Thai Food

Gatorinky
Gatorinky Posts: 13 Member
in Food and Nutrition
What does everyone order when they go to a Thai restaurant? There are so many hidden calories in sauces, etc...
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Replies

  • herblovinmom
    herblovinmom Posts: 425 Member
    Thai food is sooooo good 🤤 when at a restaurant I only ever order gluten free pad Thai though. I should try other things. I usually only eat half and pair that meal with lots of activity like shopping..
  • Retroguy2000
    Retroguy2000 Posts: 1,848 Member
    edited June 2023
    Whatever I want. Unless you're doing it a lot, it doesn't really matter. You can always "bank" some calories on the days around an event like that if you're really concerned.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Usually green curry with chicken, pork pad thai, and shrimp spring rolls. Thai coconut soup in winter. In general, I don't eat out all that often so I don't really do a whole lot of hand wringing around my restaurant calories. If we have company in town or whatever and I know I'm going to be eating out more often for a week or more I just plan my days accordingly...ie light breakfast and lunch or skipping a meal, etc.
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,223 Member
    My favorite local Thai place has an extensive menu.

    It includes fresh rolls (mostly veggies, rice paper wrapper, not fried) - basically a salad-y thing in wrap form, bean curd wrapped in for some protein. For me, that could be a lighter meal.

    They have some nice salads, just veggies or a couple with meat/chicken. I'm vegetarian, haven't tried the meat ones, but the beef is described as grilled, and chicken minced, so I'm thinking not fried.

    I like a thing called "jungle curry", which is nicely flavored, but in a more broth-y sauce, a bit lighter. One can get it (or other dishes) with chicken, shrimp, pork, tofu, beef, squid, or tilapia. Some of those may be always fried, but I know some can be cooked in various different ways to be put in the same dish.

    I know that some restaurants aren't very flexible, but in my experience, many sit-down places (and some fast-food ones) will accommodate polite requests for variations or substitutions, where it's possible for them to do it. There may be a small up-charge, but often not (if it's not adding some premium ingredient(s).

    As a vegetarian starting back in the day when it was rare for restaurants here to have actual vegetarian dishes (1970s), I've made requests like this for years, and more often than not, something is workable for me and them. If it happens, I always tip a little extra. (NB I'm in the US where tipping servers is standard behavior.)

    I think some people don't think to even ask.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    edited June 2023
    I love Thai food. I get pad Thai a lot because I simply cannot figure out how to make that at home. I do like my home made pad se ew, tom ka gai, and masaman curry.

    If you want something light, in general, avoid dishes with coconut milk, and specifically, try beef salad, larb/laab, green papaya salad. In my experience, these Thai salads do not contain oil, which cuts down on calories considerably.

    That said, there's no reason why Thai dishes with coconut milk can't fit into your plan from time to time.

    When I get pad Thai for take out I get around three meals out of it. I often bulk it up with steamed broccoli or sautéed cabbage.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,221 Member
    edited June 2023
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    I love Thai food. I get pad Thai a lot because I simply cannot figure out how to make that at home. I do like my home made pad se ew, tom ka gai, and masaman curry.

    If you want something light, in general, avoid dishes with coconut milk, and specifically, try beef salad, larb/laab, green papaya salad. In my experience, these Thai salads do not contain oil, which cuts down on calories considerably.

    That said, there's no reason why Thai dishes with coconut milk can't fit into your plan from time to time.

    When I get pad Thai for take out I get around three meals out of it. I often bulk it up with steamed broccoli or sautéed cabbage.
    .

    It's the brown sludge, (liquid made with tamarind) that can make or break Pad Thai, and a few other factors. I make it a lot and sometimes it's been pretty disappointing and it's definitely one of the more unforgiving dishes a person could tackle, so I feel your pain. Generally I don't go out to eat, mostly because I can't justify the out and out pure garbage that passes as food and that includes a lot of what would be considered upscale. There are a few good and authentic Thai restaurants in the Toronto Area but I'm a few hours away and there's nothing local that would qualify.

    I did however, have the chance to cook with a few chefs in Thailand when I was there about 10 years ago, so I am a little jaded when it comes to comparing what Thai food might be considered good or not. The best Pad Thai was from an old lady street vendor in Bangkok that in the squat position made my Pad Thai in about 3 minutes, amazing to see how she moved and there was a line up, crazy really.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,988 Member
    Papaya salad with grilled shrimp. It allows me to be able to eat Roti.

