Dining in the UK is, like so many aspects of modern life, sometimes a compromise. In days gone by, when gender roles conformed to long-established stereotypes, a housewife would prepare a full, cooked meal for the family to share in the evening. These days, when it is more likely that both partners in a relationship will have careers, time is at a premium and many begrudge time spent cooking after a busy day at work. Consequently, takeaway food and restaurant meals account for a larger part of our diet then ever before. While many of us avoid the kind of fast food that we consider to be junky American imports, such as burgers and greasy fried chicken, we do not seem to be so aware of the health aspects of other cuisines which, although established, are also relative newcomers to our shores. Health in diet and lifestyle is a modern obsession. We shy away from overdoing the very obvious unhealthy foods. We limit our intake of cakes, sweets, chips, but we are less wary of eating Indian and Chinese restaurant meals or takeaways – perhaps several times a week – even though, at the back of our minds, we know that these are often as full of fat, sugar and salt as the more obvious junk foods. Of the imported cuisines popular in the UK, Thai food offers one of the most consistently healthy and well-balanced diets available. Its various techniques and components are a fusion of contributions made by the Asian, European and African cultures that, at various periods, took advantage of the trade routes upon which Thailand was so well placed. It is almost as if it has embraced all the best elements from the many influences that played parts in its evolution, while leaving out most of the things which we now know are not healthy to eat. An article in the health section of the BBC’s website stated that the popular Indian dish chicken tikka masala with pilau rice typically contains around 47g of fat, while a similar Thai food choice, stir fried chicken with plain steamed rice (phad khing hai) has just 13g of fat of which only 3g is saturated fat. The difference is striking, and the more dishes one compares, the greater the contrast one sees between the two cuisines so far as healthy eating considerations are concerned. As well as a healthy, balanced overall diet, the individual ingredients used in Thai cooking are well known for their benefits and, in many cases, they are actually used in Southeast Asian medicine. Turmeric, for example, has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, both of these qualities are known to play a part in preventing the development of cancer. Lemongrass, a lovely, fragrant, lemony herb is used in Chinese medicine in the treatment of colds and flu-like bugs. It is also known to help maintain good digestion. Galangal is a variant of ginger and, as such, shares many of its properties. Galangal is particularly renowned for its effectiveness in relieving digestive problems and gastric disorders. It is also reputed to assist in the reduction of pain and stiffness caused by arthritis. Chillies, cayenne in particular, have recently come to the attention of western researchers. Indications are that chillies and their extracts may be beneficial in maintaining a healthy cardio-vascular system, and in supporting the body’s ability to produce insulin. Some researchers have also found positive impact on certain skin conditions, and on digestion. Another, quite unusual, benefit of chillies is that they are known to combat insomnia, so your delicious Thai meal will also help you to sleep soundly at night! Coriander is well known throughout Asia and is one of the most vital ingredients common to most cuisines from that region. Like many of the other herbs used in Thai cooking, it is known to aid good digestion, and is reputed to encourage a strong immune system, thus helping to defend against common minor illnesses. Coconut milk is believed to assist in the lowering of LDL, a form of cholesterol which is harmful at high levels. It also helps to raise levels of more desirable fatty substances that the body needs in order to function optimally. Like coriander, coconut milk is known for its immunity boosting properties. Some of its components are also known to inhibit some of the effects of aging. Kaffir Lime Leaves have antioxidant properties like several of the ingredients we have mentioned already. Kaffir is said to purify the blood and assist digestion, while promoting dental and oral health. Kaffir is one of the main flavors used in Thai cuisine. But there is more to the healthy eating aspect of the Thai diet than the individual properties of its ingredients: one should not underestimate the importance of the freshness of Thai herbs. Where many Asian cooking styles use a lot of dried spices and extracts, Thai cooking tends to make use of fresh herbs in their natural, whole state rather than extracts. Whole foods of any kind are now widely recognized, even in the west, as being the healthier option, and should be preferred over processed or powdered derivatives. The popularity of salads, fish and seafood mean that there are plenty of alternatives to red meat. That said, body builders and macho traditionalists who don’t consider a meal to be a real meal unless it contains a decent helping of red meat would find that a Thai menu caters for them too. As with all cuisines, there are some things best enjoyed in moderation. If one ate only dishes rich in coconut milk, for example, then one might reasonably expect to add a few inches to one’s waistline. Similarly, someone on a diet may decide to opt for plain or fragrant, rather than fried, rice dishes in order to keep the calories down, but the great thing about Thai cuisine is that meals are generally composed with all elements very well balanced, so it is most likely that a full meal would contain all these marvelous ingredients in just the right proportions. Few dietary experts would dispute that the Thai diet is one of the most intrinsically healthy in the world.
Written by (TEEDOO)@ (http://teedoo.blogspot.com)

Lying just steps from the famous backpacker district of Th Khao San, you’d think that there would be much in the way of authentic Thai food on Th Phra Athit. But there are actually some pretty interesting places to eat. My most recent find is a tiny streetside stall that serves only three dishes, the most famous of which is khao khluk kapi, rice cooked with shrimp paste and served with a variety of delicious toppings — a dish mentioned many times previously on these pages.

