Thai food’s bold blend of flavours: A culinary delight with a fatal bite

[Tropposurfer]

OMG! ????????????

 

Vegemite n toast for me for the rest of my uber-paranoid life. lol ????

 

But seriously I never eat anything remotely raw or bordering on raw, and for the sake of my imune and endocrine system  avoid, and always stipulate NO MSG for me!

[VBF]

Just now, kimamey said:

Some is ok but I can't eat it if it's too spicy. If I try it then I can't taste anything else.

 

Spices were used a lot in Britain many years ago for the reason you mention, to cover the taste of rotten food before they were able to cool it to slow down the deterioration. I suspect that's why food in Isaan is claimed to be extra spicy. Being the poorest region in Thailand over the years means that refrigeration came later, hence the need for spicy food.

 

Fortunately the young are realising the delights of KFC and McDonalds. ????

Given the choice of (cooked!) Thai food over Western rubbish like McD or KFC, give me spicy Thai food any day! I cook lots of Thai food in UK, Larb, or curries mainly and tend to make it as spicy as anything in Thailand. But then I like spicy Indian food too.....

 

IMO, McD or KFC, etc are far less healthy than a well-prepared Panang Gai.

[VBF]

1 minute ago, Sticky Rice Balls said:

As someone whos job is cooking for 30+ yrs Id argue many other "normal" foods can kill you also..where to begin.....

Especially too much McD or KFC or Fish & Chips with all the fat content! (Just my and many medical experts' opinions, you understand ????)

[VBF]

5 minutes ago, Sticky Rice Balls said:

lol  was joking just today about vegemite as i offered it to my friend from japan  she refused!

At least offer her Marmite not that poor colonial copy! ????????????

[BritScot]

42 minutes ago, kwilco said:

Well no - the parasite causes inflmation of the bile dus=ct - if this isn't dealt with, then it repeated inflamation can lead to cancers in the liver - which in turn has to be left untreated.

Another way is through  eating raw watercress or other water plants ....I'm sure many people on this thread think that salads are healthy too.

Some years ago thai vegetables and herbs were tested and all found to be poisonous and some being deadly: parsley was the worst I think.

[Sinsot]

7 minutes ago, Sticky Rice Balls said:

and cheap oil..trans fats and add in hyper processed junk.......as i bike by schools daily and see kids drink soda..eat fries....donuts---sugar.....kfc....as i get healthy and lose weight eating thai food

Add starchy carbs and sugar to that list and that make up 90% of the calories coming from KFC, McDonald's and the rest of the fast food crap.

[kimamey]

13 minutes ago, VBF said:

Given the choice of (cooked!) Thai food over Western rubbish like McD or KFC, give me spicy Thai food any day! I cook lots of Thai food in UK, Larb, or curries mainly and tend to make it as spicy as anything in Thailand. But then I like spicy Indian food too.....

 

IMO, McD or KFC, etc are far less healthy than a well-prepared Panang Gai.

So long as Thai food isn't too spicy I quite like it. It's when it covers the taste, which it often does so you can't taste it under all the chilli's.

The mention of KC and McDonalds was partly in jest, hence the emoji, but I don't think they are that unhealthy, it's the quantity that's often the problem. Mind you I rarely have either anyway.

[xtrnuno41]

Long time ago, saw docu on pla making but shown as fish sauce, so now there is also a dish? It was made by fermentation of fish in a barrel and was said parasites could be in it. So thats a no for me.

However you eat the joke of the egg, peanut butter, red meat, sugar, have artificial sweeteners, drink alcohol and then you could, have cancer.

And then not even talking about other chemicals they put in food.

Not long ago had kurkuma ordered, had to send back, new rules about substance in it.

Checked the substance and it was shown, it was in food for all of my life. It is still in food but levels are lowered.

So what should I eat nowadays? Have no clue.

[pacovl46]

4 hours ago, Gottfrid said:

Ok parasite. Whatever, it will kill you. Corrected. ???? 

Well, it kills 20000 people a year in an area that has how many millions of inhabitants who eat that dish regularly? 

 

I wouldn't eat it, but I guess smoking and drinking kills a lot more people every year. 

[StayinThailand2much]

10 hours ago, webfact said:

(...) there is one that demands caution – a dish so perilous that even a solitary mouthful could lead to liver cancer.

