Calories in Chicken Chowmein

The figure is for one plate made to a standard recipe: 50 g of noodles, 60 g of broiler chicken, 50 g each of carrot and capsicum, 30 g each of cabbage and French beans, 25 g of spring onion and 5 teaspoons of oil. It is a balanced plate on paper, with more vegetables than noodles and a fair portion of chicken. Many takeaway plates reverse those proportions: a large mound of noodles, a few strips of chicken and cabbage, and enough oil to make the box shine. A plate like that should be assumed to be above 521 kcal.

Fat supplies 49% of the energy, carbohydrate 35% and protein 17%. Fat is the largest contributor, and most of it is the 5 teaspoons of oil, at about 44 kcal each. The chicken is what separates this plate from the vegetable version: 21.8 g of protein against 9.2 g. With 5.7 g of fibre from the vegetables as well, this is one of the few street-style dishes that covers starch, protein and vegetables in one plate. Its cost is the oil and the salt.

This is a full meal. One plate is about 25% of a sedentary man's daily energy requirement and 31% of a woman's, and with 21.8 g of protein it does not need anything beside it. Soup, momos or a soft drink ordered alongside add to an already large total. Half a plate comes to about 260 kcal, a reasonable share if the dish is one of several on the table. Two plates would be 1,042 kcal.

This is a salty dish: sauces, seasoning powders and added salt all contribute, and a restaurant plate may contain more of each. The other thing to weigh is the 28.4 g of fat, most of it cooking oil and only a small part from the chicken. People who have been told by a doctor or dietitian to limit salt or fat, for blood pressure, kidney disease or a heart condition, should follow that advice and keep outside chowmein for occasional meals.