Thai restaurants seem to be popping up everywhere these days and the price of a meal can range substantially. Irrespective of the money though, there are some food choices on the Thai menu that are better choices than others, so if you tend to eat out at the Thai restaurants a lot, it may be best to consider what you are eating as a few slight changes to your choices could do wonders for your waistline and health.
Traditional Thai cuisine combines spicy reds, vibrant greens and fragrant herbs and spices that are packed with flavour. Meals are normally fairly generous in size and splitting a main meal between two people can be the best way to control kilojoule intake if you are conscious of your waistline. Oils and fats are widely used in Thai cooking to enhance the flavour. It's important to look out for words such as "fried" or "crispy" on the menu as these foods will have been cooked in oil, while "creamy" dishes will contain coconut milk or cream which is high in saturated "bad" fat. Healthier Thai cooking methods are pan-fried, stir-fried, sauteed, char-grilled and marinated.
Here's some of the healthier main meal choices on the Thai menu:
- Stir-fries using lean meat, seafood, vegetables or tofu in light sauces such as oyster, sweet and sour, sweet chilli and basil, fish sauces, or sauces with nuts, chilli, ginger, lemon juice or herbs
- Jungle curry - curries without coconut milk or cream added
- Seafood dishes that have been BBQ, sauteed or steamed such as Goong Sam Ross
- Steamed noodle dishes
- Steamed rice - white, Jasmine or wild
The main meals to limit include:
- Stir-fries in heavy sauces, especially peanut satay sauce
- Creamy curries using coconut milk or cream including massaman, green and panang curry
- Duck dishes with the skin left on
- Fried noodle dishes such as Pad Thai
- Thai fried rice
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