The big, fat truth about the health risks of Hong Kong street food

Like many Hongkongers, I grew up eating street food. These ready-to-eat snacks are part of the city’s food culture, and “sweeping the streets” is a must-do activity for many people to help them pass the time with friends after work and at weekends.

While street food is part of my repertoire, I have learnt to enjoy these guilty pleasures sparingly.

As a registered dietitian, I am well aware of the hidden calories, sodium and fat they pack – and how eating such snacks on a regular basis could have an impact on my long-term health.

Next time you plan to try snacks from different stalls, consider their nutritional value. Eating only a few can equate to – or exceed – the calories found in a regular meal.

If you love eating street food, then you need to know the nutritional value of some of the common choices.

Snacks high in sodium:

Curry fish balls

Curry fish balls rank high among Hong Kong’s most iconic street food. Cooked in a curry sauce and served on a skewer, or in a polystyrene cup or bowl, they are integral to the city’s street-food culture.

A typical serving – about six curry fish balls – contains about 130 calories – the same as one 100-gram (3.5-ounce) bowl of cooked rice.

But curry fish balls have far more sodium. Thanks to the curry sauce and other condiments used, they contribute to 950 milligrams (0.03 ounces) of sodium per serving – almost half of your daily recommended intake.

Steamed rice rolls

Steamed rice rolls are too bland to eat without adding an array of condiments.

Complementing the dish by choosing to add sweet, soya, sesame and chilli sauces is a must to make the rice rolls more appetising.

The downside, though, is that you are adding more calories, sodium and sugar to the dish.

So the next time you crave steamed rice rolls, consider adding less sauce.

Snacks high in fat:

Fish siu mai

Don’t let its name fool you into thinking that fish is the main ingredient.

The ugly truth is that this item is made up of flour, lard and a meat mixture with only a small amount of fish.

A seven-piece serving packs 12 grams of fat and about 300 calories – more than twice as many in a bowl of cooked rice.

Adding soy sauce and other condiments to make the siu mai more flavourful results in more sodium being consumed, depending on how much is added.

Deep-fried three treasures

The three treasures are deep-fried aubergine, bell peppers and tofu stuffed with minced dace, and are a favourite among lovers of street food.

Surprisingly, one serving of these treasures contains significantly fewer calories than one serving of fish siu mai (110 kcal with 5 grams of fat compared with about 300 kcal with 12 grams of fat), but this does not make them any healthier.

They are deep-fried in oil that is used several times. When oil is used repeatedly, its chemical properties change, which could increase one’s risk for cancer if consumed on a regular basis.

Stinky tofu

The same goes for stinky tofu, which absorbs plenty of the reused oil from the deep fryer. It is certainly not a healthy choice when compared with tofu, which is a low-calorie, plant-based food.

You can definitely taste the grease in the stinky tofu, but the spices and the sweet and chilli sauces mask it. Unfortunately, they add more unnecessary calories, sodium and sugar.

Snacks high in sugar:

Egg waffles

Growing up, I loved eating egg waffles – a snack that is made from a liquid mixture of flour, sugar, butter, eggs and milk, which is then cooked between two circular plates to form a crunchy exterior, and a soft and hollow interior.

Its sweetness was just right for my young palette.

Little did I know as a child that one waffle contains about 400 calories, which is almost equivalent to one full meal.

If flavours and fillings are added, then that number climbs higher.

Healthier snack options:

Don’t get me wrong. Eating any of these high-calorie, high-fat and high-sugar foods once in a while is perfectly fine.

After all, food is for enjoyment and comfort foods could be a part of our healthy diet.

But try to choose one savoury and one sweet choice and call it a day. Ideally, share snacks among your friends to reduce calorie consumption per person.

But if you tend to crave for street foods regularly, consider choosing some of the healthier options:

• Steamed corn on the cob (without the butter)
• Fried chestnuts
• Baked sweet potatoes
• Soybean curd dessert (with less sugar syrup)

While you may not find vendors selling fried chestnuts and baked sweet potato all year round, these, along with steamed corn on the cob provide a good source of potassium and dietary fibre – the latter of which helps to slow down digestion and stabilise blood sugar levels after eating.

In particular, sweet potatoes are also rich in beta-carotene, a precursor for vitamin A, which is an essential nutrient for the eyes, the skin and the immune system.

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