19-ingredient slaw more than a meal
Signature Singapore Slaw, $13 Kid Lee, 100 King St. W. (First Canadian Place) The ask Susur Lee’s 19-ingredient Singapore slaw seems to have it all: gorgeous colours, substantive crunch, famous pedigree, even a sprinkling of edible flowers.
“It’s quite impressive,” says Jamie McCallum, who asked The Dish to investigate the salad’s calorie count. “Most people would assume it’s healthy but you never really know.”
Until recently, Lee’s signature salad could only be enjoyed while dining at Lee, one of the renowned chef’s restaurants.
But now the slaw, made with (among other things) a mound of vegetables, micro greens, pickled onion, fried taro root and fried vermicelli and drizzled with a purple plum dressing, can be eaten on the go from Kid Lee, a food court restaurant in Toronto’s financial district.
McCallum says the slaw is delicious — especially with all its different textures.
“My assumption is that if it’s not exactly healthy then it’s healthy-ish,” he says, adding that his work team got a kick out of seeing Lee and his two sons cooking behind the food court counter. The guess “For just the slaw, my very uneducated guess is that it has between 450 and 500 calories,” says McCallum, who bases his estimate on the 520-calorie benchmark of a Big Mac. The exclusive results Calories: 720 Fat: 43 grams Sodium: 410 milligrams Carbohydrates: 74 grams Protein: 8 grams The breakdown
With all the toppings, this slaw weighs 373 grams, or slightly more than 3/4 pound.
Its 410 milligrams of sodium — the equivalent of less than a 1/4 teaspoon of salt — makes it among the least salty meals tested by The Dish.
As far as takeout salads go, this slaw beats most with its long list of vegetable ingredients; no iceberg lettuce and tasteless tomatoes here. But it’s still interesting to consider that a McDonalds’ meal-size Greek salad with grilled chicken and packet of Greek feta dressing weighs 320 grams and has 450 calories, 24 grams of fat, 1,030 milligrams of sodium, 27 grams of carbohydrates and 34 grams of protein. The expert response This is one of the rare meals tested by The Dish that registered dietitian Shannon Crocker says she would order — and happily eat — without hesitation.
“It’s overflowing with goodfor-you ingredients, like purple basil seedlings and daikon sprouts, that you just won’t find in a salad anywhere else,” she says. “It gets two thumbs up from me.”
Since most restaurant meals – including salads – tend to be overly salty, Crocker was surprised to see this meal (with all the dressing) have just 410 milligrams of sodium. “It obviously relies on all the deliciousness of the natural ingredients instead of salt for flavour.”
Crocker likes that diners can easily add a protein to their slaw by opting for a $5 side of Asian barbecue chicken, braised beef or caramelized miso salmon “for longer-lasting salad satisfaction.”
Though, she continues, the add-on will mean the slaw becomes — in terms of portion size and calorie count — more than a meal for some diners. Of course, the easy solution is to save some salad for a second meal.
“Eating well is about more than nutrient numbers,” says Crocker. “And this salad wins big in the nutrition department for all its fresh-quality, realfood ingredients.” The restaurant response Naomi Eidinger sent an email response to the Star’s questions, after consulting with Lee. She wrote that Lee “likes to promote the quality of the ingredients and the nutrients they provide: basil, coriander and shisho sprouts combat stress and are natural antioxidants; daikon improves circulation; carrots promote skin health; edible flower petals help digestion — the list goes on for all 19 ingredients.”
After pointing out the slaw is vegan and gluten-free and “relatively low in sodium,” Eidinger adds the calorie count can be easily adjusted.
“Diners can simply ask for less noodles or to have the dressing served on the side. Those in need of an extra punch of protein can add-on roasted salmon or Asian barbecue chicken.” The reader reaction “It’s a little higher than I expected but I’m glad the calorie count isn’t super high,” says McCallum. “Now I can tell my team we can eat the slaw relatively guilt-free – especially compared to other meals served in a food court.”