How Many Calories in Masak Kicap?

Masak kicap is protein braised in sweet dark soy sauce with onion and chili, the kind of dish that looks simple but sneaks in more calories than you'd expect from that dark, glossy gravy.

300kcal / 1 piece + sauce (bone-in chicken, hawker serving)

A standard hawker serving of ayam masak kicap, one bone-in chicken piece with gravy, comes to about 300 calories. You're getting 25g protein, 14g carbs, and 15g fat for that 200g portion. Not bad on the protein front, but roughly 65 of those calories come purely from the kicap manis gravy, and about 35 from absorbed cooking oil. So yeah, the chicken itself is doing honest work, it's the sauce and frying that push the number up.

Nutrition facts

Per 1 piece + sauce (bone-in chicken, hawker serving) (200g)	Amount	Per 100g
Calories	300 kcal	150 kcal
Protein	25 g	13 g
Carbs	14 g	7 g
Fat	15 g	8 g

Where the calories come from

Chicken (bone-in piece, braised, ~100g edible meat)120g

185 kcal

Kicap manis + dark soy sauce + oyster sauce gravy45g

65 kcal

Cooking oil (absorbed during frying + braising)4g

35 kcal

Aromatics (onion, shallots, garlic, chili)23g

15 kcal

The real talk

Masak kicap is basically protein, chicken, fish, egg, or beef, fried first then braised in kicap manis (sweet dark soy sauce) with some aromatics. The dish is popular across Malay warung and nasi campur stalls nationwide. It tastes way more indulgent than 300 calories sounds, because kicap manis is genuinely sugary, that gravy alone adds 65 calories to your plate. The cooking oil adds around 35 calories from what actually gets absorbed during frying and braising, since most of the oil stays in the pan. Worth flagging honestly: these numbers are a ballpark estimate since detailed lab data for masak kicap is thin, different stalls use wildly different amounts of oil and gravy, so treat this as a guide rather than gospel.

What actually moves the number is how heavy-handed the cook is with oil and how much gravy you spoon onto your rice. A portion with generous gravy poured over can easily add 20 to 30 extra calories compared to eating the piece dry. Swapping to ikan kembung masak kicap drops you to around 220 calories, or go for telur masak kicap at about 210 calories if you want the lowest option. Daging (beef) masak kicap runs higher at around 320 calories because beef adds more fat. If you're eating this at a nasi campur stall, watch the rice portion more than the lauk itself, 200g of white rice is already 260 calories before any lauk lands on your plate.

Masak Kicap variants, ranked by calories

Variant	Calories	Notes
Telur masak kicap (fried egg)	210 kcal	1 fried egg + kicap gravy; less protein but similar sugar-rich sauce; lighter overall
Ikan kembung masak kicap (Indian mackerel)	220 kcal	1 whole fish ~80-100g; leaner than chicken but oily fish fat adds up; MOH data: 160 kcal/80g fish-only, add gravy ~220 kcal total
Ayam kampung masak kicap (free-range chicken)	270 kcal	Leaner bird, less subcutaneous fat than broiler; similar gravy; slightly lower calories
Ayam masak kicap standard (broiler/regular chicken)	300 kcal	Most common hawker version; bone-in thigh or drumstick with generous kicap gravy
Daging masak kicap (beef)	320 kcal	Beef chuck or shank braised in kicap; higher fat from beef; MOH estimate 140 kcal/100g meat, add gravy and oil

How to eat it lighter

Ask for less gravy, or eat the chicken piece without soaking the rice in the sauce. That dark kicap gravy is 65 calories for 45g, and most stalls pour it generously.
Pick ikan kembung or telur over chicken if it's available. Telur masak kicap is around 210 calories, and ikan kembung sits at about 220 calories.
Skip the second piece. Seems obvious but bro, at a nasi campur stall it's tempting. One piece is already a solid protein hit at 25g.
Pair it with sayur campur or kangkung rather than extra rice to keep the overall meal calories manageable.
If you're cooking at home, reduce the kicap manis by half and use low-sodium soy sauce to stretch the flavour without dumping in as much sugar.

Common questions

How many calories in Masak Kicap?

A standard hawker serving of masak kicap, one bone-in chicken piece with gravy at around 200g total, comes to about 300 calories. That breaks down as 25g protein, 14g carbs, and 15g fat. The gravy and absorbed cooking oil account for about 100 of those calories combined.

What exactly is masak kicap?

Masak kicap means cooked in soy sauce, specifically kicap manis which is the thick, sweet dark soy sauce common in Malaysian cooking. The protein gets fried first, then braised in a sauce made with kicap manis, dark soy, oyster sauce, onion, and chili. It's a staple at Malay nasi campur and warung stalls.

Is masak kicap a healthy choice for someone trying to lose weight?

It's decent but not great. The protein content is solid at 25g per serving, which helps with satiety. The problem is the kicap manis adds sugar and the frying adds oil, so the calories come in higher than plain grilled chicken. It's a reasonable nasi campur pick as long as you control your rice portion and don't drown everything in extra gravy.

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 →