Love a Chinese but feel a bit guilty about the calories? Honestly, it might properly shock you to know there’s a massive 600 kcal difference between the healthiest and least healthy main dishes! Even our rice choice can add an extra 255 kcal. This guide is here to help us pick wisely, covering calories, Slimming World syns, and WW SmartPoints for popular UK Chinese takeaway dishes.
If you're really trying to keep things low calorie, your absolute best bet is definitely steamed chicken and mushroom in a light sauce – coming in at just 300–350 kcal a portion. King prawn dishes with light sauces are another cracking choice, usually around 300–400 kcal. Honestly, I always think of prawns as a great lean protein option!
When it comes to sauces, black bean and oyster sauces are usually a bit kinder on the calorie front than those richer sweet and sour or curry options. And here's a massive tip: always go for stir-fried dishes without batter! Battered versions pile on the calories, which probably isn't a shocker to anyone, is it?
So, my top tip: give anything battered a miss and avoid those super sweet and sour sauces if you're trying to keep things on the lighter side.
This table below is super handy for us, showing the approximate calories, Slimming World syns, and WW SmartPoints for a standard takeaway portion. It's a proper eye-opener, honestly!
| Dish | Calories (approx) | SW Syns | WW Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken & mushroom (stir-fry) | 300–350 kcal | 15–17 | 8–10 |
| King prawns in oyster sauce | 300–400 kcal | 15–18 | 8–10 |
| Beef in black bean sauce | 350–450 kcal | 16–20 | 9–11 |
| Chicken chop suey | 350–450 kcal | 16–20 | 9–11 |
| Chicken chow mein | 400–550 kcal | 18–25 | 11–14 |
| Sweet & sour chicken (no batter) | 500–650 kcal | 23–27 | 13–16 |
| Egg fried rice | 625 kcal | 11 | 14 |
| Sweet & sour chicken (battered) | 700–900 kcal | 27–30 | 18–22 |
Just a quick heads-up from me: these calorie counts are approximate and can properly vary a bit between different takeaways. Chinese restaurant portion sizes over here in the UK usually range from a decent 300g up to a whopping 550g. Oh, and for us Slimming World folk, the syn values are worked out using the handy 20 kcal per syn guide.
If you, like me, love a starter but want to keep it light, hot and sour soup is your absolute best friend, usually just 65–80 kcal a cup. Wonton soup is another great shout at 65–90 kcal per cup. These two are generally the lowest calorie Chinese starters we'll find, which is brilliant news!
Steamed dumplings are also a fantastic choice, coming in at about 40 kcal each. So, a portion of four will set you back roughly 160 kcal. Compare that to a fried spring roll or a single slice of prawn toast, which can be 130–200 kcal each! I often opt for these when I'm being good.
So, my golden rule for starters: give prawn toast, crispy wontons, and fried spring rolls a swerve. They're all deep-fried, meaning they're significantly higher in calories than their steamed cousins.
Once again, chicken and mushroom in a light sauce comes out trumps as the lowest calorie Chinese takeaway main, around 300–350 kcal. It’s usually made with lean chicken breast, stir-fried with mushrooms, keeping that sauce nice and light and, crucially for us, no batter!
King prawns are a fab option too, absolutely packed with protein (18g per 100g, would you believe!) and only 75 kcal per 100g. So, king prawns in oyster or black bean sauce are a brilliant high-protein choice for us, usually between 300–400 kcal per portion. I always feel like I'm making a smart choice with prawns.
On the flip side, you really might want to give the chow mein a miss if you're watching your weight. A large takeaway portion can honestly hit up to a whopping 1,100 kcal, and that's just with the noodles, oil, and sauce! Even a smaller serving averages 400–550 kcal, which is still quite a fair bit more than those chicken or prawn dishes we just talked about.
Now, this is where loads of us can make a huge difference! Plain boiled rice is about 370 kcal per portion. But egg fried rice? That absolutely jumps up to 625 kcal! That’s a massive 255 kcal extra per serving, which honestly surprised me when I first looked it up.
All that difference comes down to the oil and egg they chuck in during frying. Think about it – a portion of egg fried rice basically adds the calorie equivalent of a whole small meal *on top* of your main dish. Bonkers, isn't it?
So, my advice to you? Always, always go for plain boiled rice. That 255 kcal saving is like saving 13 Slimming World syns just on your rice alone – now that’s what I call smart!
Absolutely you can! You can totally enjoy a Chinese takeaway while on Slimming World, you just need to be a bit clever with your choices, that's all. Chicken and mushroom in a light sauce is your absolute best friend here, coming in at a brilliant 15–17 syns per portion. Pair that with syn-free boiled rice, and you've got a proper full Chinese meal for a fantastic 15–18 syns. Winner, winner!
On the other hand, the highest syn Chinese dishes are definitely anything battered, like sweet and sour chicken (a whopping 27–30 syns!), and those battered starters. Slimming Survival, which I find really helpful, always points out that battered options and sweet and sour sauce are the ones most likely to gobble up your daily syn allowance, and then some, believe me!
And remember that egg fried rice we talked about? It's a hefty 11 syns all by itself, did you know? Adding that to a main course that's already got a fair few syns will quickly see you running out of your daily allowance, so consider yourself warned!
Alright, let's talk about the absolute calorie bombs we need to watch out for! Battered sweet and sour chicken is usually the highest calorie main on a standard Chinese menu, hitting a whopping 700–900 kcal per portion, would you believe it? Crispy duck with pancakes is another big one, with a half duck portion clocking in at a huge 700–850 kcal. Delicious, yes, but oh-so-calorific!
And those innocent-looking prawn crackers? A small bag is about 70 kcal, which isn't awful, but it's *so* easy to just keep munching, isn't it? Before you know it, a shared bowl can add a sneaky 200–400 kcal before our main course even arrives! I'm always trying to resist these, trust me.
My biggest piece of advice here is to avoid combining battered mains, egg fried rice, *and* fried starters all in one go. You'll easily be looking at a total order exceeding 1,500–2,000 kcal, which is a massive amount for one meal, let's be honest!
Right, armed with all this info, here are my absolute go-to tips for ordering a healthier Chinese without feeling like we're missing out on anything. First off, always, always pick steamed or stir-fried dishes, and make sure there’s no batter involved whatsoever. Secondly, swap that egg fried rice for plain boiled rice. And for starters, grab a delicious soup (around 65–90 kcal) instead of those calorie-heavy spring rolls or prawn toast, trust me!
Want an example of a super-smart, lower-calorie full Chinese order? How about this for a treat: a hot and sour soup (75 kcal) + chicken and mushroom main (325 kcal) + boiled rice (370 kcal). That comes to a fantastic total of approximately 770 kcal. Not bad for a proper treat, eh? I'd say that's a pretty good win!
Now, if you were to have that *same meal* with battered sweet and sour chicken and egg fried rice...
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