Is Thai food often cooked with lard or other pork products?

Question

Does anyone know about Pad Thai--do they ever fry it in lard? I will be going to Thailand soon, and I don't eat pork, so I'm trying to find out whether I should be concerned about "hidden" pork products in food that otherwise seems like it wouldn't have meat in it. Thanks!

Answer 1

No, they don't add lard but I know they use Fish sauce in everything.  They might add pork to the dish.  So I suggest you take a Thai language translation book or have a guide who can help you with that.

Answer 2

VIV is right I have travelled to Thailand and in Asia areas like India, Singapore and Vietnam, the oils of choice are veg, groundnut, palm, cottonseed or a coconut oils, for foods like stir fried items it would be a veg or peanut oil.

Pad Thai is a stir fried noodle dish with chicken, shrimp and tofu, the sauce is a sweet chili sauce and they add veg like bean sprouts, onions, green onions and some times peppers. Lard or animal fats even butter are not use for everyday cooking, even baking it is a veg shortening, oil or coconut fat base.

Answer 3

nope! in Bangkok and other cities in thailand .. it's actually cheaper to use the commerical vegatbale oil and food vendors used this oil... only some villages use lard for their own personal consumation.

Furthermore lard has a smell that can be overpowering for take-aways ...esp most city dwellers love take-away food...

as for PORK it is the most common meat in thailand .. the second is chicken..

therefore you should not really worry about the oil used in deep frying or whatever... instead just tell them : NO PORK...

"NO"-> Mia ow

"pork"-> mo

so combine:" mia ow mo"

enjoy your trip to thailand

Answer 4

I've tried real authentic Thai food from a friend's home a couple of times.

No they do not deep fry their food in lard lol.

Most of the food is either stir fried, steamed, or boiled.

A lot of veggies and fruits, herbs/spices, etc.

Good stuff.