Pictured above, the dish incorporates (starting at 12 o’clock and moving clockwise) kun chiang, deep-fried Chinese sausage; deep-fried dried chilies; lime; long beans and cha om, a pungent herb; sliced fresh chilies; sliced shallots; shredded green mango; muu waan, ’sweet pork’, pork belly that has been simmered with fish sauce and palm sugar; and in the center, shredded omelet and dried shrimp deep-fried until crispy. There’s just about every flavor and texture you could ever want, and served with a bowl of hot broth, the dish is a tasty, healthy and balanced one-dish meal.

Another dish made here is khao phat nam phrik long ruea:





A dish of khao phat nam phrik long ruea, rice served with a chili-based dipping sauce and a variety of toppings, at a street stall in Bangkok's Banglamphu district

This is fried rice served with nam phrik long ruea, a pork and chili-based ‘dip’, par-boiled veggies, fresh herbs and other side dishes. The chili dip is wonderfully tart from the addition of a kind of citrus fruit, and I love the sides of salted egg (11 o’clock) and cha om,the herb mentioned above, which in this case is served in the form of a dense omelet (12 o’clock).

The third dish they were serving that day was khanom jeen saw naam, fresh rice noodles served with a coconut cream-based dressing. On previous visits I’ve also seen nam phrik kapi, a shrimp paste-based dish served much the same as the dish above.

The stall is open during lunch, dishes will set you back a whopping 30B (less than $1) and there are English-language signs, probably to facilitate the odd backpacker who dares to explore the gastronmic depths that lie beyond Khao San-style ‘pad thai’.

Khao khluk kapi Tha Phra Athit
Th Phra Athit
Lunch

Article provided by Austin Bush Photography.

It’s been far too long and I apologize. I’ve been working furiously on the next edition of Lonely Planet’s Thailand, and simply haven’t had the time to blog. I am in Chiang Rai at the moment, doing research for Thailand, and will do my best to share the food discoveries I’ve been making up here.

Guided by an old issue of the Thai-language food magazine Khrua, my first great food find here in Chiang Rai is a local noodle restaurant called Paa Suk.

Paa Suk, a popular restaurant serving nam ngiaw, a northern-style noodle dish, in Chiang Rai, Thailand



The signature dish here is naam ngiaw, a thin broth (usually pork, but here they also do a beef version) flavoured with a local chili paste and tomatoes, typically served over fresh khanom jeen noodles (’northern spaghetti’, if you will) . The pork version (pictured at the top of this post) was deliciously meaty, although I personally prefer the type served in Mae Hong Son that emphasizes sour tomatoes over meat. The dark cubes you see are coagulated blood, and the dish is served with sides of bean sprouts, pickled mustard cabbage and slices of lime.

They also do a very northern dish called khao kan jin:

Khao kan jin, rice steamed with blood, at Paa Suk, a popular restaurant in Chiang Rai, Thailand



This is rice that has been mixed with (again) blood, wrapped in a banana leaf, then steamed. The result is drizzled with garlic oil and served with fresh coriander, cucumber and green onion. Very nice, and you wouldn’t know there was blood involved unless I told you.

The restaurant is currently being run by the third generation of the same family, and now they even have a branch on Soi 3, Th Silom, in Bangkok, which I’ll be sure to investigate as soon as I get back.

Paa Suk
Th Sankhongnoi, Chiang Rai
053 752 471
7am-3pm

Article provided by Austin Bush Photography.

Praying at Wat Mangkorn, Vegetarian Festival, Bangkok

Jay is the Chinese/Thai word for vegetarian, and from now until October 9th is the annual Ngaan Jay, Vegetarian Festival. To be honest though, it is quite possibly the most innacurately-named festival around. Although everything for sale in Thailand’s various Chinese districts during this period is entirely meat free, you’ll actually find very few, if any, actual vegetables. Just about everything is either some form of starch (noodles, rice, potatoes) or protein (soy).

