15 High Protein Asian Food Recipes (Plus Even More Ideas!)

Looking for Asian dishes that have a lot of protein? Ditch the protein powder and weird recipe hacks and check out my roundup of popular high protein Asian foods. Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links.

My husband recently got into Crossfit, and now he’s one of those people obsessed with getting enough protein every day. When I was pregnant, both times my doctors wanted me to increase my protein intake as well. One even urged me to get as much as 60g of protein per day! I weighed less than 120 lbs at the time!

But I simply could NOT do the protein shakes. I tried, I really did. But they tasted bleh and then made me so full I was nauseous and didn’t feel like eating at all, which made meeting my protein goals especially difficult. Anyway, I found it best for me to try and eat my protein in the ways I normally liked to: in Asian food.

So here’s my roundup of recipes I have on my blog that are heavy in protein. And see below for more protein Asian food ideas that you can buy straight from the grocery store and require minimal cooking!

1. Hamburg Steak

Japanese hamburg steak is like a salisbury steak, or in other words, a hamburger meat patty with no bread. It’s a type of Japanese “Western” fusion food, often served with a demi-glace sauce. For my version, I use a hayashi rice roux (you can buy at the market!) for the sauce and then when I top it with a fried egg, it’s basically a more Japanese-y, fusion-y loco moco!

2. Air Fryer Mochiko Chicken

Mochiko chicken is a local Hawai’i food consisting of marinated chicken bites and breaded in rice flour. My version includes instructions for using the air fryer, but you can use the exact same recipe and deep fry it instead for the real deal. And for a variation that’s very similar, you can check out my karaage recipe as well.

3. All the Katsu

In addition to hamburg steak, Japanese Western fusion food also includes katsu, which is protein that is battered, breaded in panko, and then deep fried. I have MANY katsu recipes on this blog. Any that use an air fryer can also be deep fried instead. The last fish katsu recipe in this list is more popular in Hawai’i than Japan, or so I’m told.

4. Ebi Fry – Panko Breaded Shrimp

While we’re on the subject of things being breaded and fried (look I said this was a PROTEIN list not a HEALTH FOOD list), have you tried ebi fry? It’s basically a katsu, but with shrimp instead!

5. Teriyaki

Would I even be Japanese American if I didn’t include at least one teriyaki recipe? As a bonus, I’m even including the more Japanese-style yakitori, which is like the OG teriyaki from Japan. If you’d like to read more about the differences between American and Japanese teriyaki, make sure to read my blog posts for each recipe.

6. Temaki Sushi

You might not think of sushi as being a protein food, since most people think about sushi having lots of rice. BUT with temaki stye sushi, you roll your own hand rolls, meaning you can load up TONS of fish and egg and decrease the rice to your liking. In the end, you can make VERY high protein!

7. Char Siu Ribs

People always forget that I’m half Chinese! My Chinese grandma is an amazing cook, and these char siu ribs are one of her specialties. I use a pressure cooker, but you can also roast ribs in the oven the old fashioned way.

8. Ginger Soy Fried Chicken

Another one of my Chinese grandma’s specialties is her fried chicken! Marinated with flavors like green onion, ginger, and soy, they’re super addicting. Again, not healthy, but definitely protein, right?

9. Tofu Salad

Oops, somehow this protein food list turned into a deep fried list?! Sorry about that. If you’re feeling like you need something healthy, how about this tofu salad?

10. Other High Protein Asian Foods

I have other Asian foods that are decent sources of protein that I don’t yet have recipes for on my blog. For some, it’s partially because I can buy it almost ready-to-eat at grocery stores. For others, it’s just because I haven’t quite gotten to it yet. But if you’re interested to see just what else I eat, here’s my miscellaneous list:

• nattou (no cook, just buy from the Japanese market or SayWeee)
• air fryer tofu
• mabo tofu (follow package instructions)
• soondubu (follow package instructions)
• steamed egg
• tamagoyaki
• bulgolgi (I buy it frozen from Trader Joe’s!)
• tofu noodles
• pork tofu meatballs (like my hamburg steak but with half pork, half silken tofu, and use kbbq or char siu sauce)
• broiled salmon (just salt and olive oil, broil for 12 minutes)

More Recipes to Try

I hope this list gave you some inspiration! If you’re looking for some sides or veggies (sorry about all the fried food…) to go with these protein mains, you can check these out:

• 5 Minute Chinese Vegetables
• Ramen Cabbage Salad
• Quick Pickled Cucumbers
• Chinese Chicken Salad
• Japanese Grilled Corn