Thai
Authentic-ish Thai
Home Classics, Lightened
Som tam is green papaya and lime. Larb is minced meat and herbs. Then there is coconut milk at 197 kcal per 100g and palm sugar in almost every savoury dish on the menu. Nine dishes are in the rejected chapter and most were already light enough to leave alone.
Not out yet. The swap kit from chapter 2 is free to read now, and it's the part of the book you'd use most.
What's in it
| Recipes | Chapters | Average calorie saving | Dishes rejected |
|---|---|---|---|
| 51 | 8 | 35% | 9 |
Every dish, and what came off it
Each figure is per serving, computed from the ingredient list. The traditional column is the real dish, not a strawman: it's costed from its own ingredient list so the saving is a measurement rather than a claim.
| Dish | Chapter | Traditional | This version | Saving | Protein |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Som Tam (Green Papaya Salad) | salads | 189 kcal | 155 kcal | 18% | 4.7g |
| Pad Thai | noodles | 728 kcal | 642 kcal | 12% | 38.3g |
| Green Chicken Curry | curries | 701 kcal | 470 kcal | 33% | 39.9g |
| Spring Rolls | fried | 439 kcal | 327 kcal | 26% | 8.3g |
| Chicken Satay | grill | 625 kcal | 365 kcal | 42% | 39.5g |
| Pad Krapow Moo (Holy Basil Pork) | stirfry | 897 kcal | 617 kcal | 31% | 47.1g |
| Mango Sticky Rice | pudding | 456 kcal | 280 kcal | 39% | 3.5g |
| Chicken Cashew Nut | stirfry | 540 kcal | 361 kcal | 33% | 38.8g |
| Tom Kha Gai | soup | 662 kcal | 412 kcal | 38% | 32.2g |
| Massaman Beef Curry | curries | 812 kcal | 488 kcal | 40% | 39.9g |
| Pad See Ew | noodles | 679 kcal | 274 kcal | 60% | 23.2g |
| Gai Yang (Grilled Chicken) | grill | 631 kcal | 342 kcal | 46% | 51.5g |
| Tod Mun Pla (Fish Cakes) | fried | 297 kcal | 218 kcal | 27% | 27.7g |
| Crispy Pork Belly (Moo Krob) | fried | 741 kcal | 297 kcal | 60% | 35.1g |
| Panang Curry | curries | 720 kcal | 421 kcal | 42% | 39.2g |
| Morning Glory Stir-fry | stirfry | 179 kcal | 91 kcal | 49% | 11.3g |
| Drunken Noodles | noodles | 729 kcal | 598 kcal | 18% | 34.2g |
| Fried Bananas | pudding | 462 kcal | 231 kcal | 50% | 9.3g |
| Red Curry with Duck | curries | 761 kcal | 389 kcal | 49% | 26.2g |
| Moo Ping (Pork Skewers) | grill | 384 kcal | 212 kcal | 45% | 30.2g |
| Prawn Toast | fried | 328 kcal | 213 kcal | 35% | 22g |
| Coconut Ice Cream | pudding | 446 kcal | 338 kcal | 24% | 6g |
| Pad Prik King | stirfry | 348 kcal | 270 kcal | 22% | 30.1g |
| Yellow Chicken Curry | curries | 975 kcal | 716 kcal | 27% | 51.5g |
| Rad Na | noodles | 642 kcal | 472 kcal | 26% | 27.7g |
| Grilled Pork Salad | salads | 256 kcal | 170 kcal | 34% | 24.1g |
| Fried Egg Salad | salads | 284 kcal | 210 kcal | 26% | 12.9g |
| Pineapple Curry with Prawns | curries | 529 kcal | 304 kcal | 43% | 24.6g |
| Steamed Fish Curry Custard | curries | 297 kcal | 230 kcal | 23% | 23.5g |
| Jungle Curry with Pork | curries | 400 kcal | 319 kcal | 20% | 36g |
| Yellow Curry with Crab | curries | 787 kcal | 675 kcal | 14% | 38.4g |
| Noodles in Gravy | noodles | 693 kcal | 504 kcal | 27% | 24.6g |
| Boat Noodles | noodles | 681 kcal | 425 kcal | 38% | 36.6g |
| Spicy Stir-fried Rice Noodles | noodles | 570 kcal | 526 kcal | 8% | 25g |
| Stir-fried Glass Noodles | noodles | 362 kcal | 267 kcal | 26% | 8.7g |
| Grilled Pork Skewers | grill | 519 kcal | 308 kcal | 41% | 35.7g |
| Northern Thai Sausage | grill | 456 kcal | 278 kcal | 39% | 37.3g |
| Spicy Pork Rib Soup | soup | 589 kcal | 320 kcal | 46% | 37.3g |
| Clear Soup with Glass Noodles | soup | 451 kcal | 339 kcal | 25% | 25.9g |
| Rice Soup with Chicken | soup | 488 kcal | 384 kcal | 21% | 33.3g |
| Dry Red Curry with Pork | stirfry | 624 kcal | 331 kcal | 47% | 26.4g |
| Mixed Vegetable Stir-fry | stirfry | 147 kcal | 92 kcal | 37% | 5.7g |
| Chicken with Cashew Nuts | stirfry | 657 kcal | 392 kcal | 40% | 50.3g |
