Before we get into the main topic, let me say this first: the number one authority for health advice is always your doctor! Blood sugar responses vary from person to person, so try things yourself and find what works for you. Please don’t blindly trust stories like this — use them only as reference. 

Introduction

Whenever my mom goes to church, she somehow comes back with rice cakes, snacks, candy, bananas, all sorts of things. I get that older folks love sweet treats and that they’re easy to prepare for events, but the church members unintentionally seem to be volunteering for the role of, uh… “vascular system villains.” For several weeks in a row, my mom kept coming home with two blocks of white steamed rice cake (baekseolgi), and I would get worked up.

 “Mom, stop bringing home rice cakes!”

“Do you not know what baekseolgi is made of? It’s literally rice flour mixed with sugar and steamed! Both spike blood sugar like crazy!”  

When I was little, my mom learned that I had lost vision in one eye due to a genetic condition. I think she just wanted to do whatever she possibly could for me. So we often drove together to a prayer retreat center in Ganghwa Island. People sang hymns and prayed together, but there was one very dangerous stage in the whole process…

Someone would lay me on the ground and pray while pressing both of my eyes so hard that it was painful, speaking in tongues the whole time. It hurt so much that whenever I lay down for this, I’d think, “I hope I fall asleep quickly. If I fall asleep before the pain starts, maybe when I open my eyes it’ll all be over.”

I learned only 20 years later that this can be medically very dangerous. I have never blamed my mom for anything related to my eyes. But apart from that, one firm philosophy took root in my mind: “A person’s feelings cannot be used as a measure of health.” 

Faith is faith, and health is health.

Even now, whenever I tell my mom, “That’s not good for your body,” she always responds with the same line: “Food is meant to be enjoyed.” It’s basically the same as that internet saying, “If you eat it happily, it’s zero calories.” But that’s not true, right? We ate that church rice cake together, and then an hour later I checked her blood sugar — it was over 200. And then she keeps hearing about her friends being newly diagnosed with diabetes.

As I’m writing this now, it’s the last day of November 2025. I started caring about my parents’ blood sugar around April last year. There are so many things I could say about blood sugar, but today I want to talk specifically about delivery food. Because the thing I searched the most online was “delivery food that doesn’t spike blood sugar.”

Big Guidelines for Choosing Delivery Food

I know how this goes. If I start saying “Don’t eat this, don’t eat that,” your conclusion will probably be: “Then what am I supposed to eat? There’s nothing left.” So instead of textbook answers, I want to give realistic guidance for someone who’s already decided to order delivery. These are the criteria I keep in mind:

⛔ Carbs: Be cautious. They raise blood sugar. 

✅ Better carbs: Less refined carbs, fiber. 

✅ Protein: Doesn’t spike blood sugar. Important for muscle maintenance.

⛔ Fat: Doesn’t raise blood sugar, but bad for blood vessels. Can prolong the blood sugar rise. 

✅ Better fats: Unsaturated fats. 

With these five simplified rules in your mind, decisions get easier. 

Jajangmyeon, Jjamppong: Both are noodles, so avoid if you care about health. But if I must choose, I pick jjamppong, because jajang sauce has sugar, starch slurry, and lots of oil. However, jjamppong is extremely high in sodium, so avoid drinking the broth. No point stopping blood sugar spikes only to raise blood pressure.

Tangsuyuk: If you dip lightly in the sauce, blood sugar-wise it’s not terrible, but it’s still deep-fried.

Udon: Try to avoid. The noodles are the main show.

Agwi-jjim (spicy monkfish): It’s fine if you control your rice. But rice spikes blood sugar more than people expect.

Naengmyeon: Try to avoid. Mul-naengmyeon broth has lots of sugar; bibim sauce is also sugar-heavy. If I must choose, mul-naengmyeon is slightly better, but overall avoid if you’re watching blood sugar.

Baeksuk (whole chicken soup): Excellent. Just be careful with the glutinous rice or kalguksu add-ons — portion control. Eating just the chicken is top tier.

