Dining Out: Thai Cuisine
Restaurant-Specific Strategies
-- By SparkPeople
Characteristics:Dishes are usually packed with lots of fresh ingredients, and have many hot, spicy, flavorful, along with some sweet and sour options.
Common Ingredients:
These foods feature chili peppers, rice, noodles, sugar, citrus fruits, fish, chicken, and fresh vegetables. They’re often light in fats and meats, and heavier in noodles and vegetables.
Hidden Dangers:
- Pad Thai noodles are stir-fried with a lot of oil, and often include eggs and peanuts.
- Nam Prik (spicy peanut sauce) and Sao Nam (coconut sauce) are very high in fat.
- Nam Pla and soy sauce are both high in sodium.
- Watch out for peanuts, cashews, coconut, and any nut oils or sauces, which can be high in fat.
- Avoid deep fried noodles and entrees.
- Say “no” to the heavy sauces.
- Avoid anything with full-fat coconut milk.
- Tom Ka Gai (chicken in coconut milk soup)
- Gaeng Keow Wan Gai (curry chicken with eggplant)
- Gaeng Ped Gai (red curry chicken)
- Gluay Kaeg (fried banana slices)
Healthy Finds:
- You can often find a sweet, fat-free chili sauce.
- Try sauces that are made with basil, chilies and lime juice.
- Ask for more veggies and less meat or nuts in a dish.
- Make sure meat is sautéed, stir fried (with vegetable oil) or grilled.
- Thai Chicken (sautéed chicken with lots of vegetables and pineapple)
- Poy Sian (sautéed seafood with cabbage, beans, and mushrooms)
- Gai Yang (grilled chicken on cabbage and rice)
- Tom Yam Goong (hot and sour shrimp soup)
- Nuea Pad Prik (pepper steak)
- Khao Newo Kaew (sweet sticky rice)
The Big Tip:
Watch out for Sator Beans! They’re very much an acquired taste, one that will stay with you for hours, tainting everything you eat with a pungent odor—not pleasant if you’re not prepared for it!
Substitution Ideas:
| Try This |
Skip That |
| Request vegetable oil |
Food made in lard or coconut oil |
| Chicken |
Duck |
| Fresh Spring rolls |
Fried Spring rolls |
| Steamed rice |
Fried rice |
| Hot & sour soup |
Coconut-based soup |
| Steamed rice noodles |
Fried noodles |
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