High-protein Malaysian meals: what to order

The table lists popular dishes that are high in protein. Each value is for one common serving, so check the serving before you compare.

Dish	Calories	Protein	Carbs	Fat
Satay10 chicken sticks with peanut sauce	560 kcal	42 g	22 g	34 g
Nasi kandar1 plate with fried chicken, mixed curry gravy and vegetables	800 kcal	32 g	95 g	33 g
Bak kut teh1 bowl of pork ribs and soup, without rice	400 kcal	30 g	8 g	27 g
Hainanese chicken rice1 plate with steamed chicken, chicken rice, chilli and ginger	560 kcal	28 g	80 g	14 g
Chicken biryani1 plate with 2 pieces of chicken	600 kcal	28 g	70 g	22 g
Nasi campur (economy rice)1 plate of rice with 1 meat and 2 vegetable dishes	600 kcal	25 g	80 g	20 g
Soto ayam1 bowl with shredded chicken and half an egg, plus 1 plate of rice	480 kcal	25 g	60 g	15 g
Char kway teow1 hawker plate with egg, prawns and cockles	740 kcal	23 g	76 g	38 g
Rendang1 piece of beef rendang with its spice paste, without rice	200 kcal	22 g	8 g	9 g
Curry laksa1 bowl	550 kcal	22 g	52 g	28 g
Wantan mee1 plate, dry style with char siu and wantan	420 kcal	20 g	56 g	13 g
Fish ball noodles1 bowl, dry, with fish balls and fish cake	450 kcal	18 g	59 g	14 g

Big totals can hide a lot of calories. Char kway teow has 23 g of protein, but it comes with 740 kcal. Bak kut teh gives you 30 g for 400 kcal, before rice.

If you want more protein without many more calories, look at protein and calories together. These dishes give a lot of protein for their calories:

Dish	Calories	Protein	Carbs	Fat
Rendang1 piece of beef rendang with its spice paste, without rice	200 kcal	22 g	8 g	9 g
Tom yum goong1 bowl of clear tom yum goong (nam sai)	150 kcal	16 g	10 g	5 g
Bak kut teh1 bowl of pork ribs and soup, without rice	400 kcal	30 g	8 g	27 g
Satay10 chicken sticks with peanut sauce	560 kcal	42 g	22 g	34 g
Butter chicken1 restaurant bowl (no naan or rice)	400 kcal	28 g	12 g	27 g
Chilli crab1 person's share (1/3 of a 1 kg crab), meat and gravy, no mantou	330 kcal	22 g	18 g	18 g

These popular dishes give much less protein for their calories:

• Roti canai: 6 g of protein for 300 kcal.
• Mee goreng mamak: 18 g of protein for 580 kcal.
• Nasi lemak: 15 g of protein for 500 kcal.
• Cendol: 4 g of protein for 320 kcal.

Rice adds calories but little protein. In the food exchange list of Malaysia's obesity guidelines, half a cup of cooked rice has about 2 g of protein and 75 kcal.

The British Nutrition Foundation gives the adult recommendation as 0.75 g of protein per kg of body weight a day. That is about 56 g a day for men and 45 g for women, based on body weights of 75 kg and 60 kg.

Some people need more. The same source notes that athletes and older adults may have higher needs, and cites sports guidance of 1.2 to 2.0 g per kg a day for people who do vigorous or strength training. Nibbs sets a protein target from your body weight when you set up your plan.

Malaysia's obesity guidelines list portions of protein foods that each give about 7 g of protein. They make it easy to build up a day's protein from everyday food.

HealthHub Singapore uses a palm-sized piece of meat, fish or poultry (90 g) as one serving. By the exchange list above, 90 g of cooked chicken gives roughly 20 g of protein.

• Add an egg. A hard-boiled egg (50 g) has 80 kcal in the MOH calorie list. Add one to nasi lemak, noodles or a light breakfast.
• Ask for more meat, less rice. At a chicken rice stall, order extra chicken and a smaller scoop of rice.
• Pick tofu and tempeh at economy rice. They add protein to a nasi campur plate next to the vegetables.
• Choose soups with meat or seafood. Tom yum goong has 16 g of protein for 150 kcal.
• Swap kuih for protein snacks. Boiled eggs, unsweetened soy milk or plain yogurt fill the gap between meals.

Normal Malaysian meals can cover the basic recommendation. A day of nasi lemak, chicken rice and fish ball noodles gives about 61 g of protein. A 60 kg adult needs about 45 g at 0.75 g per kg.

Aiming higher can make sense if you train hard or you are older, as the British Nutrition Foundation notes. A protein target is most useful when it sits inside your calorie target, so the extra protein replaces other food instead of adding to it.

If you have kidney disease or another medical condition, talk to your doctor or a dietitian before you raise your protein intake.

Nibbs tracks protein, carbs, fat, fiber, sugar and sodium for every meal, and sets your daily calorie and macro targets from your TDEE. Take a photo of your plate, and Nibbs names each item, estimates the portion and counts the protein. Edit any item before you save.

If you eat the same high-protein breakfast every day, save it as a saved food and log it again with one tap. Our guide to losing weight on Malaysian food shows how protein fits into a calorie target.