If you ever get the opportunity to visit Thailand, you will notice that everyone is often curious to know whether you have room for some famous Thailand dishes. People will ask you some version of ‘gin khao reu yang?’ meaning ‘have you eaten yet?’ before even greeting you with a ‘hello’. To be honest, there are so many tempting dishes and food vendors on every street that it’s difficult not to find yourself munching on something at any given time. As a result, it is also exceedingly difficult to maintain a healthy weight! There are, however, numerous healthful Thai dishes that you can enjoy without feeling guilty. The following are the 10 healthiest Thailand dishes.
Som Tam (Papaya Salad)
This is a great dish to consume if you are a health-conscious eater because it is made up almost entirely of veggies and occasionally crab or dried shrimp. Having said that, this salad contains palm or brown sugar, as well as a couple of teaspoons of fish sauce, which can be quite rich in sodium. If you don’t want the sugar and want to eat this meal as spicy as possible, tell the vendor or restaurant, “mai waan” – which means not sweet.
Yum Ma-muang (Green Mango Salad)
Green mango salad, like its sibling dish – papaya salad, doesn’t have anything going against it in terms of health. This dish includes carrots, green mango, and fresh lime juice. If you want to make it even healthier, request to exclude white or palm sugar. Otherwise, you can eat this dish guilt-free.
Yum Talay (Seafood Salad)
This mixed seafood salad is not only tasty but also extremely healthy. It’s exactly what it sounds like: a salad made almost completely of seafood, with the exception of some tomatoes and onions. Yum talay can include any combo of squid, shrimp, mussels, scallops, or crab meat, depending on the area you visit.
Kaeng Liang (Vegetable Soup)
This soup can be made with either water or chicken stock. Vegetables often include baby corn, pumpkin, mushrooms, and other ingredients, although this might vary considerably depending on where you buy it. Whatever the case, vegetables go side by side with healthy, and the more veggies the healthier. Fish or soy sauce are the least nutritious ingredients in this soup. Otherwise, this is one of Thailand’s healthiest dishes.
Tom Yum Goong (Hot and Sour Soup with Shrimp)
When ordering this soup, be cautious because there are several varieties, some of which are much less nutritious than others. This hot and sour soup may be served creamy since it contains a lot of coconut milk and sugar. However, shrimp is a low-fat, high-protein replacement for meat, so don’t think too hard.
Pad Pak (Stir-Fried Vegetables)
Broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms: you never know which vegetables will be included in your pad pak. Soy sauce and palm sugar are sometimes added by restaurants and vendors. If you don’t want these ingredients, simply point to them and say “mai ao” (literally: “I don’t want”). Most food vendors will have all of the ingredients on display, making it easy to specify what you want and do not want.
Pad Pak Bung Fai Daeng (Stir-fried Morning Glory)
While cooked morning glory (also known as water spinach) loses some of its nutrients, this salad is still one of the healthiest Thai foods you can order. However, because it is prepared with oyster sauce, pad pak bung fai daeng is rich in sodium.
Gai Pad Med Mamuang (Chicken with Cashew Nuts)
This fried dish is filled with cashew nuts, onions, and baby corn, making it one of Thailand’s healthiest dishes. Cashew nuts may be rich in fat, but they are also abundant in vitamins and minerals, so you may eat them without feeling guilty. If you order this meal without the casual side of rice, it will be even healthier.
Khao Man Gai (Chicken and Rice)
This dish is high in protein and low in carbs. Furthermore, it is a pretty inexpensive meal to purchase in a restaurant, so you are filling up at a reasonable price. It’s generally served with a spicy dipping sauce. If you want to lower your risk of type 2 diabetes, you can replace it with brown rice.
Thai Fruit
Thailand is well-known for its exotic fruits, which are a result of the country’s special climate. Grab a bag of fruit for 40 (a little more than $1/£0.70) or less from any street vendor. Dragon fruits, guavas, rose apples, and pomelos are just a few examples!