How Many Calories in Midin?

Midin is a wild jungle fern from Sarawak, stir-fried fast over high heat with belacan, garlic and chilli until just-tender and a little crunchy at the tips.

140kcal / 1 plate (hawker/kopitiam, stir-fried belacan style)

A plate of midin masak belacan at a Sarawak hawker or kopitiam comes in at about 140 calories for roughly 160g. The fern itself is barely 44 calories, and the cooking oil contributes the bulk of the total at around 88 calories for 1 tbsp. Protein is modest at 5g, carbs 8g, fat 10g. As veg dishes go, this is genuinely one of the lighter things you can order.

Nutrition facts

Per 1 plate (hawker/kopitiam, stir-fried belacan style) (160g)	Amount	Per 100g
Calories	140 kcal	88 kcal
Protein	5 g	3 g
Carbs	8 g	5 g
Fat	10 g	6 g

Where the calories come from

Midin fern (raw ~130g, cooked down)110g

44 kcal

Cooking oil (1 tbsp)10g

88 kcal

Belacan, garlic, chilli, shallots20g

8 kcal

Absorbed water / sauce20g

0 kcal

The real talk

Okay first, if you have never heard of midin, let me put you on to it. It is a wild jungle fern that grows in Sarawak, and it is only really available there and at certain specialty restaurants in KL. The hawker throws it in a screaming-hot wok with belacan, garlic, chilli and a splash of oil, and it comes out with this satisfying crunch at the curly tips. At around 140 calories a plate, it is legitimately a low-calorie dish and something you can eat a lot of without wrecking your deficit. Fair warning though: the numbers here are a ballpark estimate because hard nutritional data for midin is almost nonexistent. We are working from the components, not a lab test, so treat it as a rough guide.

What actually drives the calorie count is the oil. The cooking oil contributes roughly 88 of those 140 calories; the fern itself is barely anything. A hawker who is heavy-handed with the oil could easily push you from 140 to 180 or 200 calories for the same plate. If you are eating masak lemak style with coconut milk, that version runs about 380 calories because the santan contributes an extra 250 to 300 kcal on its own. The garlic-only version (masak bawang putih) saves you a little, coming in around 120 calories. If you are ordering this at a warung, ask for less oil (kurang minyak) and stick to the belacan or garlic versions rather than the lemak.

Midin variants, ranked by calories

Variant	Calories	Notes
Midin masak bawang putih (garlic only)	120 kcal	Lighter on aromatics, slightly less oil than belacan version
Midin masak belacan (standard)	140 kcal	Typical hawker version with shrimp paste, garlic, chilli
Midin masak lemak (with santan)	380 kcal	Cooked in thick coconut milk; coconut milk contributes ~250-300 kcal per serving

How to eat it lighter

Order masak bawang putih instead of belacan style to shave off about 20 calories, or ask for kurang minyak whichever version you get.
Avoid midin masak lemak unless you have the calories to spare, the coconut milk alone adds 250 to 300 kcal and takes the dish to around 380 calories.
Pair it with a plain protein like steamed fish or grilled chicken rather than a saucy lauk, so your overall meal stays light.
If you are cooking at home, cutting back to 2 tsp of oil instead of 1 tbsp saves you around 30 calories and the texture difference is barely noticeable.
Use it as a high-volume filler alongside your rice, the bulk helps you feel full without adding much to your calorie count.

Common questions

How many calories in Midin?

A standard plate of midin masak belacan from a Sarawak hawker or kopitiam is about 140 calories for 160g. The garlic-only version is slightly lighter at around 120 calories, and the masak lemak (coconut milk) version jumps to roughly 380 calories.

What exactly is midin and where can I find it?

Midin is a wild jungle fern native to Sarawak, Borneo. It is harvested from the rainforest and stir-fried with belacan, garlic or coconut milk. You will find it at almost every kopitiam and hawker centre in Kuching and Sibu, but it is hard to find outside Sarawak unless a restaurant specifically sources it.

Is midin actually healthy or is it just another oily veg dish?

The fern itself is very low calorie, around 44 calories for a cooked portion. It is the cooking oil that takes the total to 140 calories. Compare that to kangkung belacan which runs roughly similar numbers depending on oil. As long as it is not cooked masak lemak style, midin is a genuinely light and filling vegetable to add to your meal.

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 →