How Many Calories in Nasi Kukus?

Steamed rice served with ayam goreng berempah and sambal, a classic at mamak stalls and East Coast hawker spots where the crispy spiced fried chicken is the whole point.

700kcal / 1 plate (steamed rice + 1 piece ayam goreng berempah + sambal + sides)

A standard plate of Nasi Kukus comes in at around 700 calories: 220g of steamed rice (285 kcal), one piece of ayam goreng berempah at 150g (300 kcal), sambal at about 55 kcal, and the usual sides of ikan bilis, cucumber and tauge adding another 50 kcal. The fried chicken alone is doing nearly half the work here, so that is where the number lives.

Nutrition facts

Per 1 plate (steamed rice + 1 piece ayam goreng berempah + sambal + sides) (450g)	Amount	Per 100g
Calories	700 kcal	156 kcal
Protein	36 g	8 g
Carbs	79 g	18 g
Fat	27 g	6 g

Where the calories come from

Steamed rice (nasi kukus, ~220g cooked)220g

285 kcal

Ayam goreng berempah (spiced fried chicken, ~150g, 1 piece)150g

310 kcal

Sambal (~40g, 2-3 tbsp)40g

55 kcal

Sides: ikan bilis goreng + cucumber + tauge (~40g)40g

50 kcal

The real talk

Nasi Kukus is basically steamed rice served with a piece of heavily spiced, deep-fried chicken (ayam goreng berempah), sambal, and a small pile of sides. It sounds simple but that one piece of fried chicken is pulling 300 calories on its own because it is coated in rempah paste and deep-fried. The rice and sambal are pretty tame by comparison. At 700 calories for a full plate with decent protein at 36g, it is not a disaster of a meal, honestly. If you were 128kg and eating two of these plates, yes, that is a problem. But one plate fits into a sensible day without much drama. Fair warning though: calorie data for nasi kukus is thin and the numbers here are a ballpark estimate based on component weights. Different stalls use different amounts of oil and rempah, so treat 700 kcal as a reasonable middle ground, not a lab-certified figure.

The single biggest lever is the gravy. If you go kuah banjir style, where the uncle floods your rice with curry gravy, you are looking at around 1,100 calories instead of 700. That extra ladle of curry adds close to 400 kcal in one move. Ordering a second piece of ayam goreng berempah bumps you straight to 980 calories. If you want to eat lighter, skip the ikan bilis (saves you roughly 70 calories and a bit of fat from the frying), ask for less sambal, and stick to one piece of chicken. The steamed rice portion is actually quite reasonable at 220g for 285 kcal, so the rice is not your enemy here. It is the oil in the chicken and any add-on gravy that pushes the number up fast.

Nasi Kukus variants, ranked by calories

Variant	Calories	Notes
Without ikan bilis / plain sambal only	630 kcal	Skip the fried anchovies, lighter sambal portion; rice and chicken stay the same
Standard plate (1 piece ayam, sambal, ikan bilis)	700 kcal	Typical mamak or East Coast hawker serving
Ayam goreng berempah x2 pieces	980 kcal	Two pieces of fried chicken; common if ordering extra or at kedai nasi
Kuah banjir (curry gravy flooded over rice)	1100 kcal	Adding generous ladle of curry gravy roughly doubles the calorie count; referenced at ~1115 kcal by Malaysian sources

How to eat it lighter

Stick to one piece of ayam goreng berempah and skip any extra chicken. Going from one to two pieces adds 280 calories.
Say no to kuah banjir. That curry gravy pour-over adds close to 400 calories in one move and you barely notice it taste-wise.
Skip the ikan bilis goreng if you are watching calories. It is fried anchovies, which adds fat you do not really need when the chicken already has plenty.
Load up on the cucumber and tauge sides instead. They add almost no calories and actually help you feel fuller.
If the stall lets you choose your chicken cut, go for whatever you prefer. Drumstick, thigh, the fat difference between cuts is small either way.

Common questions

How many calories in Nasi Kukus?

A standard plate of Nasi Kukus is around 700 calories: 285 kcal from the steamed rice, 300 kcal from one piece of ayam goreng berempah, 55 kcal from the sambal, and about 50 kcal from the ikan bilis and vegetable sides.

What exactly is Nasi Kukus?

Nasi Kukus means steamed rice, but the dish is really about the ayam goreng berempah, which is a deep-fried chicken piece coated in a blend of spices like turmeric, lemongrass, and galangal. It is popular at mamak stalls and East Coast hawker places in Malaysia, and you will also find it commonly in Sabah. The rice is plain steamed, but the chicken is anything but.

Is Nasi Kukus healthy for someone trying to lose weight?

One plate at 700 calories with 36g of protein is actually a decent meal for weight loss, as long as you stop at one plate. The fried chicken is high in fat from the oil, so it is not the leanest protein source, but the portion is not huge. The danger is adding curry gravy (jumps to 1,100 kcal) or ordering two pieces of chicken (980 kcal). Keep it to one piece, no gravy flood, and it fits into a calorie deficit without feeling like punishment.

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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 →