How Many Calories in Yong Tau Foo (Fried)?

Deep-fried stuffed tofu and beancurd skin filled with fish paste, oilier than the soup version and dangerously easy to overeat one piece at a time.

90kcal / 1 piece (fried stuffed tofu / beancurd skin)

One piece of fried Yong Tau Foo (stuffed tofu or beancurd skin) comes in at around 90 calories per piece. At 45g a piece, that sounds pretty reasonable until you realise nobody ever eats just one. A typical plate of six pieces sits around 540 calories, and that's before any gravy or dipping sauce. The calories here are split between the tofu wrapper (55 cal), the fish paste filling (15 cal), and the oil absorbed during frying (20 cal per piece). So yeah, frying is doing most of the heavy lifting on the calorie front.

Nutrition facts

Per 1 piece (fried stuffed tofu / beancurd skin) (45g)	Amount	Per 100g
Calories	90 kcal	200 kcal
Protein	6 g	13 g
Carbs	3 g	7 g
Fat	6 g	13 g

Where the calories come from

Fried tofu or beancurd skin wrapper28g

55 kcal

Fish paste filling12g

15 kcal

Absorbed frying oil5g

20 kcal

The real talk

So here's the thing about fried YTF. Each piece is 90 calories, which on paper sounds very manageable. The problem is portion control is basically non-existent when you're standing at the stall pointing at stuff. Six pieces is 540 cal. Eight pieces with curry gravy is pushing 700 cal. The oil absorption is real, about 20 cal per piece just from frying, and that's a ballpark estimate because honest nutrition data for hawker YTF is basically nonexistent. Take these numbers as a reasonable guide, not gospel. The fish paste filling itself is actually decent protein at 6g per piece, so the macros aren't terrible. It's just that the frying packs in fat that the soup version doesn't have.

The soup version of the same piece is 60 cal versus 90 cal fried, so switching to the boiled version across a 6-piece serving saves you about 180 calories. That's not nothing, bro. A typical soup bowl with 5 pieces is around 300 cal, and if you stretch it to 8 pieces that's 480 cal, so the count really depends on how many you grab. If you're counting, skipping the curry gravy or sweet chilli sauce also saves 15 to 25 cal per piece. Order 6 pieces soup version with no sauce and you're at around 360 cal for a fairly filling plate with decent protein. Add a dipping sauce and go fried and suddenly you're at 600 plus. The maths changes fast. The actual piece count is where most people lose track, so count before you eat, not after.

Yong Tau Foo (Fried) variants, ranked by calories

Variant	Calories	Notes
Soup version (boiled)	60 kcal	Same stuffed tofu or beancurd skin, poached in broth instead of deep fried; about one-third less fat. A 5-piece soup bowl is around 300 cal, an 8-piece bowl around 480 cal.
Fried version (typical hawker)	90 kcal	Deep fried; significantly more oil absorbed into tofu and beancurd skin
Fried with thick sweet sauce / curry gravy	110 kcal	Add ~15-25 cal per piece if served with curry or sweet chilli dipping sauce

How to eat it lighter

Go soup version instead of fried. Same fish paste, same tofu, 30 cal less per piece. On 6 pieces that's 180 cal saved.
Skip or limit the dipping sauce. Curry gravy and sweet chilli add 15 to 25 cal per piece, which adds up across a full plate.
Count your pieces before you start eating. It is very easy to grab 10 pieces without noticing. Set a limit of 6 and stick to it.
Pick pieces with more fish paste filling relative to wrapper. More protein, more filling, less fried dough surface area to absorb oil.
Pair with a clear soup or plain vegetables to bulk up the meal so you feel full on fewer fried pieces.

Common questions

How many calories in Yong Tau Foo (Fried)?

One piece of fried Yong Tau Foo is approximately 90 calories. A typical 6-piece serving comes to around 540 calories before any sauces or gravy.

Is fried Yong Tau Foo fattening?

It depends on how many pieces you eat. Per piece the numbers are fine, but most people grab 8 to 10 pieces without thinking. At 90 cal a piece plus dipping sauce, a big plate adds up fast. The soup version at 60 cal per piece is meaningfully lighter if you're watching your intake.

How much protein does Yong Tau Foo have?

Each piece has about 6g of protein from the fish paste filling. A 6-piece serving gives you roughly 36g of protein, which is actually a decent amount. The issue is the oil from frying also pushes the fat content up, so soup version gives you similar protein for fewer calories.

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 →