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  • BeanieBean93
    BeanieBean93 Posts: 55 Member
    I'm not a big Thai food fan. Something about some of the flavors aren't super palatable for me. However, I do like Tom Yum soup. It's usually made with coconut milk in the broth but it's still "brothy" and not super creamy. You can usually get it with shrimp or another protein as well.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,960 Member
    If your local restaurant specializes in Northern or North Eastern Thai there are a lot of lower calorie choices. Grilled chicken/fish/prawns in combination with Som Tam (green papaya salad) or green mango salad. The salads have no oil in the dressings but do contain sugar. If you want a starch have plain sticky rice (not coconut rice). Larb is also good choice if you can handle the heat. If avoiding carbs, roll the larb with herbs in lettuce leaves, skipping the rice.

    If your local restaurant is more focused on food from the South or Central areas you need to be more careful. Avoid dishes with peanuts and coconut cream (the satay sauces and curries). I also avoid pad thai unless I make it myself and control the amount of oil used to fry the noodles.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,960 Member
    Oh and Crying Tiger is marinated rare grilled beef on a bed of greens (no oil in the dressing). Kind of a Thai version of Italian Tagliata di Manzo but sweeter.
  • webbcynthia1
    webbcynthia1 Posts: 2 Member
    In Thai restaurants, I order summer rolls, which are mainly veggies in rice wrapper with shrimp. If I order anything with a sauce on it, I tell waiter I want 1/4 of the usual sauce, oil, or whatever. No one has refused.
  • csplatt
    csplatt Posts: 1,205 Member
    curry. biggest calorie there may be the coconut milk? and the rice i add.
  • mrmota70
    mrmota70 Posts: 533 Member
    I order usually a small bowl of Tom Yum soup with chicken(basically Thai chicken soup/Thai ingredients of course). If you’re getting it as take out and have an avocado(some good fat) handy I’d recommend to cube half of one and put into the soup. My usual Thai place knows me so don’t mind when I bring my precubed avocado along. Calories are on the lower side for about 12-15 oz of soup. It’s lower in carbs also so to make sure I don’t feel it’s not enough I’ll drop in 2-3 oz of brown rice. One thing about Tom Yum it is a bit high on the sodium, but I don’t balk at it because of that. If you want to go all in Tom Kha is higher in cal and folks love the hot creaminess of it. I myself don’t dig it since it uses a little too much coconut milk as a main ingredient. A bit creamy for me. As someone stated when it comes down to it you can eat it all just as long as you eat a small portion and not all the time.
  • michdblanchard
    michdblanchard Posts: 17 Member
    I get Lemongrass Beef. It’s only around 230-260 calories (based on serving size of course) but is high protein.
    It comes with tomatoes and cucumbers.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    edited July 2023
    neanderthin wrote: »
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    I love Thai food. I get pad Thai a lot because I simply cannot figure out how to make that at home. I do like my home made pad se ew, tom ka gai, and masaman curry.

    If you want something light, in general, avoid dishes with coconut milk, and specifically, try beef salad, larb/laab, green papaya salad. In my experience, these Thai salads do not contain oil, which cuts down on calories considerably.

    That said, there's no reason why Thai dishes with coconut milk can't fit into your plan from time to time.

    When I get pad Thai for take out I get around three meals out of it. I often bulk it up with steamed broccoli or sautéed cabbage.
    .

    It's the brown sludge, (liquid made with tamarind) that can make or break Pad Thai, and a few other factors. I make it a lot and sometimes it's been pretty disappointing and it's definitely one of the more unforgiving dishes a person could tackle, so I feel your pain. Generally I don't go out to eat, mostly because I can't justify the out and out pure garbage that passes as food and that includes a lot of what would be considered upscale. There are a few good and authentic Thai restaurants in the Toronto Area but I'm a few hours away and there's nothing local that would qualify.

    I did however, have the chance to cook with a few chefs in Thailand when I was there about 10 years ago, so I am a little jaded when it comes to comparing what Thai food might be considered good or not. The best Pad Thai was from an old lady street vendor in Bangkok that in the squat position made my Pad Thai in about 3 minutes, amazing to see how she moved and there was a line up, crazy really.

    @neanderthin I saw a recipe for Okinawan-Style Pad Thai recently which included tamarind and thought, "Aha! that's the missing ingredient." I lived in Okinawa for two years in the '80's and never noticed pad Thai. Had lots of yakisoba.

    I haven't tried making this recipe yet. Would you please take a look and let me know what you think? I'm not aiming for authentic/upscale, but US restaurant :lol:

    https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/220424/okinawan-style-pad-thai/

    I had restaurant pad Thai last night. Here in Massachusetts it is sweeter than I am used to, from South Florida, and I always add lime, fish sauce, and white pepper.
  • BriansTrident
    BriansTrident Posts: 483 Member
    If I’m going for Thai food I’m not caring about calories. I order pineapple fried rice and pad Thai
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,221 Member
    edited July 2023
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    neanderthin wrote: »
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    I love Thai food. I get pad Thai a lot because I simply cannot figure out how to make that at home. I do like my home made pad se ew, tom ka gai, and masaman curry.

