You Tiao Calories: One Stick Is 457 kcal on HPB Data
The direct answer: HPB Singapore records you tiao at 391 kcal per 100g, and its default portion is one stick weighing 117g. That whole stick is 457 kcal, 23.3g of fat and 753mg of sodium.
That is more calories than a plate of steamed chicken rice, from something most people treat as a side. It is also denser per 100g than everything else fried at the same stall: butterfly fritter is 364 kcal per 100g, ham chim peng is 339, and every curry puff HPB records sits between 305 and 341.
The good news is buried in the same numbers. A you tiao is two dough strips joined down the middle, and it is traditionally torn in half and shared. Half a stick — 58.5g on HPB's weight — is 229 kcal. What you order alongside it usually matters more than the fritter itself.
You Tiao and Its Neighbours: Every HPB Figure
How to read this table: every row shows two separate bases. The per HPB portion column is the whole piece at HPB's own recorded default weight (shown in the portion column). The per 100g column is HPB's raw density figure. Both come straight from HPB's April 2026 food composition database — nothing here is an estimate or a guessed portion size.
| Item | HPB default portion | Per HPB portion | Per 100g |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese rojak (you tiao) | 1 plate, 319g | 1,027 kcal | 322 kcal |
| You tiao | 1 stick, 117g | 457 kcal | 391 kcal |
| Ham chim peng with red bean | 1 piece, 81g | 296 kcal | 366 kcal |
| Ham chim peng (plain) | 1 piece, 75g | 254 kcal | 339 kcal |
| You tiao (half a stick) | 58.5g | 229 kcal | 391 kcal |
| Butterfly fritter | 1 piece, 57g | 207 kcal | 364 kcal |
| You tiao chee cheong fun | 1 roll, 67g | 143 kcal | 214 kcal |
| You tiao with fish paste | 1 piece, 18g | 61 kcal | 341 kcal |
The Full Macro Breakdown, Per HPB Portion
All figures below are for the whole piece at HPB's default weight, which is repeated in each row so no number here is ambiguous on its own.
| Item (whole piece) | Calories | Protein | Fat | Carbs | Sugar | Sodium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| You tiao — 1 stick, 117g | 457 kcal | 9.1g | 23.3g | 52.8g | 1.4g | 753mg |
| You tiao — half a stick, 58.5g | 229 kcal | 4.5g | 11.6g | 26.4g | 0.7g | 377mg |
| Butterfly fritter — 1 piece, 57g | 207 kcal | 3.8g | 8.7g | 28.4g | 7.4g | 79mg |
| Ham chim peng — 1 piece, 75g | 254 kcal | 5.3g | 7.4g | 40.4g | 6.6g | 293mg |
| Ham chim peng with red bean — 1 piece, 81g | 296 kcal | 4.7g | 10.9g | 44.7g | not published by HPB | 280mg |
| You tiao chee cheong fun — 1 roll, 67g | 143 kcal | 2.3g | 7.4g | 17.0g | 1.7g | 362mg |
| You tiao with fish paste — 1 piece, 18g | 61 kcal | 1.5g | 3.5g | 6.0g | 0.3g | 35mg |
| Chinese rojak (you tiao) — 1 plate, 319g | 1,027 kcal | 25.1g | 38.6g | 144.8g | 62.6g | 2,526mg |
The Sodium Problem Nobody Mentions
You tiao tastes sweet-ish and neutral, so almost nobody files it as a salty food. HPB's figure says otherwise: 644mg of sodium per 100g, which is 753mg across the 117g stick — roughly 38% of HPB's 2,000mg daily limit, before you have eaten anything else.
The dough is salted and the alkaline agents that give a you tiao its puff are sodium compounds, so the salt is baked in rather than sprinkled on. There is no "less salt" version to ask for.
The extreme case is Chinese rojak made with you tiao. HPB's default plate of 319g carries 2,526mg of sodium — about 126% of the 2,000mg daily limit in one plate — along with 62.6g of sugar from the prawn paste dressing. That is the single heaviest item in this guide by a wide margin.
Butterfly Fritter: Smaller Piece, Same Dough
"Butterfly fritter calories" is one of the most-searched fritters in Singapore, and the honest answer is a comparison rather than a number.
Per 100g, butterfly fritter (364 kcal) and you tiao (391 kcal) are almost the same food — both are deep-fried wheat dough. The gap opens at the counter: HPB's default butterfly fritter is a 57g piece at 207 kcal, less than half the weight of the 117g you tiao stick at 457 kcal.
Where they genuinely differ is what else is in them:
- Sugar: butterfly fritter is 13g per 100g (7.4g in the 57g piece). You tiao is 1.2g per 100g (1.4g in the whole stick). The butterfly fritter is the sweet one.
- Sodium: butterfly fritter is 139mg per 100g (79mg per piece). You tiao is 644mg per 100g (753mg per stick) — nearly ten times the sodium per piece.
