Healthy and Low-Fat Cooking Tips Many modern cooks are concerned about preparing healthy, low-fat meals. Fortunately,Thai cooking is healthy to start with since it calls for lots of fresh vegetables and fruits and smaller amounts of meat and oil. When adapting recipes, it’s best to make a recipe just the way it’s printed the first time in order to get the flavor and texture right. Then, the next time you make the recipe, try substituting. Throughout the book, you’ll also find specific suggestions for indi vidual recipes—and don’t worry, they’ll still taste delicious! Coconut milk is quite high in saturated fat. But it is frequently used in Thai cooking to cool the heat of spices and chilies. Try using a mixture of 1 cup whole milk or fat-free half-and-half plus ¥ tea spoon imitation coconut extract in place of 1 cup of coconut milk. For recipes calling for beef, chicken, or pork, use a sharp knife to cut off excess fat. Some cooks like to replace ground beef with ground turkey to lower fat. However, since this does change the fla vor, you may need to experiment a little bit to decide if you like this substitution. Buying extra lean ground beef is also an easy way to reduce fat. And when directions say that the wok or skillet should be heated and coated with oil before stir-frying, use a low-fat vegetable oil spray to coat the pan. Thai cooking often calls for soy sauce, a seasoning that, like salt, adds a great deal of flavor but is high in sodium. To lower the sodium content in a recipe, try reducing the amount of soy sauce.You can also substitute lite (low-sodium) soy sauce. Be aware that soy sauce labeled “light” is usually only lighter in color than regular soy sauce, not lower in sodium nor as thick or intense in flavor. There are many ways to prepare meals that are good for you and still taste great. As you become a more experienced cook, try exper imenting with recipes and substitutions to find the methods that work for you.
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