For those following a ketogenic diet, dining out can sometimes feel like navigating a minefield of hidden carbohydrates. However, Japanese cuisine, particularly sushi, offers a surprising number of keto-friendly options. Anyone who loves sushi knows that you’re only ever one artfully made tuna roll away from a better mood, and the same can be said for good Japanese food in general. While you might think that a sushi restaurant isn’t the most ideal place to eat when you’re counting carbs…prepare to be pleasantly surprised. This guide will explore how to enjoy the flavors and freshness of Japanese food while staying within your ketogenic goals.
Embracing Japanese Food Culture
If you’re not already familiar with Japanese food culture, then you will almost certainly have some questions about the various fruits, vegetables, sauces, and preparations that you will be experiencing and that’s fine. The goal here is to familiarize yourself somewhat so you can make better informed food choices that are not only delicious, but also allow you to sample some of the best techniques that Japanese cooking offers.
Keto-Friendly Appetizers and Soups
Miso Soup
Miso soup is a thin, broth-based soup made with fermented soybean paste. It has a very unique flavor, with a high degree of umami while still being light and refreshing. Often it’s simply populated with cubes of tofu and some vegetables like cabbage. This is a delicious and often cheap start to a meal that’s keto-friendly. It’s worth noting too that if you’re avoiding soy but don’t have a good reason to (like allergies) other than word-of-mouth that it’s somehow bad for you, then stop avoiding it.
Oshinko Vegetables
Oshinko vegetables are essentially pickles and often includes daikon, lotus root, seaweed, and burdock.
Edamame
Edamame isn’t super low carb, but again most people avoid it because of some odd aversion to soy.
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The Star of the Show: Sashimi
While you can’t enjoy the many splendors of sushi in all its forms, you can still enjoy the flavors and freshness by eating sashimi. Sashimi is essentially the same cuts of fish your sushi chef has available for rolls or maki, served with the same familiar additions as sushi - pickled ginger, wasabi, soy sauce - just without the rice. Sashimi - Ultimate low carb sushi. Sashimi is sushi without the rice. As this isn’t the place to get all technical on the exact Japanese terms, I give you this link to Wikipedia’s page on Sushi. Straight up raw fish not your deal?
Hibachi and Teppanyaki Delights
Depending on where you are, most Japanese restaurants specialize in both sushi and hibachi. Hibachi grills are incredible both for the delicious food cooked right in front of you, but also because of the beautiful knifework and performance art that goes into the cooking. Dazzling displays of cutting, flipping, and searing are the visual appetizers to a main course of grilled meat or fish and Japanese vegetables.
Shabu-Shabu: A Culinary Experience
Shabu-Shabu is an interesting course that consists of very thin slices of beef and vegetables that are served with a very hot bowl of broth that you actually cook yourself at the table. Because of how hot the broth is and how thinly the food is cut, it takes just a minute or less to cook perfectly.
Negamaki: A Savory Option
Negamaki is a delicious alternative to other sugary dishes, being that it’s simply grilled beef wrapped around green onions or sometimes asparagus, served with soy sauce.
Customizing Sushi Rolls for Keto
Craving some big, fat rolls? No worries, there are low carb work arounds that almost all sushi joints will accomodate. You can get rolls wrapped in cucumber or soy paper. I actually prefer the cucumber because it provides a bit of ‘crunch’, as the fillings tends to be pretty soft. Fillings will usually include crab, avocado, and fish (salmon/tuna/yellowtail/etc). WARNING: Krab (fake crab) is VERY high carb, with a 1/2 cup having up to 12g of carbs. This is because sugar and other high carbohydrate binding agents are used in making this product. Always ask for real crab to be substituted in to your roll if the roll comes with krab. Also be careful about sweet sauces on the rolls, which contain a lot of sugar. Don’t be afraid to ask for modifications to existing rolls if nothing there meets exact criteria! If you are a regular and order it enough, you might end up with a roll named after you. Ultimately, you can completely control exactly what you eat by making your own sushi!
Read also: Keto Calorie Counting: A Detailed Guide
Items to Avoid on a Keto Diet at a Japanese Restaurant
Of course like any restaurant there will be a number of things that won’t work well with your keto lifestyle, the most obvious of these being rice and noodles. Tenpura, though lightly fried and crispy, it still a flour batter and so should be avoided. As sad as it makes me, seaweed salad is often quite sugary, despite being delicious. Potstickers, called gyoza, are delicious but of course are made with a type of flour that is filled with carbs.
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