How Many Calories in Seolleongtang?

Also known as 설렁탕, Ox Bone Soup, Seolleong-tang, Sullungtang, Korean Beef Bone Soup.

Seolleongtang is a milky white ox bone broth simmered for hours, served with sliced brisket, thin somyeon noodles, spring onion, and salt on the table so you season it yourself.

425kcal / 1 bowl (with noodles, no rice)

A bowl of seolleongtang with brisket slices and noodles is about 425 calories, with 33g of protein. Most people tip the bowl of rice into the soup, which takes it to around 735. The broth looks rich but is only about 170 calories for 500ml; the meat and the rice are the rest.

Nutrition facts

Per 1 bowl (with noodles, no rice) (650g)	Amount	Per 100g
Calories	425 kcal	65 kcal
Protein	33 g	5 g
Carbs	20 g	3 g
Fat	20 g	3 g

Where the calories come from

Sliced beef brisket70g

150 kcal

Somyeon noodles, cooked60g

80 kcal

Ox bone broth500g

170 kcal

Spring onion, salt, pepper20g

5 kcal

The real talk

The milky colour fools people. That white comes from bone collagen and emulsified marrow fat, and a 500ml bowl of broth is about 170 calories. Not nothing, but not cream either. The 70g of sliced brisket is 150 and the small tangle of somyeon noodles at the bottom is about 80. That is your 425.

Then the rice arrives. Almost everyone in a seolleongtang house tips the whole 210g bowl into the soup, and that is the moment it goes from 425 to 735. If you are trying to keep the number down, tip half in and leave the rest. The soup is 650g on its own and nobody leaves hungry.

Watch the salt. The broth is unseasoned when it lands, and the standard move is a heaped teaspoon of salt plus a big scoop of kkakdugi juice. That is where the 1,500mg of sodium comes from, not the kitchen. Season lightly, eat the kkakdugi rather than pouring its brine in, and you fix most of the problem for free.

How the portions compare

425 kcal

Bowl, no rice

580 kcal

Bowl with half rice

735 kcal

Bowl with full rice tipped in

Seolleongtang variants, ranked by calories

Variant	Calories	Notes
Standard seolleongtang, no rice	425 kcal	Brisket and noodles
Doganitang (knee cartilage)	480 kcal	More collagen, more fat
Special (특) with extra meat	555 kcal	About 130g brisket
Kkori-gomtang (oxtail)	600 kcal	Oxtail is fattier

How to eat it lighter

Tip in half the rice, not the whole bowl. Saves about 155 calories.
Order the 특 (special) only if you want more meat. It adds 60 to 80g of brisket for about 130 calories and 25g protein, a fair trade.
Skim the fat that pools on top once the soup sits a minute. It is 40 to 60 calories of pure beef fat.
Go easy on the salt spoon. It changes nothing about calories but a lot about how you feel after.

Common questions

Is seolleongtang healthy?

It is a decent meal: 425 calories, 33g protein, plenty of volume. The two things to manage are the rice you tip in and the salt you add yourself.

How many calories in seolleongtang with rice?

About 735 with a full 210g bowl of rice stirred in. Half rice brings it to around 580.

Is the white broth high in fat?

Moderately. About 500ml of broth carries 12 to 15g of fat, roughly 130 calories, from the emulsified marrow. Skimming the top layer removes a good chunk of it.

Seolleongtang or samgyetang for fewer calories?

Seolleongtang by a wide margin: 425 versus 918. Samgyetang is a whole chicken plus rice stuffing.

Related foods

Samgyetang

918 kcal per 1 pot (whole young chicken)

Gamjatang

600 kcal per 1 bowl (ppyeo-haejangguk size)

Sup Tulang

350 kcal per 1 bowl (2-3 bones with broth)

Sup Daging

400 kcal per 1 bowl

Sundubu Jjigae

260 kcal per 1 pot

Doenjang Jjigae

145 kcal per 1 pot

See all Soups calories, ranked ›

Calorie and macro figures are estimates for a typical restaurant or pojangmacha serving. Actual numbers vary by stall, recipe and portion size. Use them as a guide, not gospel.

Calorie figure based on geniet.co.kr 설렁탕 424 kcal per serving; weight set to a typical 650g restaurant bowl, macros from components. Macros estimated from the ingredients.

New here? Read how I went from 128kg to 86kg without cutting rice ›