How Many Calories in Tutu Kueh?

Also known as Kueh Tutu, Kuih Tutu, 嘟嘟糕, Tutu Cake, Steamed Rice Flour Cake.

Tutu kueh is the small, round steamed rice flour cake made in a metal mould with a spoon of ground peanut or grated coconut and sugar in the middle, served on a square of pandan leaf at Singapore hawker stalls and pasar malams.

150kcal / 2 pieces

Two tutu kueh with peanut filling are about 150 calories for a 50g serving, with around 4g of fat. Two with coconut filling are about 140. Each piece is roughly 75 calories, with the rice flour shell making up about two thirds of that.

Nutrition facts

Per 2 pieces (50g)	Amount	Per 100g
Calories	150 kcal	300 kcal
Protein	3 g	6 g
Carbs	26 g	52 g
Fat	4 g	8 g

Where the calories come from

Steamed rice flour shell, 2 pieces36g

100 kcal

Ground peanut filling10g

40 kcal

Sugar in shell3g

10 kcal

The real talk

This is about as light as a sweet hawker snack gets. The shell is finely ground rice flour with a little sugar, steamed for two minutes, about 100 calories for two shells. The filling is a teaspoon of ground peanut and sugar, about 40 calories for two, or grated coconut and gula melaka, about 30. So 150 for a pair of peanut, 140 for a pair of coconut. A pair is the standard order at S$1.50 to S$2.

The stalls sell them in fives and tens, and that is where the light snack stops being light. Five peanut tutu kueh is about 375 calories, ten is 750. They come out of the steamer soft and warm and they are gone in two bites each. The pandan leaf under them is not part of the count.

Compare to the other steamed kueh. Ang ku kueh is about 180 for one piece. Kuih putu, the bamboo tube version with gula melaka, is about 230 for two. Tutu kueh at 75 a piece is the lowest of the three because the shell is loose rice flour rather than dense glutinous dough.

How many calories in 2, 3 or 4 pieces?

How many	Calories	Protein
1 piece	75 kcal	1.5 g
2 pieces	150 kcal	3 g
3 pieces	225 kcal	4.5 g
4 pieces	300 kcal	6 g
5 pieces	375 kcal	7.5 g
6 pieces	450 kcal	9 g

How the portions compare

75 kcal

1 piece

150 kcal

2 pieces

375 kcal

5 pieces

Tutu Kueh variants, ranked by calories

Variant	Calories	Notes
2 pieces coconut	140 kcal	Grated coconut and gula melaka
2 pieces peanut	150 kcal	Ground peanut and sugar
2 pieces red bean	160 kcal	Some stalls only
5 pieces mixed	365 kcal	The usual takeaway box

How to eat it lighter

Choose coconut over peanut. The saving is small, about 5 calories a piece, but coconut has less fat.
Buy two, not five. Two is 150, five is 375.
Eat them warm. It sounds unrelated, but they taste of more when they are fresh, and two is enough.
Pair with a teh o kosong or kopi o, not a sweet drink. The kueh already carries about 10g of sugar per pair.
Skip the extra sugar sprinkle some stalls offer on top. It is about 15 calories per spoon.

Common questions

How many calories in tutu kueh?

About 75 calories per piece, so 150 for a pair with peanut filling and 140 for a pair with coconut. Five pieces is about 375.

Is tutu kueh healthy?

It is one of the lighter sweet snacks at the hawker centre, steamed rather than fried, with about 4g of fat per pair. It is low in protein at 3g, so it is a snack, not a meal.

What is tutu kueh made of?

Finely milled rice flour, steamed in a small metal mould around a filling of ground peanut and sugar or grated coconut and gula melaka, then served on pandan leaf.

Is tutu kueh the same as kuih putu?

No. Kuih putu bambu is steamed in a bamboo tube with gula melaka inside and coconut on the side, about 230 calories per 2 pieces. Tutu kueh is smaller and round, about 150 per 2.

Berapa kalori dalam Tutu Kueh?

Tutu Kueh ada kira-kira 150 kalori untuk 2 keping (50g), dengan 3g protein, 26g karbohidrat dan 4g lemak. Angka ini anggaran untuk hidangan gerai biasa, jadi ia berbeza ikut kedai dan saiz hidangan.

Related foods

Kuih Putu

230 kcal per 2 pieces

Ang Ku Kueh

180 kcal per 1 piece

Putu Mayam

210 kcal per 1 plate (2 nests with coconut and sugar)

Onde-Onde

175 kcal per 5 pieces (~75g)

Karipap (Curry Puff)

140 kcal per 1 piece

Popiah

185 kcal per 1 roll

See all Snacks & Kuih calories, ranked ›

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

Calorie figure based on singaporecalorie.com and fatsecret.sg (150 per 2 peanut, 140 coconut). Macros estimated from the ingredients.

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