I love chinese chicken balls. How do I make them low calorie?

MischaMeesha
MischaMeesha Posts: 4 Member
edited December 2024 in Getting Started
Any specific breadings out there? Think an air fryer would work?

Replies

  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    Will_Workout_for_food wrote: »
    sooo im Chinese and I have to ask...what are Chinese chicken balls?

    Yeah, I'm kind of afraid to google it :blush:

    OP, in general, panko bread crumbs are lighter and crisp up with less oil I believe, and I would imagine an air fryer would work, though I've never had this particular dish myself. It certainly can't hurt to try!
  • MischaMeesha
    MischaMeesha Posts: 4 Member
    I'm Canadian.
    My local Chinese restaurant literally calls the dish "Chinese Chicken Balls"
    lol sorry. Thought that's what they were called.
    Any advice though?
  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,871 Member
    meeshhx wrote: »
    I'm Canadian.
    My local Chinese restaurant literally calls the dish "Chinese Chicken Balls"
    lol sorry. Thought that's what they were called.
    Any advice though?

    We're going to need more detail about what they are to even begin to guess.
  • amy19355
    amy19355 Posts: 807 Member
    fat is what makes those so tasty.

    if it were me, I'd make a smaller portion of them that fits into my daily calorie reqs.
  • MischaMeesha
    MischaMeesha Posts: 4 Member
    https://goo.gl/images/1yVWak
    these things! Lol
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,979 Member
    So, sweet and sour chicken with the sauce on the side or omitted altogether.
  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,871 Member
    kami3006 wrote: »
    So, sweet and sour chicken with the sauce on the side or omitted altogether.

    That's what it looks like to me, too. There isn't much hope for making that low calorie :lol: Just enjoy them responsibly, OP.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    Oh, so they're battered not breaded. That looks like it's just the chicken they put in all the fried dishes, without the rest of the dish :lol:

    I'm not good with batter, so I can't help you out. I'd guess they'd be hard to replicate with lower calories, that's why the advice for Chinese takeaway is always to ask for grilled chicken instead of fried.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    So, that's more a batter than a breading, it looks like. This is 555 cals per serving according to the nutrition, but that figure includes a sweet-and-sour serving sauce: https://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/kittencals-chinese-chicken-balls-with-sweet-and-sour-sauce-132546

    If you substitute a different sauce, you may find one lower-calorie. Or 555 may fit your goals. I have no clue the nutrition in the original.

    This one claims to be 91 calories for the whole recipe. My gut tells me it's a typo, but run it through the tracker; I could be wrong: https://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/homemade-chicken-balls-from-scratch-52188

    And this one from Slimming world is 203 per serving: http://www.slimmingeats.com/blog/actifry-sweet-and-sour-chicken-bites
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,979 Member
    Guess who will be having some chinese in the next couple days now. :laugh:
  • swirlybee
    swirlybee Posts: 497 Member
    estherdragonbat wrote: »
    This one claims to be 91 calories for the whole recipe. My gut tells me it's a typo, but run it through the tracker; I could be wrong: https://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/homemade-chicken-balls-from-scratch-52188
    It also says that it yields 20 chicken balls so I suspect that the calorie count is for each chicken ball.
  • h7463
    h7463 Posts: 626 Member
    The trick on deep fried food is, to keep the oil at a perfect temperature for the specific oil that you are using. This will keep the oil mainly on the outside of whatever food you are frying. If you throw in all the chicken balls at once, the oil cools off, and the food will suck it in like crazy....adding an insane number of calories to each of the little suckers... It takes some practise, but you'll taste the difference.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    swirlybee wrote: »
    estherdragonbat wrote: »
    This one claims to be 91 calories for the whole recipe. My gut tells me it's a typo, but run it through the tracker; I could be wrong: https://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/homemade-chicken-balls-from-scratch-52188
    It also says that it yields 20 chicken balls so I suspect that the calorie count is for each chicken ball.

    That makes more sense!
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