    If you want something light, in general, avoid dishes with coconut milk, and specifically, try beef salad, larb/laab, green papaya salad. In my experience, these Thai salads do not contain oil, which cuts down on calories considerably.

    That said, there's no reason why Thai dishes with coconut milk can't fit into your plan from time to time.

    When I get pad Thai for take out I get around three meals out of it. I often bulk it up with steamed broccoli or sautéed cabbage.
    .

    It's the brown sludge, (liquid made with tamarind) that can make or break Pad Thai, and a few other factors. I make it a lot and sometimes it's been pretty disappointing and it's definitely one of the more unforgiving dishes a person could tackle, so I feel your pain. Generally I don't go out to eat, mostly because I can't justify the out and out pure garbage that passes as food and that includes a lot of what would be considered upscale. There are a few good and authentic Thai restaurants in the Toronto Area but I'm a few hours away and there's nothing local that would qualify.

    I did however, have the chance to cook with a few chefs in Thailand when I was there about 10 years ago, so I am a little jaded when it comes to comparing what Thai food might be considered good or not. The best Pad Thai was from an old lady street vendor in Bangkok that in the squat position made my Pad Thai in about 3 minutes, amazing to see how she moved and there was a line up, crazy really.

    @neanderthin I saw a recipe for Okinawan-Style Pad Thai recently which included tamarind and thought, "Aha! that's the missing ingredient." I lived in Okinawa for two years in the '80's and never noticed pad Thai. Had lots of yakisoba.

    I haven't tried making this recipe yet. Would you please take a look and let me know what you think? I'm not aiming for authentic/upscale, but US restaurant :lol:

    https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/220424/okinawan-style-pad-thai/

    I had restaurant pad Thai last night. Here in Massachusetts it is sweeter than I am used to, from South Florida, and I always add lime, fish sauce, and white pepper.

    Well, I want to be honest with you, that recipe is not even close. The recipe's from David Peters and took a quick look at a his website and found an Alfredo recipe where he uses cream, enough said, it's not happening and I would probably try and erase all memory of this recipe and burn it as well, just in case. Just kidding, but no, it's really really bad.

    I could give you my recipe, but Joshua Weissman's is as close to mine as it gets and I'm going to link to his video which has a link to the recipe. Don't skip the pickle mustard greens. Also if you decide to make it you really want the tamarind pulp to be on the sour side as opposed to the sweet, maybe ask the grocer and if you have an Asian market I suggest you shop there, or amazon.

    If you have an questions, let me know.

    https://youtube.com/watch?v=b7YnoRFuZ9o
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    neanderthin wrote: »
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    neanderthin wrote: »
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    I love Thai food. I get pad Thai a lot because I simply cannot figure out how to make that at home. I do like my home made pad se ew, tom ka gai, and masaman curry.

    If you want something light, in general, avoid dishes with coconut milk, and specifically, try beef salad, larb/laab, green papaya salad. In my experience, these Thai salads do not contain oil, which cuts down on calories considerably.

    That said, there's no reason why Thai dishes with coconut milk can't fit into your plan from time to time.

    When I get pad Thai for take out I get around three meals out of it. I often bulk it up with steamed broccoli or sautéed cabbage.
    .

    It's the brown sludge, (liquid made with tamarind) that can make or break Pad Thai, and a few other factors. I make it a lot and sometimes it's been pretty disappointing and it's definitely one of the more unforgiving dishes a person could tackle, so I feel your pain. Generally I don't go out to eat, mostly because I can't justify the out and out pure garbage that passes as food and that includes a lot of what would be considered upscale. There are a few good and authentic Thai restaurants in the Toronto Area but I'm a few hours away and there's nothing local that would qualify.

    I did however, have the chance to cook with a few chefs in Thailand when I was there about 10 years ago, so I am a little jaded when it comes to comparing what Thai food might be considered good or not. The best Pad Thai was from an old lady street vendor in Bangkok that in the squat position made my Pad Thai in about 3 minutes, amazing to see how she moved and there was a line up, crazy really.

    @neanderthin I saw a recipe for Okinawan-Style Pad Thai recently which included tamarind and thought, "Aha! that's the missing ingredient." I lived in Okinawa for two years in the '80's and never noticed pad Thai. Had lots of yakisoba.

    I haven't tried making this recipe yet. Would you please take a look and let me know what you think? I'm not aiming for authentic/upscale, but US restaurant :lol:

    https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/220424/okinawan-style-pad-thai/

    I had restaurant pad Thai last night. Here in Massachusetts it is sweeter than I am used to, from South Florida, and I always add lime, fish sauce, and white pepper.

    Well, I want to be honest with you, that recipe is not even close. The recipe's from David Peters and took a quick look at a his website and found an Alfredo recipe where he uses cream, enough said, it's not happening and I would probably try and erase all memory of this recipe and burn it as well, just in case. Just kidding, but no, it's really really bad.

