How Many Calories in Sundae?

Also known as 순대, Korean Blood Sausage, Soondae, Chal Sundae, 찰순대.

Sundae is pig intestine stuffed with glass noodles, pork blood and glutinous rice, steamed and sliced, served with slices of liver and lung and a dip of seasoned salt. The 4,000 won plate next to every tteokbokki cart.

300kcal / 1 serving (1인분, about 200g with liver and lung)

A 1인분 plate of sundae is about 300 calories for roughly 200g, using the fatsecret.kr figure of 160 kcal per 100g for chal sundae plus the 40g of liver and lung on the side. Around 44g of the calories are carbs from the glass noodle filling. It is filling for the number.

Nutrition facts

Per 1 serving (1인분, about 200g with liver and lung) (200g)	Amount	Per 100g
Calories	300 kcal	150 kcal
Protein	12 g	6 g
Carbs	44 g	22 g
Fat	8 g	4 g

Where the calories come from

Steamed chal sundae, sliced160g

255 kcal

Steamed liver and lung40g

45 kcal

The real talk

Street sundae is mostly noodles. The filling is glass noodles and a little pork blood for colour, so 160g of sliced sundae is 255 calories with 12g of protein. The traditional version (피순대) with more blood, rice and vegetables is denser in protein but rarer, and the two are about the same on calories per 100g.

The plate is a decent deal at 4,000 to 5,000 won. The 40g of steamed liver and lung on the side is about 45 calories and where most of the protein and iron are. The salt dip (소금) is zero calories; the ssamjang some regions use is about 30 per spoon. Dipping sundae in tteokbokki sauce, which is the standard move, adds around 20 calories a slice.

Sundae bokkeum, the stir-fried version with vegetables, perilla and a sweet spicy sauce, is where it gets heavy: about 500 to 600 for a shared plate because of the oil and sugar. Sundae-guk, sundae in pork bone soup with rice, is around 550 for a full bowl and a normal 10,000 won lunch.

How the portions compare

160 kcal

Half plate (100g)

300 kcal

1 serving (200g)

550 kcal

Sundae-guk with rice

Sundae variants, ranked by calories

Variant	Calories	Notes
Chal sundae (glass noodle), 200g	300 kcal	Standard street
Pi sundae (blood and rice), 200g	310 kcal	More blood, more protein
Sundae-guk with rice	550 kcal	Pork bone soup
Sundae bokkeum, 1 shared plate	560 kcal	Stir-fried with sauce

How to eat it lighter

Eat the liver and lung first. 45 calories for most of the protein on the plate.
Use salt, not tteokbokki sauce, as the dip. That saves 20 calories a slice across 10 or so slices.
Pick sundae over twigim as your tteokbokki side. 300 calories versus about 350 for 3 pieces of fried tempura.
Skip sundae bokkeum unless it is shared by 3. The sauce and oil push a plate past 500.
In sundae-guk, leave half the rice out of the soup. The soup alone is about 280.

Common questions

How many calories in a plate of sundae?

About 300 for a 1인분 of around 200g including the liver and lung. Without the offal, 160g of sundae is about 255.

Is sundae high in protein?

Not especially. Street chal sundae is mostly glass noodles, about 12g of protein per plate. The liver on the side has more protein per gram than the sausage.

Is sundae healthy?

It is steamed, not fried, at about 150 to 160 kcal per 100g, which makes it one of the lighter street foods. The liver adds iron. The dips and the fried versions are where it goes wrong.

How many calories in sundae-guk?

About 550 for a bowl with rice, or around 280 for the soup and sundae alone.

Related foods

Tteokbokki

335 kcal per 1 serving (1인분, street cart or bunsik shop)

Eomuk

100 kcal per 1 skewer (with a cup of broth)

Gamjatang

600 kcal per 1 bowl (ppyeo-haejangguk size)

Kway Chap

650 kcal per 1 set for one (kway in soup + braised platter)

Haemul Pajeon

600 kcal per 1 whole pancake (restaurant size, about 300g)

Hotteok

280 kcal per 1 piece (street cart)

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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 fatsecret.kr 찰순대 160 kcal per 100g; 순대 1인분 269 kcal cross-check; offal estimated. Macros estimated from the ingredients.

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