Is Karaage Healthy? (3 Tips For Weight Loss) 

I always thought that there was no way you can top an American fried chicken’s amazing flavor and crunchy breading exterior.

I was proven so wrong when I ate my first Karaage dish ever and I’ve never looked back since.

In case you are unfamiliar with Karaage, according to Yasuhisa Teppei, the Chief Director of Japan Karaage Association, karaage is very similar to the American fried chicken except the difference “is whether you season the flour or season the meat” making the overall flavor unique in its own way. 

From Karaage’s super crisp breaded exterior filled with soy sauce flavor and bursting spices to the juicy meat inside, what better way is there to cook chicken?

I hope I have convinced you by now how absolutely delicious Karaage is, but the real question is whether or not Karaage is the optimal food to be eating when your goal is to be losing weight. 

Kaarage is made by placing chicken thighs in a thick batter and frying in canola or vegetable oil.

This means that there will be a very high fat content paired with excess carbs as the batter and frying oil will add these two macronutrients respectively.

Moderation is required to eat Karaage in a healthy range of calories.

Does that mean you can’t and shouldn’t incorporate Karaage into your diet?

Most absolutely not! Although Karaage does not have as low a calorie count compared to a serving of broccoli and is not a lean source of protein like chicken breast, it does not mean that you should avoid eating this delicious dish. 

Here are some tips and topics we will be covering on how to incorporate Karaage into your daily diet: 

1. How To Portion Control When Eating Karaage 

2. How You Can Incorporate Karaage Into Your Diet

3. What To Eat With Your Karaage 

A Quick Disclaimer: 

Karaage is not actually just fried chicken but instead, it refers to a famous Japanese method of frying different types of meat such as chicken and fish.

However, for the purpose of this article, we will be referring to Japanese Fried Chicken as Karaage since it is the most famous type of karaage and for the sake of simplicity.

Tip 1: How To Portion Control When Eating Karaage 

One of the biggest ways that Karaage can be harmful to your weight loss goals is if you overeat.

But this is just like any other food! Eating over your daily caloric expenditure will inevitably lead to weight gain regardless of whether or not what you are eating is considered “healthy” or not.

It is very easy to look at Karaage and say that since it is fried food if you’re on a diet, it is not something you can eat when trying to lose weight. 

This is simply just not the case.

Although there are other healthier options, Karaage is actually not as calorically dense compared to other high-calorie foods.

Let’s get down into the facts and look at the nutritional information for Karaage. 

One serving of Karaage, which is 5 ounces, is 230 calories and contains 12 grams of fat, 12 grams of carbohydrates, and finally 18 grams of protein.

18 grams of protein is actually a good amount of protein and a good protein source to have in one of your meals!

However, there are 12 grams of fat which is leaning towards the higher end of the protein to fat ratio.

Ideally, a good protein source would have 3 times the amount of fat so we can see why Karaage is not the BEST choice. 

Now you know in detail the caloric information and amount of protein in karaage you can definitely see why it can definitely be food to incorporate to your weight loss journey.

For only 230 calories, you can eat 5 ounces of karaage which is a good amount for not that high of a calorie count. 

In fact, if you compare karaage to a typical American Fried Chicken Thighs, we can see why Karaage is a much better option.

Let us look into detail at the nutritional facts of one Fried Chicken Thigh: 

One serving of Fried Chicken Thighs, which is 4 ounces, is 330 calories and contains 23 grams of fat, 9 grams of carbohydrates, and finally 22 grams of protein.

It’s not only 100 more calories compared to Karaage, it has double the amount of fat compared to only 12 grams!

The fried chicken serving also has less food, since it is 4 ounces per serving compared to 5 ounces of karaage, so you will possibly be less full after eating less meat.

Another downside is that you also have to sacrifice the amount of fat you can eat for the rest of the day to fit your daily macronutrients.

 To sum up Main Point 1, you can see why Karaage should not be seen as a food to avoid, but a delicious dish that you can incorporate into your diet.

Eliminating foods from your diet has proven to be detrimental to many dieters because your mental cravings may become unbearable and you may possibly end up eating the karaage anyways and maybe even more than before.

Remember that the best diet is the one that is sustainable, and what kind of diet states that you can never eat popcorn chicken?

