Diabetes-Friendly Meal #2: Sliced Fish Soup — A Simple Singapore Favourite
How to enjoy Sliced Fish Soup while keeping your blood sugar stable and managing diabetes effortlessly.
There are days when we want something warm, comforting and familiar without feeling too heavy afterwards.
For many of us in Singapore, sliced fish soup fits the bill perfectly.
The good news is that with a few simple choices, it can also be a relatively diabetes-friendly meal. And if you still want a satisfying bowl of noodles, there’s a very easy swap you can make at home.
🐟 What to Order
When ordering from your neighbourhood hawker centre or food court, keep things simple:
- Choose sliced fish instead of fried fish
- Ask for more leafy vegetables
- Add tofu if available
- Tomatoes and seaweed are good additions
- Choose clear soup
- Order without noodles, or ask for half the usual portion
You don’t have to make every meal perfect. The idea is simply to make a few small changes to something you already enjoy eating.
🌿 Why Sliced Fish Soup Can Be a Good Choice
Good Source of Protein
Fish provides high-quality protein, which becomes increasingly important as we get older, particularly for maintaining muscle and strength.
Lower in Carbohydrates
Without rice or noodles, sliced fish soup can be relatively low in carbohydrates.
That’s particularly useful if you’re trying to manage your post-meal blood sugar.
Easy to Add Vegetables
Leafy greens, tomatoes, seaweed and tofu add variety and make the meal more satisfying.
Don’t be shy about asking:
“More vegetables, please.”
Light but Satisfying
Compared with many fried or gravy-heavy hawker dishes, a clear sliced fish soup can be a comforting meal without leaving you feeling overly full.
🍜 But I Still Want My Noodles!
So do I!
Healthy eating shouldn’t mean turning a bowl of fish soup into something you no longer enjoy.
There are three easy options:
Option 1: Have half the usual portion of bee hoon and ask for extra vegetables.
Option 2: Skip the noodles and add more tofu, fish and vegetables.
Option 3 — A great alternative:
Swap the bee hoon for konjac noodles.
💡 An Easy Konjac Noodle Hack
You don’t even need the hawker stall to sell konjac noodles.
Simply order:
Sliced fish soup without noodles — takeaway.
At home:
- Drain a packet of konjac noodles.
- Rinse thoroughly under running water.
- Boil for about 2–3 minutes.
- Drain well.
- Add them to your hot fish soup.
And your meal is ready.
You still get a satisfying bowl of noodles, but with considerably fewer digestible carbohydrates than a full serving of bee hoon.
It’s particularly useful on busy days when you don’t feel like cooking from scratch.
Related Reading: Konjac Noodles: The Best Low-Carb Noodle Alternative for Better Blood Sugar Control
⚠️ A Few Things to Watch
Sliced fish soup may be a lighter choice, but that doesn’t automatically make every version equally healthy.
Fried fish — delicious, but adds considerably more oil and calories.
Large portions of bee hoon — this is where much of the carbohydrate in the meal can come from.
Creamy broth — some stalls add evaporated milk or other ingredients to produce a richer soup.
Sodium — hawker soups can be salty. You don’t have to finish every drop of broth.
And don’t forget the drink.
A healthy fish soup accompanied by a sweetened kopi, teh or soft drink can change the overall carbohydrate content of the meal considerably.
Water or unsweetened tea makes a simple pairing.
📊 Approximate Nutrition
For sliced fish soup with vegetables and tofu, without noodles:
| Approximate Amount | |
|---|---|
| Calories | 250–350 kcal |
| Protein | 30–40g |
| Carbohydrates | 8–15g |
| Fat | 7–12g |
| Fibre | 3–5g |
Actual nutrition will vary depending on the stall, portion size, ingredients and broth.
📈 Predicted Blood Glucose Response
For sliced fish soup with vegetables and tofu, without noodles, the relatively small amount of digestible carbohydrate means the glucose rise may be modest for many people.
Rather than using a fixed starting glucose level, it is more useful to look at the change from your own pre-meal reading.
| After Eating | Illustrative Change |
|---|---|
| 1 hour | ↑ about 0.5–1.5 mmol/L |
| 2 hours | ↑ about 0–1.0 mmol/L |
| 3 hours | Usually moving back towards your pre-meal level |
Example: If your pre-meal glucose is 6.0 mmol/L, a rise of 0.5–1.5 mmol/L would give a reading of roughly 6.5–7.5 mmol/L at 1 hour.
Adding a full serving of bee hoon could produce a larger rise because it adds considerably more digestible carbohydrate. Choosing konjac noodles instead adds very little digestible carbohydrate while still giving you the enjoyment of a noodle-based meal.
Important: These figures are illustrative estimates, not clinical targets or a prediction of an individual’s response. Glucose responses vary with portion size, ingredients, activity, medication and other factors. If you use a CGM, compare the meal with your own pre-meal reading and glucose curve.
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