Keto at a Chinese Restaurant

It can be, with a few swaps. Chinese-American menus lean on cornstarch, sugar and batter, so the trick is to order steamed or simply stir-fried dishes with the sauce on the side. Most kitchens will happily cook a dish plain if you ask.

Steamed fish or chicken with vegetables (sauce on the side), egg drop soup in a small portion, garlic stir-fries.

Rice, noodles, anything fried or battered, sweet-and-sour, orange, General Tso’s, hoisin. Hidden carbs to watch for: cornstarch in almost every glossy sauce and in “velveted” meat; sugar in brown sauce, hoisin, oyster and plum sauces; batter on anything described as crispy; water chestnuts and corn in mixed vegetables.

Try: “Can it be steamed with the sauce on the side?” Keep requests short and friendly; kitchens handle substitutions all the time.

Hot tea, a light beer or a whiskey highball.