with garlic” (with less oil requested) are your friends; “crispy,” “fried,” and “sweet and sour” are warnings. The second lever is sauce volume - most of the calories and sodium live in the sauce, so asking for it on the side and dipping lightly can cut 200-400 calories from a dish without changing what you ordered. Combine the two levers and even a takeout night fits comfortably into a calorie target.

FAQ

Is Chinese food really that bad for you? Americanized takeout Chinese food is often high in calories, sodium, and sugar. Traditional Chinese cooking - steamed fish, vegetable stir-fries, clear soups - is among the healthiest cuisines in the world. The difference is almost entirely in what you order.

What’s the lowest calorie thing to order? Hot and sour or won ton soup plus a steamed vegetable dish with tofu comes in around 300-400 calories total and is genuinely filling.

Is white rice or fried rice better? Plain steamed white rice is far lower in calories than fried rice - about 200 calories per cup versus 500-plus. Brown rice adds a little fiber and is slightly more filling. Either steamed option beats fried rice by a wide margin.

How much sodium is in Chinese food? A lot - often 2,000-4,000 mg per meal thanks to soy sauce, MSG, and oyster sauce. If you’re sodium-sensitive, ask for “light soy” or “less salt,” drink plenty of water, and skip the soy sauce at the table.

Recreate healthier Chinese dishes at home:

See also our Eating Out on a Diet guide and the main Healthy Restaurant Eating hub.

How to Eat Low Calorie at a Chinese Restaurant