There’s two types of keto practitioners – those who cook every single damn thing they put into their mouths, and those who can’t cook to save their lives. I belong to the latter camp. Instead of keto recipes, I needed a keto directory. That’s why I created Keto List Singapore. But even knowing where to eat is not enough – knowing what foods are keto-safe and which ones aren’t in restaurants and eateries, requires some background knowledge of the typical ingredients that are used in different dishes. 

After almost one year, I collected a list of common hawker foods in Singapore that’s keto-compliant, or can become so with some customization:

? Roast meats / chicken rice stall - probably my favourite go-to stall. Roast pork belly is safest and has the best keto profile of fat and protein among the meats at that stall. Otherwise, duck is good too, or order half a roast chicken or white chicken. Order them plain, without sauce or dipping sauces. Add oily vegetables without oyster sauce, or ask for more cucumber.

? Western grill - order your grilled dory fish, chicken/pork/lamb chops and beef steaks without fries, sauces, salads without dressing. Ask if they marinate their meats. Often they don’t but don’t count on it. Don’t use the chilli or tomato sauce packets - they contain sugar most of the time!

? Economic rice stall - order broccoli, cauliflower or anything leafy greens that’s cooked lightly, without much gravy. Some stalls cook them with loads of corn starch, so ask that they keep it dry, don’t scoop up the gravy. If you’re really strict, you can get a separate bowl, buy a cup of hot water from the drinks stall, and dip them in to wash off the gravy. Any type of omelette is good. Steam fish or chicken too.

? Yong tau fu - order soup version with leafy greens, hardboiled eggs, pig skin, radish, seaweed. Check the soups too - many use soybeans, so don’t drink (too much, if you’re avoiding soybeans).

? Mala - order pork belly and the other sorts of meats, leafy greens, a few mushrooms, bean sprouts. No fish cakes, noodles, root veg. Ask them cooked in just oil, no sugar, no mala sauce, or very very little (as some of their mala sauce recipes might contain sugar).

? Bak chor mee - order bak chor mee without the noodles and fishballs, just the minced meat, pork slices and bean sprouts. 

? Zhi char stall - order some version of omelette, lightly stir-fried vegetables, fried chicken (remove skin), or cereal prawns (remove cereal coating).

?? Korean food stall - saba fish without sauce, no rice. The beef and chicken tends to be heavily marinated, so avoid.

? Bak kut teh - eat the pork ribs and organ meats, no soup, no dipping dark soy sauce.

? Fish or seafood soup stall - fish soup, no rice, add extra leafy veg and egg.

? Malay food stall - soto ayam without any noodle add-ons or begedil, ayam panyet without rice.

? Double-boiled soups stall - old cucumber soup, or watercress soup, no rice.

? Soya bean stall - avoid if you’re strict about soy. Otherwise, soya bean curd and drink, without sugar water, works too.

☕️ Drinks stall - order plain water, chinese tea, tea or coffee kosong. Or sugar-free canned drinks like oolong, zero-sugar jasmine tea, or soda water. In fact, hardcore keto-ers will tell you, even the coffee tastes a little sweet, because our Nanyang coffee beans are roasted in sugar and corn. If you’re still hungry, order two or more eggs to top up.

? Fruit juice stall - avocado blended with ice, with a pinch of salt, without sugar/gula melaka (warning: tastes weird). Bring your own sweetener if you’re on good terms with the boss.

What other keto hawker fare do you enjoy?