Chicken Opor vs Rendang: Which is Greasier?

Indonesians typically celebrate Lebaran (Eid al-Fitr) by enjoying ketupat (rice cakes wrapped in woven palm leaves) and various accompanying dishes.

According to a survey by the Kurious-Katadata Insight Center (KIC), the most popular accompanying dishes are chicken opor (a coconut milk-based chicken stew) and rendang (a rich and spicy meat stew).

Although delicious, these two dishes are quite high in fat.

Based on the FatSecret food calorie counter application, a 100-gram serving of chicken opor contains approximately 8.67 grams of fat.

Meanwhile, a 100-gram serving of rendang contains approximately 11.07 grams of fat.

This fat content is higher than that of other dishes with the same serving size.

For comparison, every 100 grams of fish gulai (curry) contains only about 4.59 grams of fat, jackfruit sayur (vegetable dish) 3.5 grams, sambal goreng kentang (spicy potato stir-fry) 3.02 grams, capcay soup 2.59 grams, and ketupat 2.42 grams.

According to the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes), excessive fat consumption can increase blood cholesterol levels, which in turn increases the risk of various diseases.

Therefore, the Kemenkes recommends that people limit their fat intake to 67 grams per day.

In addition to fat, the Minister of Health Regulation Number 30 of 2013 also states that people need to limit their sugar and salt intake.

This regulation recommends that sugar consumption should not exceed 50 grams per day, and salt consumption should not exceed 2,000 milligrams per day to avoid the risk of hypertension, stroke, diabetes, and heart attacks.