Going to be in SE Asia next week. Food choices?

juliebccs

I know on holiday I will be non stop but I'd like to not get carb addicted on rice dishes a day after day and have to fight it when I get home.
Just wondering if anyone here has travelled to a similar cuisine area (as in lots of rice dishes)? What did you do? Can you think of different choices you made instead? I am so used to eating street food in Asia that it will be hard not to just go with whatever is on offer. Although come to think of it, street chicken is often good too but can't get it everywhere. Oh my mouth is watering just thinking about it. Will have to guess a lot of logging calories.

pawoodhull

Having never been, I can't say for sure, but if the dishes offered have rice on the side, you can eat the protein and vegtable protion and leave the rice? Yes I am thinking of the asian restaurants we have here in the states, so I could be way off base. Also, seafood should be plentiful and is great protein as long as it's not fried.

Sounds like a great vacation and remember, you will probably be getting a lot of extra walking in as well, so that should counteract some extra calories that may happen.

katematt313

juliebccs wrote: »

I know on holiday I will be non stop but I'd like to not get carb addicted on rice dishes a day after day and have to fight it when I get home.
Just wondering if anyone here has travelled to a similar cuisine area (as in lots of rice dishes)? What did you do? Can you think of different choices you made instead? I am so used to eating street food in Asia that it will be hard not to just go with whatever is on offer. Although come to think of it, street chicken is often good too but can't get it everywhere. Oh my mouth is watering just thinking about it. Will have to guess a lot of logging calories.

I'm not sure where you are going, and that is important because all Asian countries have their own cuisine. That being said, depending on where you're going, you are likely to have a lot of choices and don't have to stick to the traditional cuisine of your host country. My experience: I spent 6 months in Thailand on a study abroad program in college, several years ago. There are a lot of dishes that are served as meat and vegetables, with rice on the side, that you can order. Whole fish (wok-fried in oil without breading) is also frequently on the menu. Watch out for starchy sauces (anything sweet is probably going to be thickened with more cornstarch than a brown sauce). Curries are your best bet, especially if you are talking Thai curry - thanks to the coconut milk it will be high in fat and protein, but will have relatively little carb. If you're talking street food, there are a lot of meat on a stick-type snacks that are good, but they might not all be chicken-based. One issue may be breakfast. Usually there are only a few choices: "American style" with eggs and toast; "European style" with pastries, croissants; fruit plates, which are delicious and fresh and wonderful but obviously have little protein to sustain you until lunch and will have a lot of natural sugar; and, congee. Congee is a soup made with meat and rice, and it is really good, but obviously has a lot of rice in it. So, be prepared. Also, watch out for fruit juices - they are often sweetened with sugar syrup and may have more carbs than you anticipate. HAVE FUN!!! Don't worry to much about it, and be generally mindful, and you will do fine

juliebccs

Thanks. The most common foods in Thailand/Burma are noodles or rice dishes,,so not on the side as such like we do here as well. Fish will be possible in coastal areas for sure and in some city areas too. Fish is a good idea. Street food is easy food and everywhere and is usually pre cooked or very close to it but it is usually starchy and super high carbs. We may have to think outside the box this time. I'm not so worried about weight gain as I don't expect that but I LOVE rice dishes and just don't want to go back that far in habits that I need to re break when I get home.