Thai food calories

About Thai cuisine

Thai cuisine is one of the most popular Eastern cuisines, along with Chinese and Japanese. The dishes are lightly prepared with characteristic aromatic ingredients, which may vary depending on the geographic area. For example, in the southern parts of Thailand they use a lot of coconut milk, as wells as fresh turmeric, while in the north dishes often include lime juice.

Thai food is known for being spicy. However, Thai restaurants in Europe and US often turn the spiciness down a notch for those who do not have the palate or the stomach for it.

This food is all about balance. All the ingredients are planned into detail and it is always made sure that they work together well. This cuisine stimulates all five senses of taste- salty, sweet, sour, hot and bitter.

A typical Thai meal usually consists of rice and a variety of side dishes that are served at the same time and shared by everyone at the table. The rule is to serve more dishes than the number of guests at the table. Thai food is satiating and it fulfills the stomach for long.

Calories in Thai food

The exact number of calories depends, of course, on the preparation, but if they are prepared in the traditional way, by a good, experienced chef who follows the rules of Thai cuisine, the calories can be easily calculated by observing these numbers that apply for servings of 100 grams.

For example, Pad Thai has 216 calories, Pad Ka Prao or stir-fried basil has 11153 calories, black rice pudding with taro, or Kaow Neaw Dum Peak Peuk has 141 calories, northern sausage or Sai Oua has 360 calories, Pork Satay has 418 calories, chicken curry, called Kaeng Kari Kai has 125 calories, Pad Kra-prao Moo, which is stir-fried pork fith Kra-prao leaves, has 156 calories, bitter gourd and shitake soup contains 110 calories, Pad Kuichai Kung or stir-fried leek with prawns has 123 calories, and Pad Pak Kanah Nammunhoi or stir-fried kale with oyster sauce contains 311 calories per 100 grams.

For those who wish to cook a Thai meal at home, it should be said that these dishes contain herbs and spices that are not widely available in the West. Fortunately, there are specialized stores, small shops in ethnic neighborhoods and spice shops that do have most of them. Even some bigger supermarkets have aisles dedicated to different international cuisines, where many Thai spices are available.

As it is mentioned above, the calorie count depends on the type of the dish, its ingredients and preparation. Lean meat like chicken of course has lower calorie count than pork, and the same goes for vegetables and mushrooms, especially if stir-fried.