What is it with sugar and Thais?

[ChangMaiSausage]

Just reading the thread and the lads who work for me asked if I would eat breakfast with them (Indian) Egg roast, boiled eggs with a fried onion mix very nice served with coconut noodles. Very tasty until....... the lad next to me picks up the sugar bowl and spoons to heaped spoons of white sugar over his noodles.

Not just Thailand with the sweet tooth

[SiamPictures]

Thailand supports a large sugar Industry. The Govt. Health Authorities actually 'recommend' the public to consume 6 teaspoonful's of sugar daily, as if it were a vital health nutrient! Of course as the Govt. recommends sugar, it must be healthy.. so they consume much more, with the world's highest sugar intake per person. It's in all foods,

even in salads.

Except on the fresh strawberry´s they are normally served with salt on top.

[h90]

Bcgardener:

My wife likes soda water or plain water with lemon. She always tells without sugar.

She orders it and always it is very sweet.

I think last time she ordered ice with lemon and a bottle of soda....Big problem because they don't have that in the software: My idea to key in something else with the same or similar price brought me weird stares.

I asked my wife why she doesn't order the lemon juice soda drink and tell without sugar. She told because last time she sent it back 3 times because of the sugar......

[h90]

I don't totally agree.

I've avoided added sugar for years and don't eat desserts but I do eat fresh fruit.

Black coffee for me, no milk, no sugar, that's how I've always preferred it.

A som tum stall I used to go to was often over sugaring it, so I started asking for a little bit of sugar.

You DO need a little bit ... that's the recipe. It's palm sugar actually, the traditional Thai sugar.

Well a few times they just didn't put ANY in it and it tasted HORRIBLE.

Seriously, people who claim they don't eat any sugar, try that out and order that dish with NO sugar, and tell me that it's palatable, because it's not.

The same is probably true with some other typical Thai dishes like pad Thai, you DO need at least a little bit of sugar or it's just wrong.

This is true. Sugar creates a chemical reaction that breaks down certain ingredients and/or enhances their flavors. It balances certain dishes a bit and is necessary to achieve a good taste. But it does seem like certain vendors, restaurants, etc. get carried away with it, just like they do with MSG and Knorr.

Sugar is a mild flavor enhancer...true

[daviddabit]

i like black coffee without sugar too.. and every time i order coffee, i will repeat kaffe dam dam bo lan mai ao nam tan.. and the usual respond is they will ask you again and again to confirm it and they will start to comment alot about how are you going to drink it ..bla bla bla...

they really loves sugar ....

[tonray]

The bigger question is why did the barista put sugar in your coffee after you clearly said you didn't want any.

Perhaps she was used to the boys she dates saying "come on baby, gimme a little sugar"

[CLW]

You get looks like you're an alien if you order coffee without sugar or sweet milk. Same for Pad Thai without sugar.

[Jingthing]

You get looks like you're an alien if you order coffee without sugar or sweet milk. Same for Pad Thai without sugar.

Pad Thai needs a LITTLE sugar (preferably palm sugar) to be a proper Pad Thai and sweet is part of the balance of classic flavors in it. Same to Som Tum ... with no sweet at all it tastes horrible. But yes, the default style here is way too MUCH sugar. There is nothing wrong, health-wise, with small amounts of sugar.

Edited March 2, 2016 by Jingthing

[CLW]

You get looks like you're an alien if you order coffee without sugar or sweet milk. Same for Pad Thai without sugar.

Pad Thai needs a LITTLE sugar (preferably palm sugar) to be a proper Pad Thai and sweet is part of the balance of classic flavors in it. Same to Som Tum ... with no sweet at all it tastes horrible. But yes, the default style here is way too MUCH sugar. There is nothing wrong, health-wise, with small amounts of sugar.

Agree with that. For my taste in the dark pad Thai sauce is enough sugar so I order without additional but of course it depends on the recipe of the sauce.

[khun steve]

Sugar is everywhere in Thailand!! I don't understand why most Thai's add more sugar to items that are naturally sweet... like fruit shakes and tea. I ordered a sliced up pineapple in a bag in Bangkok and the seller asks if I want to add sugar... funny thing that I asked for the same in the Philippines and the seller asked me if I wanted to add salt!

[CLW]

Today I saw an interesting advertising at a coffee shop.

"You're on diet? Try our no-fat milk for just 5 Baht more"

In my opinion much better to ask with less or completely without sugar than save calories from the milk...