Meat, Grills & Lauk

How Many Calories in Paru Goreng?

Paru Goreng is deep-fried spiced beef lung, marinated in turmeric and coriander, then fried until crispy and chewy, a classic lauk you will spot at any nasi campur stall.

390kcal / 1 serving (2-3 pieces, side dish at nasi campur)
Two to three pieces of Paru Goreng, the standard side at a nasi campur stall, comes in at 390 calories for about 80g. That is 32g of protein and 29g of fat, with zero carbs. The beef lung itself is not the problem. It is the deep frying. That 80g serving absorbs roughly 16g of oil in the fryer, which alone accounts for 145 of those calories.

Nutrition facts

Per 1 serving (2-3 pieces, side dish at nasi campur) (80g)AmountPer 100g
Calories390 kcal488 kcal
Protein32 g40 g
Carbs0 g0 g
Fat29 g36 g

Where the calories come from

Beef lung (deep-fried, concentrated)60g
210 kcal
Absorbed frying oil16g
145 kcal
Spice marinade (turmeric, coriander, garlic, shallots)4g
20 kcal

The real talk

Paru Goreng is beef lung, deep-fried with a spice marinade of turmeric, coriander, garlic and shallots. If you have not had it before, think of it as the chewy, crispy offal piece sitting in the tray next to the rendang at nasi campur. The texture is very different from muscle meat, slightly spongy inside and crunchy on the outside, and it soaks up oil like a sponge in the fryer. At 390 calories for a small 80g serving, it is one of the heavier lauk choices per gram, driven almost entirely by that absorbed frying oil (145 calories worth) rather than the lung itself (210 calories). The protein return is genuinely solid at 32g though, so if you are tracking macros it is not a terrible trade, just be honest about the portion.

The maths here are almost entirely about the frying. That 16g of absorbed oil is the swing factor. At a nasi campur stall you have zero control over how hot the oil is or how long the pieces sit in it, and cooler oil means even more absorption. If you take one piece instead of three you are looking at roughly 130 calories, which is a lot more manageable. Pairing it with lower-calorie lauk like steamed veg or a broth-based dish helps balance the plate. Swapping to ayam goreng gives you a similar fried-protein hit but around 280 calories for a comparable serving, so that is one way to shave 100 calories off your plate without feeling like you are eating a salad.

How to eat it lighter

Common questions

How many calories in Paru Goreng?
A standard serving of Paru Goreng, 2 to 3 pieces or about 80g, contains 390 calories, with 32g protein, 29g fat and 0g carbs.
What exactly is Paru Goreng?
Paru Goreng is deep-fried beef lung. The lung is marinated in turmeric, coriander, garlic and shallots, then deep-fried until the outside goes crispy. It is a common lauk at nasi campur stalls and has a chewy, dense texture unlike regular beef.
Is Paru Goreng healthy?
It has a decent protein count at 32g per serving, but the fat is high at 29g because beef lung absorbs a lot of frying oil. It is fine as an occasional lauk, but if you are in a calorie deficit it is worth keeping to one piece and pairing it with lower-calorie sides.

Related foods

See all Meat, Grills & Lauk calories, ranked →

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 →

Want to know how many calories you actually need?
Use The Calculator