How Many Calories in Hinava?

Kadazan-Dusun raw tenggiri cured in lime juice with shallots, ginger, chilli, and bambangan seed. One of the lowest-calorie high-protein dishes in Sabah.

200kcal / 1 small plate

A small plate of Hinava comes in at around 200 calories for 150g, which is genuinely impressive for something this satisfying. You're getting 23g of protein from the cured tenggiri, with only 5g carbs and 8g fat. The lime juice does the heavy lifting on "cooking" the fish, so there's no oil involved at all. That's the whole reason the numbers are this low.

Nutrition facts

Per 1 small plate (150g)	Amount	Per 100g
Calories	200 kcal	133 kcal
Protein	23 g	15 g
Carbs	5 g	3 g
Fat	8 g	5 g

Where the calories come from

Raw tenggiri (Spanish mackerel), ~120g120g

167 kcal

Lime/calamansi juice30g

5 kcal

Shallots and ginger23g

16 kcal

Bird's eye chilli and large chilli10g

5 kcal

Grated bambangan seed10g

15 kcal

The real talk

Hinava is a Kadazan-Dusun raw fish dish from Sabah. Thin slices of tenggiri cured in lime juice, mixed with shallots, ginger, chilli, and grated bambangan seed. If you've never had it, think ceviche but with Bornean flavour. The acid firms the fish up so it doesn't taste raw, and there is absolutely no oil involved. That's why the calorie count is so low. At around 200 calories for a 150g plate you're getting 23g of protein for basically nothing. To be straight with you though, the numbers here are a ballpark estimate because solid nutritional data on Hinava is basically nonexistent, so treat this as a reasonable guide, not gospel.

What actually moves the numbers is the fish-to-condiment ratio. The tenggiri carries almost all of it at 167 calories for 120g. The bambangan seed adds maybe 15 calories, the shallots and ginger another 16. Swap the whole thing to hinava udang (prawn) and you're looking at about 130 calories per plate, which is genuinely ridiculous value for the protein you get. Double the tenggiri to 240g and your calorie count jumps close to 300. So portion size is the one lever here, not the recipe itself.

Hinava variants, ranked by calories

Variant	Calories	Notes
Hinava udang (prawn)	130 kcal	120g raw prawn at ~90 kcal/100g; leaner protein, less fat than tenggiri
Hinava ikan tenggiri (plain, no bambangan)	185 kcal	Standard version without bambangan seed; slightly lower carbs and calories
Hinava ikan tenggiri with bambangan	200 kcal	Traditional full version with grated bambangan seed adding carbs and fats

How to eat it lighter

Go for hinava udang instead of tenggiri to cut down to around 130 calories while keeping the protein close.
Skip or reduce the bambangan seed if you want to shave a few extra carbs off.
Eat it as a side and pair with sayur manis or ulam instead of rice to keep the whole meal under 400 calories.
Watch your serving size at a buffet spread. A small plate is 150g and 200 calories. A heaped plate can easily double that.
Ask for extra chilli and lime on the side instead of more fish to bulk up the flavour without adding calories.

Common questions

How many calories in Hinava?

A standard small plate of Hinava (about 150g) is roughly 200 calories, with 23g protein, 5g carbs, and 8g fat. The numbers are low because there is no cooking oil involved. Lime juice cures the raw tenggiri, so you get a high-protein dish without any frying.

What is Hinava?

Hinava is a traditional Kadazan-Dusun dish from Sabah, Borneo. It is raw Spanish mackerel (ikan tenggiri) sliced thin and cured in lime or calamansi juice until the acid firms up the fish. It gets mixed with sliced shallots, ginger, bird's eye chilli, and often grated bambangan seed, which adds a subtle tangy bitterness. Think of it as the Sabah answer to ceviche.

Is Hinava good for weight loss?

Honestly, yes. 200 calories for 23g of protein is a solid deal. There is no oil, no heavy sauce, no rice mixed in. The main thing to watch is portion size at a buffet or feast, because it is easy to stack a bigger plate than you think. Swap to the prawn version (hinava udang) and you drop to about 130 calories with similar protein.

Calorie and macro figures are estimates for a typical hawker or kopitiam serving. Actual numbers vary by stall, recipe and portion size. Use them as a guide, not gospel.

New to all this? Read how I went from 128kg to 86kg without cutting rice →