Is street food good for you? Old rancid oil. Cheap oil. Food dripping with oil.

[KhunLA]

Except for the Canola, the Olive (EV), Coconut & Peanut are cold pressed/first pressed.  Not refined at all, I think, or simply the minimum.  Sure they get some kind of processing, but have most of their nutrients before the rest get ultra processed.

 

Beef Tallow or butter for cooking proteins.

Edited 1 hour ago by KhunLA

[retarius]

4 hours ago, ronster said:

Probably equal to McDonald's , KFC , burger king etc .

The oil they mostly use is horrible and that's why I don't eat a lot of street food , as hours later you still get a horrible aftertaste in your mouth . I only use sunflower oil or olive oil if I'm cooking at home .

Obviously some places hygiene standards are non existent and what they put in som tam in some cases smells like a rotting corpse . But otherwise I have never been ill after eating Thai street food , only time I have been sick after eating was from KFC ! 

I won't eat that <deleted>e either

[retarius]

6 hours ago, connda said:

Is street food good for you? Old rancid oil. Cheap oil. Food dripping with oil.

 

What I see here is Westerner cultural superiority.  Westerners are freaking clean freaks.  In 17 years here I have seen all the tropes, exaggerations, and outright falsehoods about "Thai street food."  This is reflective of Westerners who come here already prejudging something that isn't part and parcel of their own culture - well, outside of perhaps food stalls you can find a fairs.
Ultra-clean Farang Fred:  "Unlike Thailand we have whole branches of our excessively large, nanny-state government dedicated to inspecting food establishments, especially "ify" food stalls at fairs."
Exactly!  One of the things I like about Thailand is that it doesn't have a nanny-state government monstrosity getting into everyone's business.  Kids can't even open a freaking lemonade stand in the West.

I've lived in Bangkok, Korat, and Chiang Mai and have often eaten Thai street food as well as getting to know the vendors who prepare the food.  Yeah - that does require you to have immersed into both the culture and the language of Thailand 👈 something most Westerners who lock themselves in gated communities and who associate primarily with their fellow farangs can never grasp.  I personally have lived IN Thai communities since I got here in 2007 and made an effort to learn the language and to assimilate the best I can into the culture. 

So I find that the topic of "Thai street food" just brings out the worst of Western Cultural Chauvinism. 
"It's dirty!
"It's greasy, cockroach laden trash!!"
"You'll get food poisoning!!!"

Hate to burst ya'll's ethnocentric bubbles, but the street food I've eaten is fresh, delicious, and generally prepared one order at a time right in front of you if you take the time to watch the process and interact with the staff.  Like any brick&mortar establishment (where you can't see the staff prepare the food), on occasion you'll find a place where the food sucks.  But those are the exceptions and not the rule.  And, oh!  I have had food poisoning in Thailand twice!!!  👉 Both times after eating at international fast food restaurants (I avoid those place like the plague now - can't name them due to Thai defamation laws). 

Denigrating "Thai street food" is just more Thai-bashing by Westerners who come to Thailand with bad case of Ethnic Egotism:  Western food clean; Thai street food dirty.  Most probably don't eat Thai street food because they already harbor the preconceived notion that it's unfit for human consumption.  That's ok, go back to your clean gated communities and eat clean food from Michelin 5 star restaurants and wallow in your Western ethnic snobbery.  Eating "Thai street food" is obviously beneath your social status.
"Dirty food for dirty people!  Grrrrr!"

Yes not is beneath meat to eat the crap from the street....it's dirt and taste that I can't abide. If you are too poor to eat decent food, go ahead eat that vile brew that would be closed down in a second in US or Uk for hygiene violations. 

[KhunLA]

2 hours ago, CLW said:

Do you realize that not all streetfood is fried or dripping in oil ? 

What about those rice with topping restaurants or noodle soup of any kind?

Yes, fresh fruits peeled & cut in front of you.  BBQ every thing, hot off the grill.  Roast chicken in big clay pots.  Even fried chicken, if I see the oil isn't black.  Steamed Bao bun and such.

 

Common sense and choosing wisely goes a long way.

[KhunLA]

don't want to go too far off, but here's a break down of oils & the fats ...

Edited 1 hour ago by KhunLA

[1FinickyOne]

4 hours ago, Gobbler said:

I make a delicious steak. 

What time?

[Gobbler]

3 x a day

[Fortunateson]

4 hours ago, Gobbler said:

I hope you deboned the chicken. 

Yes

 

[harryviking]

LOL! I consider Thai food NOT healthy at all. They poor in sugar and MSG plus the oil used is not always fresh and might be of a kind, so-called vegetable oils, that you should NEVER put in your mouth! I will however mention that I do sometime buy BBQ chickens and similar and have never ever been sick or had any problem with it. Most street food is as good as the one you make yourself. Street vendors do put their pride in making good and safe food. I just do not agree with things they add! Without it the food might even be considered healthy! 🙄😏