| Spicy Seafood Stir-fry | stirfry | 441 kcal | 313 kcal | 29% | 29g |
| Thai Omelette | fried | 345 kcal | 171 kcal | 50% | 15.9g |
| Deep-fried Prawn Cakes | fried | 461 kcal | 184 kcal | 60% | 27.9g |
| Thai Fried Chicken | fried | 735 kcal | 302 kcal | 59% | 37.1g |
| Crispy Pork Belly | fried | 734 kcal | 513 kcal | 30% | 41.2g |
| Glutinous Rice Balls in Coconut Milk | pudding | 546 kcal | 256 kcal | 53% | 8.8g |
| Coconut Rice Pancakes | pudding | 327 kcal | 242 kcal | 26% | 6.2g |
| Water Chestnut Rubies | pudding | 331 kcal | 205 kcal | 38% | 1.5g |
The ones I wouldn't touch
Dishes drafted for this book that didn't survive. If every dish survived lightening, that chapter would be a marketing device and you should trust none of the rest.
Tom Yum Goong
Tom yum goong is stock, lemongrass, lime, chilli and prawns. It came out 12% lighter, which is inside the noise on a soup, and the only change was less of the chilli oil that goes on top. At 164 kcal a serving with 24g of protein it is one of the best things anyone can order. Ask for it without the evaporated milk if you are eating out and leave it alone at home.
Larb Gai (Minced Chicken Salad)
Larb gai is minced chicken, lime, fish sauce, chilli and toasted rice powder. 198 kcal a serving with 20g of protein and almost no added fat. It came out at exactly the same number, because the only fat in it is the fat in the chicken. This is what the rest of the book is trying to become.
Yum Nua (Spicy Beef Salad)
Yum nua is grilled beef, lime, fish sauce and herbs. There is no fat in it beyond what is in the steak. I put more beef in to lift the protein and made it heavier, which is honest and useless. Buy a leaner cut if you want the number down. That is not a recipe, it is shopping.
Crying Tiger
Crying tiger is a grilled steak with a chilli and tamarind dipping sauce. The steak is the calories and the sauce is nearly free. Trim the steak and you have a smaller steak. There is nothing here for me to do that a butcher cannot do better.
Yam Talay (Seafood Salad)
Yam talay is seafood, lime, fish sauce and herbs. 167 kcal a serving with 26g of protein and no oil anywhere. Nothing to do.
Glass Noodle Salad
Glass noodle salad came back 2% lighter. Glass noodles are pure starch and they are the dish; the dressing is lime, fish sauce and chilli, which is free. Two per cent is not a recipe.
Spicy Lemongrass Prawn Salad
This salad is prawns, lemongrass, lime and chilli, at 108 kcal a serving. I doubled the prawns to give it a protein figure worth printing and took it to 213. That is a better lunch and a worse answer, and the honest version of this page is the sentence you are reading.
Sour Curry with Fish
Gaeng som is a sour curry with no coconut milk in it at all, at 191 kcal a serving. It is already the light curry. Adding fish to raise the protein made it heavier. If you only cook one curry out of this book, cook this one exactly as it is written here.
Salt-Crusted Grilled Fish
Salt-crusted grilled fish is a fish packed in salt and put on a fire. 215 kcal a serving, 45g of protein, and the salt crust comes off and goes in the bin. This is the single best ratio in the book and it involves two ingredients.
Where the numbers come from
- FoodData Central, SR Legacy Release (April 2018). U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. Public domain (U.S. Government work).
- McCance & Widdowson's Composition of Foods Integrated Dataset (CoFID) 2021. Public Health England / Office for Health Improvement and Disparities. Open Government Licence v3.0.
- FoodData Central, Branded Foods (October 2024 release). U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. Public domain (U.S. Government work).
Retrieved 2026-08-21. Nothing in these books is dietary or medical advice. Danny Vale is a cook.