Why Is The Food So Very Good In Thailand?

[Bpuumike]

used to get hankerings for baked beans before tops stocked the malaysian brand. sometimes for rolled oats too. potato chips still an absolute necessity but 7 has tastos so no problem there. tinned tuna fish is a farang copy too. moo burgers. ham&cheese toasties, all theses farang food compliment my thai street food and would be sorely missed if not available. milk, and coffee occasionally to. but yes thai food is good after you find a farang friendly place to buy it.

Sometimes craving for a good steak or baked beans (not together) just hit you.

Otherwise Thai life and food is good.

[Lobber]

Simple the use of MSG - used in Everything,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,YUK stuff stay away from it !!!

Edited September 7, 2013 by Lobber

[willyumiii]

Chicken and pork and rice and noodles and pork and chicken and noodles and....

Living in an inland rural area I find there is not a great variety of choices here.

Was never all that big on burgers when I lived 57 years in the USA, but now a juicy Cheeseburger, fries and a shake sound like heaven to me!

[hanno]

I love Thai food. And Indian ,and Mexican, and Italian (not Pizza or Pasta), and German, and French, and Spanish, and Japanese, and Chinese....

Heck, I just love food and Thai food is right up there with the best. And the places I usually frequent do not use MSG (and not a single study has conclusively found that MSG is harmful anyway).

The one thing I cannot live without with is rice. Pretty strange for a German but then I did grow up in Mombasa where rice is a staple.

[iamanisland]

 

Heck, I just love food and Thai food is right up there with the best. And the places I usually frequent do not use MSG (and not a single study has conclusively found that MSG is harmful anyway).

No one ever said here MSG is harmful and yes it is found naturally in some food products.

Just answering the OP's question "why is the food so good in Thailand?"

Answer is possibly because of the vast quanities of MSG. If you dont beleave then try this experiment.

Buy can of regular dog meat, split it in 2 parts then add 150g MSG too 1 half and none to the other half. Cook both and serve with rice.

Guess what... 1 tastes yummy the other tastes like shit. I rest my case. However a friend sugested try the experiment with human excrement.

Ok thats not for me but I think it will bring same results.

Please read the OP's question again. This is just my answer to that and nothing to do with if MSG is good or not.

Thats in another post.

But food for thought Thailand is the 2nd biggest users of MSG next to china. Giving china's population to Thailand then if you are not using MSG then everyone else must be.

Best regards and happy eating.

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[OldChinaHam]

I love Thai food. And Indian ,and Mexican, and Italian (not Pizza or Pasta), and German, and French, and Spanish, and Japanese, and Chinese....

Heck, I just love food and Thai food is right up there with the best. And the places I usually frequent do not use MSG (and not a single study has conclusively found that MSG is harmful anyway).

The one thing I cannot live without with is rice. Pretty strange for a German but then I did grow up in Mombasa where rice is a staple.

I very much agree with you about rice and needing it just about every meal.

Either rice or noodles, anyway.

You are also correct about MSG. I think that in moderation it should be no problem and cause no ill effects.

Some say that in higher concentrations, such as what they sometimes put in the small chili sauce packages, it can lead to bad headaches or maybe slight vertigo. But I don't know.

The main thing though is that the reason they add MSG is because they need to compensate for poor food preparation or just low quality ingredients, or not using more expensive ingredients such as ginger, garlic, vinegar, sugar, and the many other relatively expensive spices that are needed to produce a good meal.

You do not need to use MSG to make fantastic Chinese or Thai food. And it is a myth that most Chinese food contains much of it.

I also, of course, did not say I do not love Indian food, or Italian (there is very good pizza and pasta in Italy, but not much Italian pasta in the USA), German, French, Spanish, Japanese, because, like you, I do love these cuisines. I just would choose Thai if I could have only one for the rest of my life.

So, I do very much agree with your thoughts about MSG and it being safe, and also providing enhanced flavoring, when the cook does not have time or the inclination to prepare a top meal without using MSG.

[Ulysses G.]

If I went back to live in San Francisco - where pretty much every cuisine in the world is available - I might have some kow mun gai or Pad Thai every once in a while, but, other than that, would not eat much Thai food. I would mostly eat Chinese, Japanese, Mexican as well as American favorites like GOOD burgers (which are unavailable in LOS), New York-style pizza, buttermilk biscuits and such if I had the choice.

[AlexRRR]

Oldchinaham must be into sauces big time......not notice the array of sauce and condiments on a thai table? reminds me of American anything when ive been to here in AU

Old TGF killed her seafood pizza with Tomato sauce (ketchup for the Americans) she put it on a steak too.