Tip 2: How You Can Incorporate Karaage Into Your Diet

An important factor to watch out for when eating Karaage is to make sure you do not overeat on the amount of fried chicken.

Karaage is served in the most tempting bite-size pieces and if you’re anything like me,

having small bites that are easy to eat makes it super easy to keep popping food into your mouth.

Before you know it, you’ve already eaten two or even three servings of Karaage!

So how do we make sure we don’t eat a whole plate of Karaage?

First off, especially if you are eating out and Karaage is a middle dish, you want to put just enough on your plate without constantly going back for seconds and thirds.

If you start off by just putting two pieces on your plate it can easily turn into seven or eight as soon as you keep reaching for more.

By placing enough karaage, (let’s say around 5 pieces is one serving) on your plate at once, you can visualize exactly how much you’re eating and you can tell yourself that you have had enough without reaching for more. 

When you have a full plate and you can actually see exactly how much you are eating, this will make you feel much more satiated and be a clear visual aid to show you how much you are actually consuming.

Quite often, if we see a voluminous amount of food, this tells our brain that we have eaten quite enough and signals us to stop eating. 

Make sure that if you’re having Karaage as a snack, you must realize that it is not like popcorn!

Popcorn (without butter) we know is a low-calorie food that you can easily keep throwing into your mouth and continuously snack on.

Unfortunately, popcorn chicken should not be carelessly eaten like this!

What was one serving of around 230 calories can easily become 600-800 calories if you keep snacking.

Share with a friend or divide the box in half to prevent yourself from overeating when watching a movie or driving. 

Tip 3: What To Eat With Your Karaage 

Karaage has a good amount of protein but I would recommend having one more additional source of lean protein.

Whether there is chicken breast or a type of fish on the table, grab a little more of these types of foods to keep you more full. 

Since karaage has little to no fiber, stocking up on the vegetables will be an excellent source of your daily greens and will add more volume to your plate.

I recommend that regardless of what you are eating to incorporate at least one type of vegetable into your meal!

Broccoli would be a great option since it is high in both protein and fiber or even Boc Choy which is a super low-calorie food that you can eat a ton of without going over your daily calorie intake. 

Karaage does have a few carbohydrates but not enough for it to be an issue, so you can have a little bit of white rice (which is an excellent pairing to the chicken) along with the rest of your food.

However, just like you do not want to overeat on the Karaage, you also do not want to overeat on rice. 

A good measure for rice is that you want a scoop of white rice the size of your fist and no more. 

Finally, avoid other fried or fatty foods on the table.

Since you already have Karaage, which is fried and is leaning a little closer to the fattier side,

you want to make sure you’re not eating other extremely oily or foods with high-fat content. Instead, you might want to drink a thin warm soup, like miso soup, which is low in calories and very fulfilling.

CONCLUSION 

In this article, we not only looked into the nutritional information and overall macronutrient breakdown of Karaage,

but you now have a better idea of how you can incorporate this yummy Japanese fried chicken into your diet!

By being aware of your serving size and making sure to eat the right foods along with Karaage, eating this dish should not be a hindrance to your goals of weight loss.

Even though it can be tough at times, losing weight should not be an overly gruesome and painful process!

Remember though, although nutrition is a huge factor that influences weight loss,

it is important to pair this journey with exercise as well, especially strength training.

Several years of research on the benefits of weight training have shown that individuals that do some sort of consistent resistance training at least 3-5 times a week have shown not only a great amount of weight loss but are also able to keep the weight off! 

The secret to this phenomena is that strength training leads to a build-up of muscle.

Not only does your body recomposition into a more fitting and athletic-looking aesthetic, but having more muscle also increases your resting metabolic rate which essentially means you burn more calories at rest! 

We understand that not everyone has access to a gym membership or feel comfortable starting off in such an intimidating environment.

Although I would strongly recommend that everyone should get a gym membership, don’t worry we got your back!

Here is a link to some of my favorite home workout equipment that I love to use whenever I am in a rush and need to fit in a quick workout for the day or I don’t feel like leaving the house.

I highly recommend these at-home gym pieces of equipment that make sure I still get a good workout in for the day, leaving me feeling super satisfied and pumped for the rest of the day. 

https://www.aspirefitnesswalnut.com/home-workout-equipment

I hope you guys found this article helpful and answer all your questions about how to deal with your Karaage craving!

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