This carcinogenic creation is so deadly that it is believed to claim the lives of a staggering 20,000 people in Thailand annually.

 

(...) Known as koi pla, it comprises minced raw fish blended with herbs, spices, and lemon juice (...)

And?? What is carcinogenic about it, the fish, the herbs and spices, or the lemon juice?

[pacovl46]

4 hours ago, Gottfrid said:

Yep, here we have it again. The region with the perfect cuisine. Even if they are told there is a parasite that causes cancer in almost all of Thailands inland lake, rivers and floods they are too undereducated to understand. Besides that they do not believe what they are told anyway. They know they should not eat the fish raw. There have been lots of information, but they just don´t care.

Yep, here we have it again, an absolutely cretinous overgeneralizing stereotype of how stupid and uneducated Thais are and how educated and superior the west is. How many people die again in the west every year because they eat like pigs and are massively overweight, and how many people die of drugs, smoking and or drinking, despite the fact that they are SO EDUCATED on the adverse effects of smoking, drinking and co? But of course you conveniently blend that out because it doesn't suit the view from your high horse! 

 

 

[klauskunkel]

I see a market for amulets right here.

[Sinsot]

25 minutes ago, xtrnuno41 said:

Long time ago, saw docu on pla making but shown as fish sauce, so now there is also a dish? It was made by fermentation of fish in a barrel and was said parasites could be in it. So thats a no for me.

However you eat the joke of the egg, peanut butter, red meat, sugar, have artificial sweeteners, drink alcohol and then you could, have cancer.

And then not even talking about other chemicals they put in food.

Not long ago had kurkuma ordered, had to send back, new rules about substance in it.

Checked the substance and it was shown, it was in food for all of my life. It is still in food but levels are lowered.

So what should I eat nowadays? Have no clue.

Please don't tell me you think eating egg yolks and red meat is bad for you ????

[geisha]

50 minutes ago, kwilco said:

Minced meat  is a bacteria problem - bacteria settle on thr outside of meat - if it is then minced into a burger the bactris are mixed to the inside of the burger where they can multiple if not cooked through..... unlike a rare steak.

Quite true, butchers in France are not allowed to sell ready minced meat to restaurants. Restaurants must mince it themselves.  The mince meat sold in supermarkets, butchers shops on the spot, is done as you ask for it with a piece of meat in a refrigerated mince machine. The butchers usually wear gloves for this.  Any business selling meat, fish, food, should abide by the laws , and risk a huge fine or closure if caught out. Especially today in the world of hundreds of allergens , where we constantly hear of people dying from this and that. Like the young girl and the sandwich from a famous sandwich / snack take away in Heathrow and died on the flight. Bad news . 
I only have to see the seafood « boats » outside all the Thai restaurants, and it makes my stomach turn. After a hot day in the sun, put back in ice ! 
The group of cleaning ladies in my condo get frequently sick, eating from the vendors passing by on their moto shop. Health advice never crosses their minds unfortunately. 

 

 

 

[BritManToo]

3 minutes ago, geisha said:

Quite true, butchers in France are not allowed to sell ready minced meat to restaurants. Restaurants must mince it themselves.

Many years back I had a weekend job in Sainsbury's meat packing dept.

The beef going in the mincing machine was usually grey, and I'd pour in a pint of fresh blood to make it look 'fresher'.

[0815]

Let them enjoy this poison eventually upgraded with some lau khao to get blind as well.
Or
Did you ever talk to a concrete wall ?

[Aviatorhi]

3 hours ago, jacko45k said:

Perhaps so, but raw fish, straight from the water can also come with plenty of parasites...I would think avoiding raw fish (and other meats) is a safer approach. I have also heard of negative comments relating to the much loved and eaten Som Tam, some versions of which contain small raw crabs.

It's going to depend on the country. In Japan you can (literally) safely eat raw chicken. Their food hygiene and controls are that high. In Thailand, not as much. 

[fdimike]

2 hours ago, SiSePuede419 said:

Actually all raw sushi in America is frozen then thawed.  By law.  Freezing kills the parasites.  Yuck.

I believe you're incorrect about freezing killing parasites.  It's my understanding that the only way to kill parasites and their eggs is by cooking thoroughly.

