Dietary and Allergy Guide
Low-Sodium Chinese Takeout
Low-sodium Chinese takeout usually requires sauce control, smaller portions, and avoiding dishes built around soy sauce, salted preserved ingredients, and concentrated broths.
Overview
Low-sodium Chinese takeout usually requires sauce control, smaller portions, and avoiding dishes built around soy sauce, salted preserved ingredients, and concentrated broths. This page is a practical restaurant-ordering guide. It helps identify common risk points, lower-risk starting points, and useful questions to ask before ordering.
Better starting points
- Steamed vegetables
- Sauce on the side
- Plain rice
- Steamed protein if available
- Simple garlic or ginger preparations with less sauce
- Smaller portions of soup and sauce-heavy dishes
What to watch for
- Soy sauce
- Oyster sauce
- Hoisin
- Black bean sauce
- Salt-and-pepper dishes
- Soups and broths
- Pickled vegetables
- Preserved mustard greens
- Cured meats
Questions to ask
- Can this be made with less salt and less sauce?
- Can sauce be served on the side?
- Can you avoid soy sauce and oyster sauce?
- Is the soup or broth very salty?
Useful phrase
请少盐，少酱油，酱汁放旁边。
A phrase can help communication, but it cannot verify ingredients, labels, shared equipment, or kitchen practice by itself.
Ordering strategy
Keep the order simple. Prefer dishes with fewer sauces and fewer mixed ingredients. Mention the restriction before asking for dish recommendations. When the restriction is medically important, ask about preparation, not only ingredients.