Launch of the “Healthy Living with Thai Cuisine” Cookbook: Combination of Delicious, Unique, and Nutritious Dishes 

A lecturer from the Food Technology Department, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University and a team from various institutes have collaborated to produce the “Healthy Living with Thai Cuisine” cookbook, presenting recipes from 4 regions of Thailand, combination of “side dishes” to eat with rice to achieve balanced and complete nutrition in each meal, hoping to preserve the nutritious meal based on Thai eating culture and unique Thai taste to promote good health for Thai people. 

“What shall we eat?” 

A simple question that sometimes we can’t think of or answer. If we had a good cookbook to help, it would probably help. And the good news is that now health-conscious consumers and Thai food lovers can download the E-book “Healthy Living with Thai Cuisine”, a new kitchen companion that not only features a variety of delicious Thai dishes, but also provides the nutritional value that we should receive in every meal of the day. 

Assistant Professor Dr. Nattida Chotechuang, a lecturer at the Department of Food Technology, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, and one of the team members who compiled the cookbook, said that this cookbook presents recipes as “set meal”, meaning the meal that comprised of staple (rice or starch) and two side dishes, together with providing nutritional value of the set meal including energy, protein, fat, sugar, sodium, and vegetables according to the criteria specified in each meal. Importantly, nutritious food must come with deliciousness that maintains the identity of Thai food. This cookbook presents a total of 20 set meals and a total of 11 popular single dishes. 

In addition to the Food Technology Department, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, the preparation of this cookbook marks the cooperation from various institutions, including the Institute of Nutrition, Mahidol University, the Thai Dietetic Association, Dusit Thani College, and Ajinomoto Co., (Thailand) Ltd. 

“This mutual operation of various sectors has the advantage of allowing for diverse opinions. We provide food criteria based on the perspectives of academics, nutritionists, or dietitians, and chefs help pair the food. The recipes have been adjusted to improve health, taste good while maintaining our Thai identity,” Asst. Prof. Dr. Nattida explained the highlights of this cookbook. 

“Sumrab” the Combination of Thai Cuisine 

Thai people like to eat rice as their main staple and often have it with many types of “side dishes” in each meal, called “samrab” (samrab refers to various food containers used for each meal). Therefore, choosing the “side dishes” in each meal is important. 

“Thai cuisine requires combining. If we combine it appropriately, choose it well, and eat it in the appropriate amount, we will gain complete and balanced nutritional value,” explained Asst. Prof. Dr. Nattida who gave the example of eating fried chicken. “If we eat only fried chicken with rice, it may lack dietary fiber. We must eat another “side dish” with it, such as, boiled vegetables with chili dip, or mixed vegetable sour clear soup. This will help ensure that the meal has a more balanced nutrition. 

The cookbook “Healthy Living with Thai Cuisine” presents guidelines for combining 2 side dishes with rice in the appropriate amount and according to nutritional criteria, energy, fat, protein, sugar, sodium, dietary fiber, etc. There are 20 sets in total. 

“If we are going to eat sour clear soup, what should we eat with it? Or if we want to eat green curry, what should the other dish be?” This cookbook has the answer. 

“When we consume the appropriate amount, we will gain the nutrients according to the criteria,” emphasized Asst. Prof. Dr. Nattida. 

Regarding the criteria for menu combination or arranging a set, Ms. Pakpadsorn Sarachantapong, a nutritionist from Ajinomoto Co., (Thailand) Ltd., another vital member of the cookbook production team, explains, “There are two parts that we concerned in meal combination The first part is nutritional value. We have set the criteria based on Thai Recommended Daily Intake (Thai RDI) and divided into 3 meals per day. The second part is the compatibility of flavors and taste. Arranging a Thai set often pairs foods that go well together, such as spicy with bland, sour with fatty, salty with sweet, etc. 

Adhering to the nutritional criteria for Thais 

“Healthy Living with Thai Cuisine” cookbook assesses the nutrient content of various dishes based on the Thai RDI (Thai Recommended Daily Intakes), which is the recommended daily intake of nutrients for Thais aged 6 years and above, as determined by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Ministry of Public Health. 

“We use a program called INMUCAL version 4.0, developed by the Institute of Nutrition, Mahidol University, to calculate the type and quantities of nutrients in each type of food, such as energy, protein, and sodium. Then we compare the nutrient values ​​with the recommended daily intake for Thais,” Asst. Prof. Dr. Nattida explained. 

“The nutritional value used in evaluating this recipe consists of 6 items: energy, protein, fat, sugar, sodium, and vegetables (representing dietary fiber). Energy is deducted from milk, fruit, and snacks by 20%. Energy should not be consumed too much or too little. Fat, sodium, and sugar should not exceed the criteria. Protein and vegetables should be consumed in sufficient amounts. Then, each menu should be combined to create nutritional balance.” 

Therefore, the initial nutritional criteria of the Thai recipe for one serving are 553 kilocalories of energy, 15 grams of protein, 19 grams of fat, 1.6 grams of sugar, 667 milligrams of sodium, and 53 grams of vegetables. 