[xtrnuno41]

On 9/13/2023 at 2:50 PM, Sinsot said:

Please don't tell me you think eating egg yolks and red meat is bad for you ????

Others, researchers, scientist say so. Im just eating all, for all of my life.

Government is telling me also and raise tax on sugar, meat and so on.

Governments nowadays, they let you, but costs you.

Now you have vegetable burgers, they send you to not eat meat.

How many chemical are in it , to have it taste meat-ish?

Im not going to nibble on a carrot every day.

 

[xtrnuno41]

17 minutes ago, fdimike said:

I believe you're incorrect about freezing killing parasites.  It's my understanding that the only way to kill parasites and their eggs is by cooking thoroughly.

yup heat kills.

According to this article, worms of 46000 years old

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/siberian-permafrost-roundworm-1.6923300

[Purdey]

Blood sausage (cooked) is a common food in the UK, but, while in Laos, I was offered Larb Leuat (blood larb) and couldn't force myself to even taste it. In Bang Ban District of Ayutthaya Province eating raw pork leads (or used to lead) to blindness.

[Sinsot]

24 minutes ago, xtrnuno41 said:

Others, researchers, scientist say so. Im just eating all, for all of my life.

Government is telling me also and raise tax on sugar, meat and so on.

Governments nowadays, they let you, but costs you.

Now you have vegetable burgers, they send you to not eat meat.

How many chemical are in it , to have it taste meat-ish?

Im not going to nibble on a carrot every day.

Those studies have been proven time and time again to be wrong. It's outdated information being pushed by vegan backed and paid for studies.

Eat your egg yolks and red meat, you'll be fine.

[kwilco]

14 minutes ago, Sinsot said:

Those studies have been proven time and time again to be wrong. It's outdated information being pushed by vegan backed and paid for studies.

Eat your egg yolks and red meat, you'll be fine.

yet neither of you can come up with a single "study" to back up your point.

[spidermike007]

3 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

You could have added frog and rat to the list, both of which have made family members sick at some stage. And take a look at what they sell in the frozen meats area of Makro. It's a different world to what we know.

Exactly, and the precise reason why when someone asks me about visiting Thailand for the first time, I tell them always remember one thing while you are here, you are not visiting a foreign country. You are traveling to a distant planet.

 

Which is a good thing. It is one of my favorite aspects of living here. The lack of familiarity is something I cannot get enough of. Life back in the US was so predictable, and boring. Not here.

[Chaspul]

All to do with refrigeration.

As kids we were taught "Never eat pork unless there is an R in the month " my younger days only saw a larder in the house. 

 

Having lived for many years in Saudi I understand  why the Muslim clerics ban pork completely-just to save lives of the uneducated population.

Chas

[JBChiangRai]

3 hours ago, arick said:

Take deworming pills every year. You need to take 3 in a go.  

My daughters & I take 5 pills every 12 months specifically because of this and other foods (eg undercooked pork, prawns etc).

[still kicking]

I don't know about raw fish never had any and don't like Japanese food either but I don't mind a good tartar. If done right, it is not dangerous. Quoting Master Chef last night, a Kangaroo tartar scored 10 out of ten last night.

[sambum]

Just spoke to my Thai wife from Isan about it. Apparently, the problem isn't when it's cooked - the problem is that some people prefer it uncooked and therein lies the danger!

 

P.S. As an aside, I note that the post says " millions of Thai people, especially in Isaan,...." Apparently it can be written in various ways i.e. "Īsān; also written as Isaan, Isarn, Issarn, Issan, Esan, or Esarn" which is probably why Thai is such a difficult language to learn!!! ???? 

[topt]

17 minutes ago, Chaspul said:

As kids we were taught "Never eat pork unless there is an R in the month "

In the UK that's what I remember them saying about shell fish (mussels particularly) - not pork..........?

[Jimjim1]

3 hours ago, kimamey said:

Fortunately the young are realising the delights of KFC and McDonalds. ????

And soon they will realise the horrors of obesity diabetes and serious heart problems amongst other sicknesses but hey ho who am I to advise anyone except that I am almost 80 now, have never to this day taken any of the usual meds for older people, And I have never eaten any of the items mentioned EVER, the smell coming from the cooker stack is bad enough.