Top Five Thai Foods to Avoid

In general, Thai dishes are on the healthier side of the food pyramid. Focusing on light ingredients, Thai cuisine is based mostly on fresh vegetables and spices. However, if you're watching your diet, you should be aware that some Thai food is packed with carbs and fat. Here is a list of the top five unhealthiest Thai dishes.

Tao Hu Thod Sod Sai Moo: Try saying that five times fast. This is basically bean curd sliced in half, stuffed with minced pork, then deep fried. Aside from the fattiness of the pork, the fact that the recipe calls for one full liter of corn oil to fry it in tells you how much havoc it can wreak on your arteries.

Cab Moo: This dish is made up of pig skin, mixed with soy sauce, and fried in pork oil. The fattiness of the pork oil is hard on your heart and cholesterol levels, and the saltiness of the soy sauce is bad for blood pressure. Too make it slightly healthier, use low-sodium soy sauce.

Salted Red Egg Yolk From Duck: This is just what it says--the yolk from a duck egg, salted. The eggs are extremely high in calories and cholesterol, so if you're health-conscious, skip this dish.

Pad Thai: This is probably one of the most popular Thai dishes. Unfortunately, it's not one of the healthiest. It is based on white noodles, which are starchy in nature. Then, these noodles are fried, adding to its less-than-healthy characteristics.

Dried and Fried Pork: In this dish, the pork is first dried for super saltiness. Then, it's usually deep fried. The pork is eaten with sticky rice. The high sodium content, the fact that it's fried, and the carbs in the rice make it high on the unhealthy scale. For a slightly healthier option, bake the pork instead of fry it.

These are just a few of the unhealthy items in Thai cuisine. When choosing a Thai dish, look past the fresh vegetables. Pay attention to the way the food is prepared (fried, etc.). Stick with fish, things that are baked, and items that are seasoned with natural spices. Your heart will thank you!

Sources:
Thai Recipes http://www.asiarecipe.com
Joy's Thai Food http://www.joysthaifood.com/pork/thai-dessert-fried-pig-skins-cab-moo/
http://www.joysthaifood.com/thai-food-information/top-5-strange-thai-foods/