Psychological/Physical shift to Thai food?

[PeteC]

I think many of us long term expats have experienced this and not just because you can save money.

I still enjoy my ham & cheese sandwiches, beef stew, roasts, pastas and the like, but more often than not now I find myself wanting some good Thai food regardless that the frig may be full of supplies from Foodland, Macro, Villa etc.

Many mornings I a crave a good kowpad, either moo gaup or shrimp, with an egg on top, fried easy. When I take my daughter to school the construction worker camp nearby is always cooking phakapao in the morning and the smell is really good and makes me hungry. Thai noodles of any size or recipe are always good as well day or night. Rice porridge (kaotum) and all the side dishes is also good, but at night for me. If I eat it for breakfast it makes me sleepy again. I had dismissed rice porridge in the morning to such an extent that when Richard posted that many shops sell it at day break, I was shocked.

Unfortunately the problem I have now that older is that many dishes are not good without the chili, either dry or wet. It beats my guts to pieces for hours, but I have to add it or the dish simply isn't good. Unfortunately there will come a time (for all of us) where chili is simply off the menu I guess.

Anyway, as all of this has evolved over the years I was thinking why is it happening? Was I subconsciously hoping to turn into a Thai? Was the climate such that the sweet/sour/tart/spicy mixes gave me a high and a feeling of blissful satisfaction? (maybe there's some weed in the recipes? )

Or was it simply my body telling me this stuff is healthy for the most part?

For decades the Thai male life expectancy was about 68, and the leading cause of death was heart and high BP. It's now cancer, and the life expectancy may have gone up a year or two but not sure.

Was it the sodium/salt that was causing this? You know fish sauce. Nothing but crushed anchovies, water and salt...high salt. But...how can you have a good kaopad without nahm blah pic on it? The same plagues the Japanese with all of their salty sauces. They have the healthiest diet in the world, except for the sodium.

So am I Thai? No, and never will be. I can do a steady Thai diet but once a week I need a western fix. Thais don't need that unless they went to university in the west.

I'm convinced a Thai diet is healthier, and no intention of taking out the evil sodium or chili....at least not for now. It's probably an offset of healthy vs questionable but if weight decreases or at least stays constant, and I feel good, I'm going to stick with it. Pete

[pdm3547]

Well, I've been here for just over three weeks and my palate is definitely changing already.

I am eating much less food by volume, and have found that a sandwich will give me heartburn - particularly sausage or bacon. Gutted!

I crave far fewer carbs, but will always tend to meat dishes rather than fish.

[margaretcarnes]

Agreed Pete - I think it's probably the effect of climate that makes you want more Thai food. Yes the salt content is high, but fluid intake tends to be higher as well, and not all of it beer! I certainly also eat more fruit when in Thailand, and for some reason don't crave as much coffee.
Overall living there for a few years has changed the way I eat back here in the UK. I don't bother much at all with red meats now and continue to have a lot of rice meals - with chilli of course!

[hhfarang]

Again, guess I'm different from the rest of you. For nearly nine years after marrying my wife and taking her to the U.S. I ate 90% Thai food as she cooked most of my meals (I even took the leftovers from dinner to work for lunch the next day).

By the time we moved here ten years ago I was getting a bit tired and bored with a steady Thai diet but as there wasn't much around back then in the way of western food I kept eating mostly Thai for about three years, but as more western food outlets, both restaurants and markets, began to open my diet gradually shifted away from Thai back to western. Now I'd say it's at least 80% to 90% western and the missus only has to cook Thai about once a week since she eats a lot of cheap somtam and Thai noodle soups from outside shops.

[lomuamart]

I've sort of evolved a taste somewhere between Thai and western.
Breakfast, which I do myself, is western. Lunch is nearly always some form of noodles or fried rice and spiced up. Dinner could be anything from a green curry or massaman to meatballs or chicken. But the main dish has to have some heat to it (not too much) and I'll normally have the more western dishes with mashed potatoes and loads of veg.
So, somewhere in between I suppose.

[Henry 14th]

A bit like HHFarang, used to eat 90% Thai now it's the other way round.

I find the higher dollop of rice with each meal too carb intensive, plus the flash fry of many dishes is not as healthy as a Thai diet would lead one to believe.

I'm back to grilled fish, chicken, steaks with fresh salad for most my cooked meals.

I feel much better with this type of diet and don't battle with a jelly belly as much.

One thing I must have, as other has mentioned too is a chillie intake. Food just isn't the same without that kick. That includes tobasco with eggs for breakfast.


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[richard]

I eat about 80% Thai 20% western but even the western food has to be fortified with spices and chilli

[hhfarang]

A bit like HHFarang, used to eat 90% Thai now it's the other way round.

I find the higher dollop of rice with each meal too carb intensive, plus the flash fry of many dishes is not as healthy as a Thai diet would lead one to believe.

I'm back to grilled fish, chicken, steaks with fresh salad for most my cooked meals.

I feel much better with this type of diet and don't battle with a jelly belly as much.

