PlateDiary.
Get PlateDiary
  1. PlateDiary
  2. Calories
  3. Malaysian & Singaporean food
  4. Bak kut teh

Calories · Malaysian & Singaporean

Calories in bak kut teh

A typical restaurant serving of bak kut teh (one bowl of Singapore-style peppery pork rib soup with a bowl of rice, about 682 g) is about 480 calories, usually 220–1,000.

Restaurant portions vary; this is a typical estimate, not a label. Also called pork rib soup, peppery pork rib soup, herbal bak kut teh, bak kut teh with rice.

~480
Bak kut teh

The usual range

Drawn on one 0–2,000 scale shared by every dish page, so plates compare at a glance.

Protein, carbs and fat

  • Protein25 g
  • Carbs56 g
  • Fat16 g

One serving

Serving
one bowl of Singapore-style peppery pork rib soup with a bowl of rice
Weight
~682 g
Per 100 g
~70

The dish

About bak kut teh

Bak kut teh is pork ribs simmered for hours in a peppery garlic broth in Singapore, or a dark herbal one in Malaysia, eaten with rice, dark soy and chilli. The Singapore bowl is lighter than it tastes; the Malaysian herbal version with its fattier cuts is about three times richer, and a you tiao adds another 450. Numbers from Singapore’s Health Promotion Board lab analyses: a 574 g bowl of pork rib soup (482 g edible), plus a 200 g bowl of rice.

Ways it comes

One dish, a few numbers

Bak kut teh · rough numbers

  • Soup only, no rice~220
  • Malaysian herbal bowl, no rice~720
  • Dry bak kut teh, no rice~680

What moves the number

Why one plate is 220 and another 1,000

  • Style: Singapore’s clear peppery soup versus Malaysia’s dark herbal broth
  • Fatty ribs and belly cuts
  • Rice and you tiao (fried dough sticks) on the side
  • Dry bak kut teh, braised in dark soy

Ordering lighter

If you want a lighter plate

  • Pick lean ribs and skip the pig skin and belly
  • Leave the you tiao, or share one
  • Take half a bowl of rice and refill the soup instead

Side by side

Next to other Malaysian & Singaporean dishes

Malaysian & Singaporean · typical restaurant servingAll about Malaysian & Singaporean food →

  • Teh tarik~100one medium cup (200 ml) of hot teh tarik with condensed and evaporated milk · usually 50–150
  • Kopi~190one regular cup (250 ml) of kopi: local coffee with condensed and evaporated milk · usually 30–240
  • Popiah~210one fresh popiah roll filled with braised turnip, egg, Chinese sausage and sweet sauce · usually 170–300
  • Ice kachang~270one bowl of ice kachang: shaved ice over red beans, sweet corn, jelly and attap seeds, with syrups and gula melaka · usually 200–450
  • Chicken satay~290ten sticks of grilled chicken, peanut sauce, rice cakes and cucumber not included · usually 200–550
  • Chili crab~330a quarter of a Singapore chilli crab with its egg-and-chilli gravy, no buns · usually 250–750
  • Cendol~340one bowl of chendol: green rice-flour jelly, red beans and shaved ice in coconut milk and gula melaka · usually 250–500
  • Kaya toast~380one order of kaya butter toast: thin toasted bread sandwiched with kaya and a slab of cold butter · usually 300–710
  • Roti canai~420two plain pieces, curry not included · usually 330–600
  • Prawn mee~470one hawker bowl of prawn noodle soup with whole prawns, lean pork, fishcake and kangkong · usually 380–650
  • Bak kut teh~480one bowl of Singapore-style peppery pork rib soup with a bowl of rice · usually 220–1,000
  • Nasi lemak~490one basic plate with coconut rice, egg, anchovies, peanuts and sambal · usually 400–900

In PlateDiary

A rough number for the dishes you save — only if you want one.

Off unless you turn them on

Calories in PlateDiary are off unless you turn them on. Switch them on and, when PlateDiary AI reads your photo of the table, each dish gets one rough “~” number. Accept it or change it; a number you correct is remembered for that dish. With Calories off, the app looks exactly as it did before.

A read sends small pictures of the cut-out dishes, with the place's name as a hint — never the table photo, faces or your location. Calorie numbers never go to analytics, and nothing is written to a health app. PlateDiary AI starts with free tries; here is how it works.

Questions

Questions people ask.

How many calories are in bak kut teh?

A typical restaurant serving of bak kut teh (one bowl of Singapore-style peppery pork rib soup with a bowl of rice, about 682 g) is about 480 calories, usually 220–1,000. The number depends mostly on the portion and how it is cooked.

How many calories is a bowl of bak kut teh without rice?

About 220 for a Singapore-style bowl of peppery pork rib soup; a Malaysian herbal bowl is about 720.

How many calories does a you tiao add to bak kut teh?

About 450 for a whole stick of around 117 g, so most tables share one.

Is bak kut teh high in calories?

The Singapore bowl is not: about 480 with rice. The Malaysian herbal style, dry bak kut teh and you tiao are what make it a heavy meal.

What changes the calories in bak kut teh?

Style: Singapore’s clear peppery soup versus Malaysia’s dark herbal broth. Fatty ribs and belly cuts.

How can I order bak kut teh lighter?

Pick lean ribs and skip the pig skin and belly. Leave the you tiao, or share one.

Can PlateDiary show calories for the dishes I eat out?

Yes, if you want it to: calories in PlateDiary are off unless you turn them on. Switch them on and each dish you save from a photo of the table gets one rough “~” number you can accept or change.