Maintaining the value of Thai recipes from the Four Regions 

The cookbook presents recipes for Thai dishes from all four regions, presenting rice with 2 side dishes, which is a Thai eating culture. For example: 

• Northeastern Region set meal such as a set of sticky rice, Isan chicken soup, and Spicy minced pork salad – Isan chicken soup comes with vegetables and herbs to enhance the flavor, eaten with spicy minced pork salad and side dishes, and eaten with sticky rice to balance the meal. This dish provides 480 calories, 24 grams of protein, 17 grams of fat, 708 milligrams of sodium, No added sugar, and 148 grams of vegetables. 
• Central Region set meal such as set of steamed rice, green curry and boiled egg spicy salad. green curry contain high fat from coconut milk, recommend to eat with low fat side dish such as boiled egg spicy salad which has low fat. Served with steamed rice as the main source of energy. This meal provides 512 calories, 25 grams of protein, 20 grams of fat, 959 milligrams of sodium, 5 grams of sugar, and 124 grams of vegetables. 

• Northern Region set meal, such as set of steamed rice, Hang Lay curry (the northern Thai pork curry), and Vermicelli spicy salad — Hang Lay curry has a spicy, sweet, and fragrant taste of spices. Vermicelli spicy salad has a sour, sweet, and fragrant taste of herbs. Eaten with rice as the main source of energy. This set provides 603 kcal of energy, 25 grams of protein, 20 grams of fat, 1,195 milligrams of sodium, 6 grams of sugar, and 119 grams of vegetables. 
• Southern Region set meal, such as set of Sang Yod variety of rice, stir-fried Malindjo leaves with egg, and Moo Hong (the southern Thai pork stewed), a savory dish made from pork belly. Balance the meal with stir-fried Malindjo leaves with eggs, giving it natural sweetness and adding dietary fiber, and eating with Sang Yod rice, a type of Thai rice that is abundant in antioxidants and dietary fiber. 
• This dish provides 622 kcal, 19 grams of protein, 35 grams of fat, 631 milligrams of sodium, 10 grams of sugar, and 45 grams of vegetables. 

In addition, this cookbook presents recipes for 11 single-dish menus that Thai people love, such as: 

• Pad Mee Korat (Stir-fried Korat Noodle), a noodle dish that already has complete food ingredients, with a salty and sweet taste. When cooking, the sodium and sugar content can be reduced. 
• Khao Man Kai (Chicken Rice) with modified dipping sauce recipe by using freshly squeezed orange juice as an ingredient to reduce sugar and sodium. 
• Boat noodles, recommended to be eaten with less soup to reduce sodium, and eaten with vegetables to help expel sodium. 

Cook and Taste 

The majority of Thai cuisine is spicy, particularly street food, which frequently uses more seasoning than is necessary. In this regard, Asst. Prof. Dr. Nattida’s advice is that “Thai cooking should not use repeated seasonings. For example, stir-fried basil with fish sauce and oyster sauce to add saltiness and umami flavor. There is no need to add more soy sauce to increase the saltiness. We need to know what kind of smell and taste we want the food to have. Some dishes do not call for the smell of fish sauce, so we should just add soy sauce. In addition, when cooking, we should add the seasonings one at a time, and keep tasting as we go along. Avoid adding all seasonings in large quantities, or tasting the meal just once after seasoning it. 

In addition, Asst. Prof. Dr. Nattida said that currently, there are products which help reduce the level of sodium, such as reduced-sodium fish sauce, but that does not mean that we will receive less sodium if we do not control the amount of seasonings in foods. 

“When we find out that the product has reduced sodium, we tend to put a lot of it in our food. In the end, we get the same amount of sodium,” said Asst. Prof. Dr. Nattida. Consumers must know that if we are going to limit sodium, we should choose less salty food. If we can cook it ourselves, we should season it to reduce the saltiness. When cooking, add 1 teaspoon of fish sauce. When using reduced-sodium fish sauce, add the same 1 teaspoon, not twice as much. Most importantly, we should adjust the taste of our food. Do not eat strong flavors.” 

Ms. Pakpadsorn added her opinion on Thai seasonings, “We should choose the right amount. We should know the properties of each type of seasoning, such as salt, fish sauce, saltiness, soy sauce, but they taste different. We have to look back and see what the taste of the dish we are making is like and what properties we want in our dish. Do not overdo it by adding all the salty seasonings heavy-handedly.” 

You are what you eat 

The saying, which goes “You are what you eat,” is still applicable today.  According to Ms. Pakpadsorn, “Nowadays, many diseases are caused by eating behavior. Today’s technology can tell us what kind of genes we have and what we should eat. But in the end, we should eat a balanced diet for its nutritional value. It’s not like we eat a lot of sugar just because we know our body can burn sugar well. This will make our body work harder. There is still truth in the saying that goes “You are what you eat,” or “You eat what you are.”   

“What shall we eat?” 

 If you still don’t have any idea, try downloading the e-book of “Healthy living with Thai Cuisine” (Thai language) at https://bit.ly/cookbook-healthyset free of charge.   

Those interested in obtaining the actual book may request a free copy (given to organizations) at https://bit.ly/cookbook-healthyset. 

For more information, please contact npsm.project.thailand@gmail.com  

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