Sai krok is a fat delivery system with a sour flavour. The recipe is roughly 3 parts pork to 1 part pork fat to 1 part rice, and the fat is what makes it juicy after the sourness. Per ball that is about 8g of lean pork at 20 calories, 3g of fat at 26 calories, and a spoon of rice at 7. Sixty a ball. Five on a skewer is 300, the same as a bowl of rice, and it is gone in 2 minutes at the bus stop.
The MGR table lists one sai krok at 90 calories, which is the longer single sausage some stalls sell, about 30g. The 5 ball skewer at 20g each lands at the same number per gram. What changes the count is the grill. Balls that sit long enough for the fat to render and drip lose 10 to 15 calories each. The ones served pale and quick keep it all. Pick the charred skewer.
The sides are the smart part of this snack. Raw cabbage, sliced ginger and bird's eye chilli cost nothing and slow you down. The roasted peanuts are about 6 calories each and a normal handful is 20 of them, so 120 more. Two skewers with peanuts is 720 calories standing on a pavement. One skewer with the cabbage and no peanuts is 300 and you feel like you ate something.