Chow mein is normally served and eaten amongst people of the chinese diaspora and in abroad taiwanese restaurants.
Image Credit:
bhofack2/iStock/GettyImages Chow mein and lo mein are two popular taiwanese dishes. They ‘re alike in that they both feature noodles but they ‘re different in the way the noodles are prepare .
Video of the Day
“ Chow mein is a dish made by partially cooking and then stir-frying the noodles, often with a informant of protein like wimp, gripe or seafood with some vegetables, ” says Michelle Jaelin, RD. “ Chow ” means “ electrocute ” in Chinese while “ mein ” means “ attic. ” Sometimes the noodles are deep-fried/fried in vegetable oil to get the nice, crisp noodle texture, Jaelin says .
ad “ Lo mein, on the early hired hand, involves amply cooking the noodles and then tossing in a sauce with vegetables and a protein source. It can be chicken, beef or seafood, ” she says, adding that “ lo ” means “ mix ” in Chinese .
Because of these differences, the nutriment information varies between the two dishes .
Chow Mein Nutrition Facts
A 1-cup serve of gripe chow mein contains :
ad
- Calories: 286
- Total fat: 9.2 g
- Cholesterol: 48.4 mg
- Sodium: 803 mg
- Total carbs: 27 g
- Dietary fiber: 2.6 g
- Sugar: 5 g
- Protein: 23 g
Chow Mein Macros
- Total fat: A 1-cup
serving of beef chow mein has 9.2 grams of total fat, which includes 7.2 grams
of unsaturated fat, 2 grams of saturated fat and 0 grams of trans fat. - Carbohydrates: A 1-cup
serving of beef chow mein has 27 grams of carbs, which includes 2.6 grams of
fiber and 5 grams of sugar. - Protein: A 1-cup
serving of beef chow mein has 23 grams of protein.
ad
Vitamins, Minerals and Other Micronutrients
- Selenium: 54% Daily Value (DV)
- Vitamin B12: 53% DV
- Niacin: 46% DV
- Vitamin B6: 38% DV
- Zinc: 32% DV
- Riboflavin: 33% DV
- Vitamin K: 22% DV
- Folate: 21% DV
- Phosphorus: 20% DV
- Iron: 20% DV
- Thiamin: 19% DV
- Copper: 14% DV
- Choline: 13% DV
- Vitamin E: 10% DV
- Vitamin C: 10% DV
- Potassium: 10% DV
The Health Benefits of Chow Mein
1. Beef Chow Mein Is Rich in Vitamins
Thanks to the gripe and added vegetables, this serve has vitamins C, B6, B12, E and K, vitamin b1, vitamin b2, niacin, vitamin bc and choline. Our body relies on these vitamins for many functions .
ad
For exemplify, vitamins C and E are antioxidants, and they protect our body from release radicals like befoulment, smoke and UV lights from the sunday, according to the National Institutes of Health ( NIH ) .
The B vitamins, such as vitamins B6, B12, vitamin b1, vitamin b2 and folate all help our body to metabolize energy, as explained by the U.S. National Library of Medicine .
2. Beef Chow Mein Is Loaded With Minerals
Beef chow mein is rich in minerals like calcium, iron, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, copper and selenium .
One of iron ‘s most important roles is transporting oxygen to all of the parts of our torso, as explained by the NIH. Beef chow mein is besides extremely high in selenium ( providing 54 percentage of the Daily Value ). This mineral protects our bodies from release radicals and is important for reproduction and a properly functioning thyroid gland, according to the NIH .
“ Despite containing significant amounts of vitamins and minerals, gripe chow mein is hush high calories and extremely high gear in sodium, ” says Brierley Horton, RD, a dietician dietician based in Birmingham, Alabama .
Tip
“ Looking for healthier ways to make this delightful dish, like cooking with thin proteins, overloading it with vegetables and using a low-sodium sauce, can go a long manner. ”
Lo Mein Nutrition Facts
A 1-cup serve of gripe lo mein contains :
- Calories: 108
- Total fat: 1.6 g
- Cholesterol: 6.6 mg
- Sodium: 455 mg
- Total carbs: 17.5 g
- Dietary fiber: 1 g
- Sugar: 3.2 g
- Protein: 5.8 g
Lo Mein Macros
- Total fat: A 1-cup
serving of beef lo mein has 1.6 grams of total fat, which includes 1.2 grams of
unsaturated fat, 0.4 grams of saturated fat and 0 grams of trans fat. - Carbohydrates: A 1-cup
serving of beef lo mein has 17.5 grams of carbs, which includes 1 gram of
fiber. - Protein: A 1-cup
serving of beef lo mein has 5.8 grams of protein.
Vitamins, Minerals and Other Micronutrients
- Vitamin C: 5% DV
- Iron: 3% DV
Health Benefits of Lo Mein
1. It’s Lower in Calories
A serve of gripe lo mein is much lower in calories and adipose tissue compared to beef chow mein. This is probably because the noodles are cooked in water versus primarily being fried in vegetable oil, as is done when making chow mein .
You can besides make a dish more alimentary by choosing lean sources of protein like wimp or bean curd and loading it with vegetables. Using a whole-grain noodle will help increase the sum of roughage, excessively .
2. It’s Lower in Sodium
chinese food is ill-famed for being high in sodium. A 1-cup suffice of gripe lo mein has 455 milligrams. While this is n’t considered a low-sodium food, it fairs well compared to other popular chinese dishes .
By using a low-sodium sauce or even less sauce overall, you can drastically cut down on the sum of sodium. Packing the dish with potassium-rich vegetables like leafy greens, mushrooms and broccoli, can besides help to balance out the sodium .
Which Is the Better Choice?
From a nutritional point of view, lo mein is better than chow mein, hands down .
“ Lo mein would be considered more alimentary because the noodles are not fried and there is less oil used in the cook, ” Jaelin says. “ Lo mein has less than half the calories and fat found in chow mein. It ‘s besides significantly lower in sodium, ” Horton says.
“ That said, you can improve the nutriment profile of either dish by making a few bare tweaks. Use a healthy cook vegetable oil and choose for lean proteins like wimp or bean curd. Incorporating a large kind of vegetables and limiting the come of sauce or using a low-sodium sauce can make a significant impingement, excessively, ” Horton says .
ad
