Psychological/Physical shift to Thai food?

[Takiap]

I soon found myself eating 100% Thai food after moving here back in 2000, and I would guess that I ate less that ten western meals between 2002 and 2013. At some point last year I decided to cook a western dish at home, and since then, I have basically done a complete about turn, and now I rarely touch Thai food at all. In fact, I find it quite boring compared to all the many western dishes available, but this could of course be because I stayed away from western dishes for so long.

The excessive use of chilli also puts me off these days because I find that it destroys the actual flavor of food. Half the time you cannot even taste the difference between pork and chicken. I also got sick of seeing rice on my plate at every meal. Ever since I was a child, there have been times when it feels as though my body is shaking and in desperate need of food despite not feeling hungry. Only now have I discovered that it was rice that was causing this. Not sure how or why, but since I've stopped eating rice, I no longer get those shaky spells. I still eat rice occasionally but usually only once every week or so, and when I do, it is mostly brown rice cooked Farang style - boiled and then steamed.

Another reason for my shift to western food is the fact that I have young kids to feed and I got sick of seeing them being fed complete rubbish 90% of the time. Now they eat food with loads of veggies, and they get to enjoy a lot of variety rather than the usual egg and rice; fried rice; omelet and rice, or BBQ chicken and rice.

Lastly, if you really believe that Thais living in the cities eat a healthy diet, I suggest that you spend more time people watching. Just pay some attention to what they eat most of the time and you'll notice that most of their meals are cheap "side of the road" meals which are typically fried; contain loads of fat and such, and of course piles of processed junk. Admittedly, they do eat a more healthy diet out in the sticks, but in the cities it is vastly different.

Having said all that, I must be honest and say my own food preferences have never and will never be influenced by health concerns. Taste rules.

[Takiap]

But here you don't even get the option of brown rice - which I can only get when preparing food at home.

No restaurant that I know of in Thailand offer brown rice either, mostly because 99% of Thais don't like it. Even in our own home I am the only one that cooks it, and it's only the kids and I that eat it.

I have even used the internet to try and show the family that brown rice is far better than white rice, but they are having none of that. After all, how can anyone know better than they do?

[lomuamart]

I think brown rice is fed to livestock so a lot of people think it's inferior.

[richard]

I think brown rice is fed to livestock so a lot of people think it's inferior.

Thai thinking? White is good brown is bad?

[oakdale160]

How many people in the west eat white bread, and no amount of telling them that brown bread is superior will change their habit.

[Big Boy]

If it's the rice I'm thinking of, Mrs BB eats brown rice when she can afford it, but it is more expensive here, and in the UK it easily costs double the price of the white rice.

Are there various grades of brown rice?

[hhfarang]

S&P in the old Hua Hin Shopping Mall (so I suppose their other outlets as well) offer several versions of brown healthier rice, but still serve portions too big. We go there for lunch occasionally and I usually eat about a third of the rice that comes with the meal.

[PeteC]

This seems to be an accurate description of the Thai types of rice available:

http://recipes.answers.com/article/1171 ... ai-cooking

[hhfarang]

^ good article Pete. We (I mostly) switched to the "red cargo" rice a couple of years ago in an effort to eat healthier. It takes some getting used to the taste, just like whole wheat pasta which I also switched to a couple of years ago. The missus never liked the taste of the red rice so she finally switched to the brown which is a much lighter color and tastes better. Now I only eat (brown) rice two or three times a month, but after a while I was able to get used the taste of whole wheat pasta and still have that about once a week.

BTW, the village where my wife's family lives eats exclusively sticky rice and by 50 they are nearly all toothless and diabetic. If you talk to a doctor they will strongly recommend against a steady diet of that particular type of rice.

[Takiap]

If it's the rice I'm thinking of, Mrs BB eats brown rice when she can afford it, but it is more expensive here, and in the UK it easily costs double the price of the white rice.

Are there various grades of brown rice?

Yes BB, there are different grades. I usually buy brown jasmine rice which is only slightly more expensive than white jasmine. We also a kind of mixed rice that contains white, red, brown and etc. I can't really say I switched to brown rice for health reasons, simply enjoy it more than white rice.


HHF cautions against eating too much sticky rice, and I have been given the same advice in the past when I was eating no other rice apart from sticky rice. I still enjoy sticky rice more than all other types, but only have it about once or twice a month now.

I wonder what a medical professional would say with regards to traditionally cooked rice vs. rice cooker rice.

[Jose]

I eat only western but sometime eat chicken krapow, also eat yayoi

what about green tea and lemon tea is this good for you or too much sugar

[Pleng]

How many people in the west eat white bread, and no amount of telling them that brown bread is superior will change their habit.

Probably because it, just like brown rice, tastes aweful!

I have a big problem when restaurants serve brown or wholewheat bread - especially as the pictures usually show white bread. I always enjoy the irony of what I'm being told as well when I'm in a group and I get a little shirty about it. "It's better for you", they say, as they cut the yolk of thier fried egg, so it dripps nicely over their fried bacon and sausages. When I'm being health-concious I won't eat a fried breakfast. And when I'm eating a fried breakfast I'm not going to compromise it with the "healthy" option.

As for the Thai/Western diet question. I've found it ebbs and flows between the two. Sometimes I'll have Thai food two times a day and one western dish, sometimes I'll go four or five meals in a row without touching anything western. Sometimes I'll do the same in reverse (four or five meals in a row without anything Thai). Usually, though, after going 4 meals in a row of one type I'm generally craving the other.

Right now I'm on a diet so my diet is a lot more stable than normal - I tend to have a subway sandwich most days (white bread, of course!) as a cheap and easy way to get a decent helping of nutrients, a bowl of cereal, and a Thai meal - in no particular order. So it's 33% Thai food, but by design rather than craving.