Is General Chang's Chicken Keto?

The Ingredient Breakdown

To understand why this popular frozen meal fails the keto test, we have to look at the two main components: the batter and the sauce. As a food scientist, the red flags here are immediate and numerous. The diet relies on keeping net carbs extremely low, usually under 20-30 grams per day, and General Chang's blows that budget in a single serving.

Let's start with the Battered Chicken. The primary issue here is the coating. The ingredients list includes Wheat Flour, Corn Starch, and Yellow Corn Flour. These are pure refined carbohydrates. While corn starch is sometimes used in small amounts for keto baking, it is used here as a primary breading agent, meaning the carb count is significant. Furthermore, the batter contains Dextrose, which is a form of sugar. This is often added to help the browning process, but on a keto diet, added sugar is strictly off-limits.

Next, we analyze the Sauce. This is where the 'hidden carbs' trap often lies. The second ingredient listed in the sauce is Sugar. Sugar is the antithesis of a ketogenic diet. Additionally, the sauce uses Soy Sauce (which contains wheat) and Corn Starch as a thickener. Perhaps most concerning for strict keto dieters is the inclusion of Oyster Sauce. Traditional oyster sauce is made by simmering oysters with sugar and salt; it is notoriously high in carbohydrates. Finally, the sauce contains Palm Oil and Canola Oil. While these are low-carb fats, many health-conscious consumers prefer to avoid these processed vegetable oils due to their high omega-6 content and processing methods.

Nutritional Value

While we don't have the exact nutrition label in front of us, the ingredient list tells us the nutritional profile is skewed heavily toward carbohydrates and processed fats. A standard serving of a dish like this typically contains between 40 to 60 grams of carbohydrates. For a keto diet, where you are aiming for perhaps 20 grams of net carbs for the entire day, consuming one of these meals would make it virtually impossible to stay in ketosis.

The dish is also likely high in sodium, a common trait in Asian-style frozen meals due to the soy sauce, oyster sauce, and salt in the chicken broth. While sodium is necessary on keto to maintain electrolyte balance, the levels here are likely excessive. The calorie density is moderate, but because the calories come primarily from carbohydrates rather than healthy fats, it does not align with the metabolic goals of the keto diet, which is to burn fat for fuel.