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Are the curry entrees at most Thai restaurants Paleo/Primal friendly?

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4 Answers

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It's broadly paleo, but there are several strikes against it:

-it's almost certainly cooked in cheap, high O6 vegetable oil

-it probably has soy sauce added, which often contains gluten

-MSG (some Thai restaurants even put out little pots of the stuff on the table for you to sprinkle over your food)

-often over-sweetened (bad for triggering sweet cravings). Beware: the spiciness/curry taste can also be quite effective at concealing how much sugar has really been added.

-difficult to avoid peanuts

-as already mentioned, the really dodgy places sometimes add gluten/corn containing thickeners

I suggest that you think about if and where this can fit into your 80/20, or whatever ratio you practice. If (like me) you're otherwise healthy and doing paleo as a healthful way of life, then enjoy your treat! If you are doing paleo due to leaky gut etc, then avoid.

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good list there of why not to go for it. i agree all the way. i used to have Thai prolly 3xweek. Now if i taste something that someone gets at work, its almost always very sweet. Sugar added for sure. – ben61820 Dec 30 2010 at 0:10
What about a good authentic Thai restaurant? Would they be likely to cook in coconut oil instead of vegetable oil? I always want to ask server what kind of oil they use, but never feel comfortable doing so. I guess I need to get over that... – Mike T Apr 9 2012 at 14:38
thaifood.about.com/od/glossary/g/oil.htm – Mike T Apr 9 2012 at 14:39
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They should be. Proper Thai curry doesn't have unwanted thickeners (e.g. flour, cornstarch) in it...I've heard anecdotally that some people have experienced this, but I suspect it's rare. Some curries can be sweetened up with palm sugar (green tends to be the sweetest), but if you don't worry too much about added sugar, Thai curries are a great choice (yum - meat, veggies, and coconut fat).

Just obviously avoid the rice and things like battered and fried fish. You can always ask for extra steamed veggies instead for a small surcharge instead of rice.

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I think most restaurants do more than just sweeten these curries "a little." One other worry is MSG. I suspect some of the lesser restaurants use it; however, when I've asked they have said no way, so they may be safe in this regard. – wjones3044 Dec 29 2010 at 20:16
Oh, definitely (note that I never said "a little" - I've had curries that tasted sweeter than milkshakes a couple of times), but I've found that more authentic places tend to sweeten less than places catering to a more American palate. – gone2croatan Dec 29 2010 at 20:20
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I love Thai red curry made with duck!

I order it without added sugar and MSG, and extra veggies instead of rice.

YUM!!!

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0

I don't think I've ever had a curry entree at a Thai restaurant that was even close.

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