And half the stuff they cook comes out of a packet like there currys.............

[preahko]

Simple the use of MSG - used in Everything,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,YUK stuff stay away from it !!!

Oh, PLEASE, do not start down this road...Western processed food (which is what most Westerners eat) if FULL of MSG, way more than most (well-prepared) Asian food...the criminalization and orientalization of MSG--which is just a SPICE, for crying out loud--by self-righteous Westerners irks me to no end...

[preahko]

If I went back to live in San Francisco - where pretty much every cuisine in the world is available - I might have some kow mun gai or Pad Thai every once in a while, but, other than that, would not eat much Thai food. I would mostly eat Chinese, Japanese, Mexican as well as American favorites like GOOD burgers (which are unavailable in LOS), New York-style pizza, buttermilk biscuits and such if I had the choice.

There is only one place in the US I've found that authentic Thai food is available: Thai Town in LA. Otherwise, it's all crap, way-watered-down for wimpy farang tastes, sigh...

[iamanisland]

Simple the use of MSG - used in Everything,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,YUK stuff stay away from it !!!

 

Oh, PLEASE, do not start down this road...Western processed food (which is what most Westerners eat) if FULL of MSG, way more than most (well-prepared) Asian food...the criminalization and orientalization of MSG--which is just a SPICE, for crying out loud--by self-righteous Westerners irks me to no end...

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[iamanisland]

Simple the use of MSG - used in Everything,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,YUK stuff stay away from it !!!

 

Oh, PLEASE, do not start down this road...Western processed food (which is what most Westerners eat) if FULL of MSG, way more than most (well-prepared) Asian food...the criminalization and orientalization of MSG--which is just a SPICE, for crying out loud--by self-righteous Westerners irks me to no end...

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Please, the comments too MSG are just 1 reason (and not the only one) too the op's questions, there are other reasons too which are being shared.

But your mere sugestion that MSG is a "spice" ??? Oh my!!!! I know education is not high on the agenda for most but please just look at the full name.

"Monosodium glutamate" which part of that name suggest "spice"??

It is a man made chemical compound. To minick the naturally occurring acids fiund in some foods. Think the japanese are responsible for its creation? Not sure and cant be arsed to check. Thats not the point of this thread. I think even a first grade student could tell you this. Chemistry not your strong point.

Thank you for informing us that most westerners eat processed food. Thats quite a sweeping statement.

I oftern wondered why asian supermarkets carry rows and rows of instant noddles. Know I understand its for westerns to buy and consume.

Next you will be telling us fish sauce is naturally occuring. Does it come from the fishes anus???

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[OldChinaHam]

Oldchinaham must be into sauces big time......not notice the array of sauce and condiments on a thai table? reminds me of American anything when ive been to here in AU

Old TGF killed her seafood pizza with Tomato sauce (ketchup for the Americans) she put it on a steak too.

And half the stuff they cook comes out of a packet like there currys.............

I don't add anything to the dish as served by either the Chinese or the Thai restaurant.

All food should be prepared in a way that it will taste as intended without the addition of anything.

But in a restaurant, they can't judge exactly the amount of heat we like, so I do very occasionally add chili to Thai food.

Then there are the things that you must add to Chinese and Thai food, such as the ground peanuts, or a few other things that are served as side dishes to be added by the eater.

Most things are made from scratch by good restaurants, and so very little from the can or the factory foods packaged in cans or plastic packs.

[OldChinaHam]

If I went back to live in San Francisco - where pretty much every cuisine in the world is available - I might have some kow mun gai or Pad Thai every once in a while, but, other than that, would not eat much Thai food. I would mostly eat Chinese, Japanese, Mexican as well as American favorites like GOOD burgers (which are unavailable in LOS), New York-style pizza, buttermilk biscuits and such if I had the choice.

Very much agree.

IF, I say IF, I went back to the west coast, than I could find plenty of good Chinese food in Taiwanese restaurants there.

But I will not be going back, maybe ever.

So I will eat Thai, and love it.

(Will not be eating McD, and hating it.)

[Razzler1973]

I LOVE Thai food. It's a big part of my trips to Thailand actually. I especially love street food and just the sheer volume of different dishes that you can get on the street, it's not like 10 or 20 different street foods (a fair amount) it's 100+

Awesome

[krisb]

I eat Thai food cause she is the chef. Luckily my wife's a great cook. I couldn't eat it everyday, still like my steak and veg too much. Nice juicy steak topped with prawns and a creamy garlic sauce with creamy mashed potato. Creamy goodness which rice can't completely compete with.