Snacks & Kuih

How Many Calories in Kelupis?

Kelupis is a Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei snack of glutinous rice steamed in coconut milk and wrapped in nyirik leaf, eaten on its own or with serunding, curry or rendang.

190kcal / 1 piece
One piece of kelupis (about 70g) comes in at roughly 190 calories, and almost all of that comes from the glutinous rice and the coconut milk it soaks up during cooking. It is compact and dense, so it does not feel like much in your hand, but the calories are real. Add serunding or rendang on the side and you are looking at 250 to 290 calories for the full plate.

Nutrition facts

Per 1 piece (70g)AmountPer 100g
Calories190 kcal271 kcal
Protein3 g4 g
Carbs19 g27 g
Fat12 g17 g

Where the calories come from

Glutinous rice (cooked)45g
85 kcal
Thick coconut milk (absorbed)20g
90 kcal
Salt, pandan (negligible)5g
5 kcal

The real talk

Kelupis is a traditional snack from Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei. Think of it as the Borneo cousin of ketupat or lemang: glutinous rice packed into a leaf parcel (usually nyirik or daun nyiru), cooked with coconut milk until it is dense and slightly sticky, then served with something rich on the side like serunding kelapa or rendang. If you have never had it, the texture is tighter and more compact than nasi lemak rice, almost like a firm rice cake. The 190 kcal per piece estimate is a ballpark because hard nutrition data for kelupis is genuinely thin. The main drivers are the coconut milk absorbed into the rice during cooking, which alone accounts for around 90 of those calories, and the glutinous rice base at about 85 kcal. The fat is where it sneaks up on you: 12g of fat from coconut milk in a 70g parcel is not nothing.

What really moves the number is what you eat it with. Plain kelupis at 190 kcal is fine as a snack. But pair it with 20g of serunding kelapa (dry-fried coconut floss) and you add roughly 60 kcal, landing at 250. Dip it into two or three tablespoons of thick rendang or curry gravy and that jumps to around 290 kcal. If you are watching your numbers, eat it plain or with a lighter sambal rather than the full serunding and gravy combo. Also worth knowing: portion discipline is tricky here because kelupis are small and you can easily eat three without thinking. At a makan event or pasar malam, stop at one or two and call it lah.

Kelupis variants, ranked by calories

VariantCaloriesNotes
Plain (no accompaniment)190 kcalJust the kelupis parcel, no dipping sauce or sides
With serunding kelapa (coconut floss)250 kcalServed with ~20g dry-fried coconut floss adds ~60 kcal
With rendang or curry290 kcalDipped with 2-3 tbsp rendang or thick curry adds ~100 kcal

How to eat it lighter

Common questions

How many calories in Kelupis?
One piece of kelupis (about 70g) is roughly 190 calories. That number climbs to around 250 with serunding kelapa on the side, or up to 290 if you are dipping it in rendang or thick curry.
What exactly is kelupis?
Kelupis is a traditional snack from Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei. Glutinous rice is mixed with coconut milk, wrapped tightly in nyirik or nyiru leaf, then steamed until firm and compact. It is similar in spirit to ketupat or lemang, just smaller and shaped by the leaf into a neat little parcel.
Is kelupis healthy or just another carb bomb?
It is not terrible, but it is not light either. The coconut milk gives it 12g of fat per piece, and the glutinous rice means it is a high-GI carb. As an occasional snack eaten plain it fits fine. The problem is portion creep at events where you grab three or four pieces without thinking, and each one is 190 kcal before any accompaniment.

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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 →

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