In addition to a lack of vegetables, virtually everything is fried:

Buying meat-free food to take home during the annual Vegetarian Festival, Bangkok


Buying meat-free food to take home during the annual Vegetarian Festival, Bangkok

Another odd aspect of the festival is that Bangkok’s entire Chinese community seems to collectively decide that it’s not capable of cooking at home during the 10 days, and instead buys every meal ‘to go’ from a truly remarkable number of street stalls:




Nonetheless, if you’re willing to brave the potentially detrimental health risks of the Vegetarian Festival, it’s heaps of fun, and in Chinatown, everybody is involved. In Talat Mai, the main market alley, vendors who normally sell meat instead sell soy-based meat substitutes:

Buying meat-free meat during the annual Vegetarian Festival, Bangkok

If you look closely, you’ll see veggie ground pork, veggie scallops, and even veggie pork stomach and intestines!

Across the way, even Nay Uan, normally one of the meatiest stalls around, goes jay, serving up tofu, soy protein and mushrooms in place of pork offal:


Nay Lek Uan serving veggie kuay jap, Vegetarian Festival, Bangkok

Just next door, OK Phat Thai has ditched the epynomous dish and makes a variety of meat-free noodle stir-fries and vegtarian hoy jor:


Frying up vegetarian noodles on Thanon Yaowarat during the annual Vegetarian Festival, Bangkok

But my favourite Vegetarian Festival dish is fried yellow wheat noodles, phat mee leuang:


Frying up vegetarian noodles on Thanon Yaowarat during the annual Vegetarian Festival, Bangkok

Fried yes, but also one of the only dishes that actually includes vegetables.

Article provided by Austin Bush Photography.

Sorndaeng

Hor mok, steamed curries with crab, Sorndaeng, Bangkok



I’ve eaten at many, if not most of the upscale Thai restaurants in Bangkok, and have rarely, if ever, had a good meal. Nothing I ate at these restaurants was necessarily bad–no hairs were found, no surly service, nothing rotten–but rather, the food left no impression whatsoever. The general phenomenon seems to be that the more you pay for Thai food, the less flavourful it is, and the more predictable the menu tends to be.

Exploring Banglamphu with friends on a recent Sunday, it didn’t take us very long to realize that on Sunday, in Banglamphu, absolutely nothing is open. Luckily, a few days previously, I was reminded of an upscale Thai restaurant that I’ve always suspected might be different from the rest, so we made it up Th Dinso to Sorndaeng.

A sign out front claims that Sorndaeng has been around since 1957. A glance into the dining room shows that very little appears to have changed in 51 years: the service staff dress like soldiers, there are doilys and frumpy furniture, live lounge music (appropriately, a mild version of ‘Sukiyaki‘ was sung at one point), and of course that most telling sign of old-school Thai elitism, a table dominated by several big-haired, silk-wearing Thai-Chinese women:




The dining room at Sorndaeng, Bangkok

A had been eating here since she was young, and suggested we order krathong thong:



Appetizer, name forgotten, Sorndaeng, Bangkok

‘golden baskets’ with a sweet/savoury filling.

I ordered lon kapi, a savoury ‘dip’ served with fresh vegetables and herbs:



Lon kapi, a savoury dip served with fresh veggies and herbs, Sorndaeng, Bangkok

and yam som oh, pomelo salad:



Yam som o, pomelo salad, Sorndaeng, Bangkok

The former was a very good take on a dish that’s somewhat hard to find, and the latter was simple but delicious, incorporating no more than five ingredients including deep-fried cashews, and if I remember correctly, roasted coconut.

A ordered fish maw fried with egg and bean sprouts:



Fish maw fried with egg and bean sprouts, Sorndaeng, Bangkok

a dish I didn’t think I would like, but which was actually very nice, deliciously eggy and smokey, a lot like or suan.

P ordered mee krop, just to see how it would stand up to that of Chote Chitr:



Mee krob, Sorndaeng, Bangkok

It wasn’t bad, but not nearly as rich, citrusy and complex as Chot Chitr’s.

We had a couple other things as well, including a soup with duck and pickled lime, and the yummy crab-filled hor mok shown at the top of the post. Virtually every dish was excellent.

Sorndaeng also proved to be one of the few places I was actuallly inspired to order a dessert:



Mango and sticky rice, Sorndaeng, Bangkok

Mango and sticky rice–a Thai cliche, but still very nice, even if it wasn’t peak mango season.

Finally: highly recommendable upscale Thai food.

Sorndaeng
78/2 Th Ratchadamnoen Klang
02 224 3088
10am-11pm

Article provided by Tomi at www.thailandtravelonline.com.