How Many Calories Does Your Junk Food Have?

We all wonder how many calories our favorite Chinese junk food contains, right? With this in mind, we’ve collected the relevant information for you and even included how much exercise is needed to burn off these guilty Asian delights. You’re welcome!

CHINESE SAUSAGE

Made with meat (hopefully). Chinese sausages are a must-have for locals to add protein to their meals. By itself they taste so-so, but it can really add something to an otherwise banal dish.

Calories: 120

Work Out needed:  30 minutes of moderate body building

Is it worth it? As we’ve mentioned, the taste is average. But it’s a good practical excuse to wave some weights while checking some eye candy at the gym. Eat sausage to get sausage.  

PRINGLES

Technically, Pringles is an international brand but they adapt the flavors to the Chinese market.

Calories: Per serving of 25 grams ( ¼ of the tube) 135

Work Out needed:  30 min of fast walking (6,4 km/h)

Is it worth it? As you can eat these while you’re walking, yes.

PRAWN CRACKERS

Light in the mouth (but not in calories) prawn crackers are divine. However they have a special skill - let’s call it the “prawn powered belly building”

Calories: 392

Work Out needed:  30 min running 10 h/k

Is it worth it? Running for 30 minutes in the noxious Shanghainese air to get rid of Prawn crackers? Well you can do it if you think the taste is worth it.

MEAT STICKS

Meat sticks are great, it is one of the cheapest ways to fuel yourself with protein in the country. And they’re super-convenient.

Calories: 135

Work Out needed:  Hike for 22 minutes

Is it worth it? Meat sticks are high in protein and salt. There are far worse things for your health in China right?

INSTANT NOODLES

Lifes saverr when you are on a train, instant noodles are filling, tasty and super comforting (although a bit oily). Admit it, we’ve all been there when money was tight!

Calories: 450

Work Out needed:  1 hour of rock-climbing

Is it worth it? Instant noodles can fill you for half a day, so for 450 calories it’s definitely worth it.

POCKY

You can find them anywhere and they are difficult to resist.

Calories: 280

Work Out needed:  1 hour of medium pilate session

Is it worth it? If you find the chocolate flavor it might be - but otherwise no (don’t tell us you enjoy the strawberry flavored ones, seriously).

ORION PAIPAIFU CAKE

Classic Chinese sweet Orions exist in different flavors - tea, strawberry, chocolate. FYI the company is Korean, surprisingly.

Calories: 150

Work Out needed:  20 minutes swimming

Is it worth it? It tastes like a categorically ‘meh’ industrial cake. So no.

SPICY STRIP

Made with soja, so you might think it is a “healthy” snack - it is not.

Calories: 407 per 100 gr

Work Out needed:  1 hour fitness workout

Is it worth it? Not really, as we all know you can’t honestly enjoy 100 grams of these stringy nothings. The sight, the texture and the taste all make it pretty gross in our opinion.

WHITE RABBIT SWEETS

White rabbit is one of the oldest sweets in China (actually it is oldest indigenous company so far as we know). They taste delicious and are highly addictive.

Calories: 430 cal for 100 gr (half of the packet)

Work Out needed: 30 minutes of stairs (moderate speed)

Does it worth it? Depends on how strong a sweet tooth you are. For some it’s worth the deal.

SPICY PEANUTS

Joyfully crunchy and truly addictive, spicy peanuts pair perfectly with wine, beer, cocktail etc. It’s the ideal bar snack. Until you check the amount of calories inside…

Calories: 611

Work Out needed: 1 hour of aerobics class

Is it worth it? As you've almost certainly had these peanuts in a bar, you might also have drank a few sugary cocktails with them. Bill for the night: too much salt, fat and sugar. It is a strike. A strenuous aerobic class is in order to fix this misstep.

BAOZI

Well Baozi are not junk food but we thought you may want to know how many calories are inside.

Calories: 200

Work Out needed:  40 minutes dancing.

Is it worth it? Any occasion is a good occasion to grab a Baozi.

FRIED JIAOZI

Fried dumplings are sinfully delicious. You can have one, or two, or three…

Calories: 70 per dumpling so if you have 5… 350 calories. Ouch.  

Work Out needed:  6 minutes of burpees/ jumping jacks/ mountain climbing

Is it worth it? Yes, indulge your greediness and put your hand on the floor. Take the burpees. It is going to be tough, but it’ll have been worth it.

FRIED DOUGH

You tiao aka fried dough is another oily Chinese breakfast you need to try. But only have it for  breakfast, so you can burn it throughout the day.  

Calories: One = 140

Work Out needed:  15 minutes of rugby

Does it worth it? One hour of fighting in the mud to get rid of four fried dough sticks. It will be worth it if you can do a 90 minute training session, with an extra beer after as a reward.

XIAO LONG BAO

Everybody’s favorite afternoon tea contains way more calories that you expect, unfortunately.

Calories: 309 for five of these delicious bad boys.

Work Out needed:  Frisbee: 80 minutes, Badminton: 54 minutes, Tennis: 35 minutes, Skateboarding: 48 minutes

Is it worth it? If this is the price to pay, we accept it. Do you?

DA BING

Da Bing, or onion scallop pancakes, are as comforting as they are oily, don’t try to use them as a dough for a “healthy” wrap, you are already screwed by eating it on its own!

Calories: 215 for 100 gr

Work Out needed:  2 hours of bedroom cardio

Is it worth it?  YES

HOW TO READ CHINESE NUTRITION FACTS

Chinese nutrition lesson N1:

能量 energy: Smooth word used to replace the word calories. In China it is formulated in kJ so if you want the amount of calories, you need to convert it.

蛋白质protein: We all know protein.

脂肪 fat: same for this one, it’s that annoying stuff on your thigh.

碳水化合物 carbohydrate:  Sugar for common people.

钠 sodium: salt in putong English.

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