Tteokbokki: A non-existent food. Delivery versions are out, and even at home, even with low-sugar gochujang and brown-rice cakes… rice cakes are rice cakes. Let’s consider this food as “does not exist.”

Sundae: Also a non-existent food. 

Fried foods: Not because of blood sugar but because of high-temperature oil. Avoid especially things like gimmari first.

Ganjang-gejang (soy-marinated crab): Fine if you control rice. But it’s a rice thief, so never two bowls.

Dakdoritang (spicy chicken stew): Fine if you don’t overeat the potatoes or rice. Avoid unnecessary toppings like glass noodles.

Kimchi stew: Just control rice and sodium. Tofu topping is extremely good. 

Grilled fish: Fantastic if rice is controlled.

Dakbal (spicy chicken feet): Watch the rice balls that come with it, avoid sausages (carcinogen concern), avoid Chinese glass noodles in soup-style versions. 

Tacos: Just portion control. 

Malatang: Watch glass noodles, rice cakes, processed meats. 

Shabu-shabu: Excellent. Only watch noodle/rice-porridge add-ons. 

Gukbap: Preferably avoid. 

Kimbap: The #1 “surprise spike” food. Huge blood sugar spike.

Pasta: Among noodles, it raises blood sugar slower (durum wheat + oil coating). Prefer oil pastas; if you order cream sauces, be aware of sodium and fat.

Chicken: Surprisingly doesn’t spike blood sugar much, but go for oven-roasted like Goobne. This is what I order the most.

Bossam, Jokbal: The meat itself is fine, but you probably can’t resist the makguksu that comes with it, and makguksu spikes blood sugar hard.

Smoked duck, stir-fried duck: Fine in moderation. 

Salads: Great unless drenched in dressing.

Cakes: Cheesecake is relatively okay for blood sugar but high in saturated fat. Paris Baguette has a low-sugar yogurt cake — surprisingly good and much lower in sugar. If you must eat cake for birthdays or events, portion control.

Yukhoe (beef tartare): Pretty okay. 

Salmon: Also pretty okay. 

Jjimdak: Some brands now sell low-sugar jjimdak with konjac noodles, but the standard version uses lots of sugar, potatoes, and glass noodles — cannot call it healthy. 

Pizza: Varies dramatically by brand. Some are drenched in sauce and thick dough, others stick to the basics. You can eat it as long as you pick the right kind and watch your portions.

Burgers: Skip the fries, drink zero coke, and watch your portions. 

Ssambap: Fine if rice is controlled. 

Poke: It’s “salad,” but don’t let that fool you — watch the rice portion.

Jjolmyeon: Another non-existent food. If you absolutely must, eat a small amount of noodles and load up on cabbage/bean sprouts. Homemade low-sugar sauce with allulose was okay. Otherwise, major spike. 

Dumplings: The spike comes from the wrapper. Even with homemade low-sugar fillings, more than six raises blood sugar significantly.

Sushi: Non-existent food. Sashimi is fine. 

Sandwiches: If you manage portions well at Subway or choose whole-wheat bread with lots of lettuce or ricotta salads, not bad. 

Fruit: Blueberries, strawberries, cherries, blackberries, apples in moderation are okay. Be cautious with very ripe bananas, grapes, and dried fruits like dried persimmons — they go down too easily and spike quickly.

Conclusion 

Portion control is essential no matter what you eat. Think of delivery food as “food that probably contains anything necessary to make it taste good.” Don’t be surprised afterward and say, “Huh? I heard this doesn’t spike blood sugar but mine went up.” Instead, establish your own menu and portion criteria! Every restaurant uses different ingredients anyway, so having a favorite place that works for your body helps reduce stress.

One tip: separate “food that satisfies cravings” from “food that fills you up.” For example, if you crave pizza, make a bland cabbage salad. Enjoy a delicious slice of pizza, then fill up a bit with the boring cabbage, and finish with another slice to trick yourself into thinking you filled up on pizza alone. (Half joke…)