    I could give you my recipe, but Joshua Weissman's is as close to mine as it gets and I'm going to link to his video which has a link to the recipe. Don't skip the pickle mustard greens. Also if you decide to make it you really want the tamarind pulp to be on the sour side as opposed to the sweet, maybe ask the grocer and if you have an Asian market I suggest you shop there, or amazon.

    If you have an questions, let me know.

    https://youtube.com/watch?v=b7YnoRFuZ9o

    LOL and thanks!

    There is an amazing Asian market in Quincy, MA that I get up to once a year or so. I got dried shrimp for pad Thai there once, in the hopes that it was the missing ingredient, but nope.

    For anyone in the area in search of Asian ingredients not found in regular supermarkets: http://www.kamman.com/quincy
    They also have stores in Chinatown, NY, Edison, NJ, and East Hanover, NJ.

    Here is the recipe from the video: https://www.joshuaweissman.com/post/homemade-pad-thai

    "Authentic Pad Thai is usually something you refer to a restaurant to make, but I'm telling you now that you can make it and it very well may be the best thing you've ever had. It's not a difficult recipe to make at home, all it takes is a little technique."

    Zha cai is pickled mustard root.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,221 Member
    edited July 2023
    Good stuff I'm glad your embracing the idea and yeah, the dried shrimp is a must. And again, if I can be of any help, just ask.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,960 Member
    I've got David Thompson's cookbooks. Here's his pad thai recipe. I wouldn't trust any recipe missing the dried shrimp or the salted or pickled turnips, never mind tamarind water.

    https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/sep/19/david-thompson-thai-recipes
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    neanderthin wrote: »
    Good stuff I'm glad your embracing the idea and yeah, the dried shrimp is a must. And again, if I can be of any help, just ask.
    acpgee wrote: »
    I've got David Thompson's cookbooks. Here's his pad thai recipe. I wouldn't trust any recipe missing the dried shrimp or the salted or pickled turnips, never mind tamarind water.

    https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/sep/19/david-thompson-thai-recipes

    Thanks guys! I see a trip to the Asian store in Quincy, MA in my near future, and finally success with making pad thai at home :smiley:
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,960 Member
    @kshama2001

    If you are not venturing into town to an Asian supermarket in the near future you can get all the harder to find ingredients for pad thai online. I see amazon does dried rice noodles, preserved turnip, tamarind, and dried shrimp. If you can't get bean sprouts near you, you can order dried mung beans meant for cooking online and sprout them yourself (it takes about 5-6 days, google for instructions). If you can't find Chinese chive, the green tops of spring onions or regular chive make a good substitute.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    acpgee wrote: »
    @kshama2001

    If you are not venturing into town to an Asian supermarket in the near future you can get all the harder to find ingredients for pad thai online. I see amazon does dried rice noodles, preserved turnip, tamarind, and dried shrimp. If you can't get bean sprouts near you, you can order dried mung beans meant for cooking online and sprout them yourself (it takes about 5-6 days, google for instructions). If you can't find Chinese chive, the green tops of spring onions or regular chive make a good substitute.

    I should have mentioned I never buy Asian foods from Amazon because every time I've price checked the markup was ridiculous. If I lived in Alaska or someplace, I would buy online, but I just need to get organized for a drive. Maybe we will visit my partner's aunt while we are in the area.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,960 Member
    Pad thai prep, and finished dish. I used John Thompson's recipe but Josh Weissman's tip to fry the dried shrimp first with the shallots rather than adding them later after the noodles. Because the actual cooking is a very quick I find it easiest to have everything chopped and measured out before heating up the wok, at the expense of creating rather a lot of dirty dishes. My pad thai doesn't have a glossy finish because I only use 1 tablespoon of oil instead of the 3 or 4 most recipes call for.
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  • candylilacs
    candylilacs Posts: 614 Member
    Mint chicken! It's not as saucy as the other dishes, but I hope is mild and medium. The one I had in Los Angeles was too hot (as in medium heat).

    I think if done in Thai and Burmese style, tofu is mainly pretty tasty!
  • nooshi713
    nooshi713 Posts: 4,877 Member
    Tom Yum soup, the broth based one.
  • mvorih3
    mvorih3 Posts: 4 Member
    I’m celiac, so Thai is go to for me. Many of their dishes are gluten free and most are very good with clarifying what the s sage for me.

    My favorites are Tom Kha soup and green curry. I usually get chicken in each of those.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,093 Member
    I don't go that often, so I order what I want. Usually a tofu and eggplant dish with basil.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,943 Member
    I don't really eat out but rather try to cook dishes I've eaten in Thailand. On my wish list is a pork belly dish that I'd eaten far too often. Have not managed to get pork belly here though.

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