One thing I must have, as other has mentioned too is a chillie intake. Food just isn't the same without that kick. That includes tobasco with eggs for breakfast.


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Yes, Henry, thanks for reminding me. Other aspects of Thai food that have turned me off it over the years is the new nutrition research on fat vs carbs. Every Thai eats copious amounts of (white) rice with a meal and that's the way it's served in many restaurants. Even if you order it separately, one order is enough for 3 people. I've completely stopped eating rice except for the occasional small portion of brown rice at home when the missus fixes a particularly hot dish.

The other thing about eating Thai food out for me, is that I'm mildly allergic to MSG. Besides it being high in sodium it has something else in it that makes me feel bad for a few hours after eating the meal. Most cheaper Thai places use it in copious amounts so I have to be careful about eating Thai food not cooked by my wife.

[oakdale160]

I prefer Thai food for lunch and dinner but for b'fast its got to be traditional British food. We are lucky that it is widely available here. I was amused when I was in Japan all the 5star hotels have Japanese and western restaurants. In the mornings the western ones were very busy with many Japanese using them.

I am interested, those of you who have taken your Thai ladies to the west. What do they think of the Thai food in Thai restaurants in the west. Of course,I am sure they are horrified by the prices. (Is this off-topic?)

[lomuamart]

Yes, sweet chilli sauce with breakfast- sometimes.
MSG - I ask my wife not to add it but I'm losing that battle.

[richard]

I am interested, those of you who have taken your Thai ladies to the west. What do they think of the Thai food in Thai restaurants in the west. Of course,I am sure they are horrified by the prices. (Is this off-topic?)

My Thai lady who I took to the UK some years back wouldn't touch the food served up in the Thai restaurants but we were fortunate to be staying in a part of London where there was a Thai shop selling ingredients imported directly once a week from Bangkok. My daughters are the same. Both of them learned how to cook Thai food here in HH and continue to do so in the UK but moan that getting the right ingredients is an expensive chore.

To get us back on the mainline question I would also comment that I now eat little and often. I also believe and enjoy the 'all to share' way of eating. Many times when I'm out for my mid day sherbert and some vendor food I'm sat in a bar and the girls always invite me to join them for some nibbles of the food they have laid out on a table or the bar. It's now automatic when I get my vendor food delivered to the bar to instinctively invite all those around me to join in. I guess I got used to the fact that in an Isaan village food and drink is always shared with whoever passes by.

Psychologically I have changed. A large plate of food put down in front of me makes me reel and puts me off. A large plate(s) of food in the centre of the table for all to dip into is ideal IMO

[richard]

Yes, sweet chilli sauce with breakfast- sometimes.
MSG - I ask my wife not to add it but I'm losing that battle.

No way can you convince them to ease up on the addition of MSG, sugar and salt in any dish.

[PeteC]

Okay, here's some charts concerning carbs and calories rice vs bread. Rice appears higher and it's for 1 cup where 2 cups would be a normal meal portion IMO. Bread is for 1 piece so you need to think in terms of pieces per meal. I also threw in potatoes for good measure.

RICE

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=c ... gws_rd=ssl

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=c ... gws_rd=ssl

BREAD

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=c ... gws_rd=ssl

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=c ... gws_rd=ssl

POTATOES

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=c ... gws_rd=ssl

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=c ... gws_rd=ssl

[crazy88]

100% Thai for my first year here many moons ago. Now 50/50. Tend to cook at home. Some great places in town for many cuisines but at least 80% are average IMHO for western food.

Crazy 88

[margaretcarnes]

A bit like HHFarang, used to eat 90% Thai now it's the other way round.

I find the higher dollop of rice with each meal too carb intensive, plus the flash fry of many dishes is not as healthy as a Thai diet would lead one to believe.

I'm back to grilled fish, chicken, steaks with fresh salad for most my cooked meals.

I feel much better with this type of diet and don't battle with a jelly belly as much.

One thing I must have, as other has mentioned too is a chillie intake. Food just isn't the same without that kick. That includes tobasco with eggs for breakfast.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes, Henry, thanks for reminding me. Other aspects of Thai food that have turned me off it over the years is the new nutrition research on fat vs carbs. Every Thai eats copious amounts of (white) rice with a meal and that's the way it's served in many restaurants. Even if you order it separately, one order is enough for 3 people. I've completely stopped eating rice except for the occasional small portion of brown rice at home when the missus fixes a particularly hot dish.

The other thing about eating Thai food out for me, is that I'm mildly allergic to MSG. Besides it being high in sodium it has something else in it that makes me feel bad for a few hours after eating the meal. Most cheaper Thai places use it in copious amounts so I have to be careful about eating Thai food not cooked by my wife.

The big portions of rice are also a problem in UK restaurants, which is annoying because it is wasteful. In most UK Indian/Chinese restaurants for example a single rice portion will easily serve 2 people. But here you don't even get the option of brown rice - which I can only get when preparing food at home.