What You Drink With It Decides the Meal
A you tiao is rarely eaten alone. HPB records generous default cups for kopitiam soya bean, and the sugar setting moves the number a long way.
| Side or drink (whole serving) | Calories | Protein | Sugar |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soy milk, regular, no topping — 1 cup, 450g | 248 kcal | 15.3g | 23.2g |
| Soy milk, less sugar — 1 cup, 450g | 203 kcal | 15.9g | 12.6g |
| Soy milk, no sugar, no topping — 1 cup, 450g | 158 kcal | 16.4g | 2.0g |
| Tau huey — 1 bowl, 412g | 227 kcal | 12.2g | 9.9g |
| Teochew porridge, plain — 1 bowl, 660g | 251 kcal | 7.9g | 0g |
Put together on HPB's default portions:
| Breakfast combination | Total calories | Total sugar |
|---|---|---|
| Whole you tiao + regular soya bean (450g cup) | 705 kcal | 24.6g |
| Whole you tiao + no-sugar soya bean | 615 kcal | 3.4g |
| Whole you tiao + plain Teochew porridge bowl | 708 kcal | 1.4g |
| Half a you tiao + no-sugar soya bean | 386 kcal | 2.7g |
How to Order You Tiao Smarter
How You Tiao Compares to Other Hawker Breakfasts
All rows are whole servings at HPB's own default portion weights.
| Breakfast item | HPB portion | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| You tiao with fish paste | 1 piece, 18g | 61 kcal |
| You tiao chee cheong fun | 1 roll, 67g | 143 kcal |
| Butterfly fritter | 1 piece, 57g | 207 kcal |
| Tau huey | 1 bowl, 412g | 227 kcal |
| Ham chim peng | 1 piece, 75g | 254 kcal |
| Teochew porridge (plain) | 1 bowl, 660g | 251 kcal |
| Ham chim peng with red bean | 1 piece, 81g | 296 kcal |
| You tiao | 1 stick, 117g | 457 kcal |
| Chinese rojak (you tiao) | 1 plate, 319g | 1,027 kcal |
Frequently Asked Questions
HPB Singapore records you tiao at 391 kcal per 100g, with a default portion of one stick weighing 117g. That whole stick is 457 kcal. Because a you tiao is two joined dough strips, the half that most people actually finish is about 229 kcal for 58.5g. Per 100g, you tiao is denser than the fritters sold beside it: butterfly fritter is 364 kcal per 100g and ham chim peng is 339 kcal per 100g.
HPB records you tiao at 644mg of sodium per 100g. Across HPB's default 117g stick that is 753mg — roughly 38% of HPB's 2,000mg daily sodium limit, from one breakfast fritter. Dipping it into a bowl of plain Teochew porridge adds another 462mg for HPB's default 660g bowl, so that pairing alone is about 1,215mg, or 61% of the day.
Per piece, yes, but only because it is smaller. HPB's default butterfly fritter is one 57g piece at 207 kcal, against 457 kcal for HPB's 117g you tiao stick. Per 100g they are close: 364 kcal for butterfly fritter versus 391 kcal for you tiao. Butterfly fritter carries far more sugar (13g per 100g, or 7.4g in the 57g piece, against 1.2g per 100g in you tiao) and far less sodium (139mg per 100g against 644mg).
HPB lists two separate entries. Plain ham chim peng is 339 kcal per 100g with a default portion of one 75g piece, which works out to 254 kcal for that piece. Ham chim peng with red bean is 366 kcal per 100g with a default portion of one 81g piece, or 296 kcal for that piece. HPB does not publish a sugar figure for the red bean version.
On HPB's default portions, one 117g you tiao stick (457 kcal) with one 450g cup of regular soy milk with no topping (248 kcal) is 705 kcal. Switching to HPB's no-sugar, no-topping soy milk (158 kcal per 450g cup) brings the pair to 615 kcal and cuts sugar from 23.2g to 2g. Sharing the stick and taking no-sugar soy milk lands at about 386 kcal.
No, and the numbers are very different. You tiao chee cheong fun (zhaleong) wraps a piece of you tiao in a steamed rice roll, and HPB records it at 214 kcal per 100g with a default portion of one 67g roll — 143 kcal for that roll. The rice sheet dilutes the fried dough, so per 100g it is far lighter than plain you tiao at 391 kcal per 100g, though its 541mg of sodium per 100g stays high.
HPB records Chinese rojak (you tiao) at 322 kcal per 100g with a default portion of one 319g plate. That plate is 1,027 kcal, 62.6g of sugar and 2,526mg of sodium — about 126% of HPB's 2,000mg daily sodium limit in a single plate, driven by the prawn paste dressing.
Nutrition data sourced from the Health Promotion Board (HPB) Singapore food composition database (April 2026 release). Every per-piece and per-bowl figure in this article is HPB's own per-100g value scaled to HPB's own recorded default portion weight for that item, which is stated alongside each number; no portion size has been estimated. The one exception is the half-stick row, which is HPB's 117g stick halved and is labelled as such. HPB does not publish a sugar figure for ham chim peng with red bean, or a sodium figure for the soy milk entries used here, so neither is quoted. Values are approximate and vary by stall, portion, and cooking method. This article is for general wellness purposes only and does not constitute medical or dietary advice. Nutrition data referenced in this article is used under licence from the Health Promotion Board (HPB) of Singapore and may not be redistributed, republished, or reused commercially without NutriKaki's prior written permission.