drms

Hi,
I'm in the very early stages of planing a trip to Thailand in early Dec. My husband and I are still waiting to hear if we can get 2 weeks off of work around that time of year.

My question is: does anyone know if the food in Thailand has a lot of MSG? The reason why I care is that MSG is a migraine trigger for me and the last thing I want is to spend my entire vacation miserable.

Thanks in advance for your replies.

KimJapan

Yes it does. But if you eat in nicer places and/or request that it not be used, it can be left out. Common brand of it used in Asia is Ajinomoto...some people don't even realize it's MSG. I also react badly to it, and can tell if it's in the food from the first bite, and haven't had trouble getting it left out as long as I don't eat "fast food" style in food courts or in very cheap places.

LeighTravelClub

Not really a silly question....MSG in food causes me real problems so I certainly sympathise.
My research has told me that it is mainly present in Thai food which has been fried!
As Kim says you can usually request no MSG and most decent restaurants will oblige.
I read some time ago that eating fresh fruit after your meal can help if you have eaten MSG. Oranges in particular are said to have some neutralising effect.
Maybe others will have more info on this.

thetravellinggourmet

Your question aboyut the food is not silly at all. I have trained at the famous School of Thai Cooking at the celebrated Oriental Hotel, Bangkok and I have to tell you that true blue top class Thai cuisine does not use MSG. The only problem you may have is that authentic Thai cuisine and I mean the real thing (and not the watered down version for tourists), is extremely spicy, salty, sour and sweet. the Thais like their food that way but like many things in gastronomy, it is an acquired taste. Try the Thai food at the Sal Rim Naam in the Oriental Bangkok and you will definitely enjoy it, unless you are not a gourmet. On another note and it is about silly questions regarding food, I want to share my experience recently at the World Gourmet Summit in Singapore when I went to attend a Culinary Masterclass by the famous Swiss 2 Michelin Star Chef Reto Lampart. Masterchef Reto Lampart from Haegendorf Switzerland has 2 Michelin Stars and is a happy-go-lucky Chef with a great sense of humour. Recently, I attended his Culinary Masterclass held in the Goodwood Park Hotel as part of the 11th World Gourmet Summit in Singapore. He demonstrated how to cook an appetizer of Carpaccio of Lime Marinated Scallops with an exquisite Chartreuse of Green Asparagus and Scampi Croustillant. The way he made the Asparagus Spears in a ring mould with gelatin and put an asparagus mousse in the middle topped wth a rondelle of scallop carpaccio was superb. His scampi rolled with potato sphagetti and then fast fried in extra virgin olive oil from Liguria was crispy outside and Oh! La! La! succulent inside.

***Unfortunately, the moderator would ask irrelevant questions like "Is there any other seafood we can use?" and "Why do you remove the seeds?" when Chef Reto was making oven baked tomatoes. His amusing reply about removing the tomato seeds was, "Because I don't like them!"

Reto also cooked a lovely Lasagne of Waygu Beef Medallion with Miguel Torres Cabernet Sauvignon wine from Chile. The sauce flavoured with rosemary, bay leaf, mushrooms, shallots and black pepper was incredibly appetizing.

***As Reto was combining veal stock with the reduced wine sauce, the moderator asked, "Can we substitute a chicken stock for the veal stock?" Reto replied, peeved, "Chicken stock for chicken, lamb stock for lamb, venison stock for venison, veal stock for beef." Comic relief....

Crisp Mille-feuille with fresh Strawberries and sour cream ice cream was another tasty treat. Remarkable Reto is a super Chef and a very nice gentleman too! He provides "Genuss fuer Augen und Gaumen!" It means in German, "Enjoyment for the eyes and palate!"
There are questions and there are questions and when it comes to silly questions, I am sure you will agree that the ones I heard at the Masterclass were humdingers! Ha! Ha!
By Dr. Michael Lim The Travelling Gourmet who is a Travel, Food & Wine Writer/Editor in Asia.

baaj

Definitely learn the word for MSG in Thai before you go.

Tangata

My wife assures me that if you say MSG the Thais will recognize it.

Kathie

I am also sensitive to msg. Many years ago, before my first trip to Thailand, I had the owner of a local Thai restaurant write "no msg please" in Thai on a card for me. The response I got at restaurants in Thailand was that they didn't use msg.

I have traveled to Thailand many times now, and I have to say that I've never had a problem with msg in my food (and I don't even bother to ask anymore). But, as Kim points out, I don't eat at fast-food type places.

drms

Wow! Thanks for all the quick replies. That is such good news - and certainly, the answer I was hoping for!! Now, I can continue planning the vacation without having to worry. I hope I find out soon if we get those days off in Dec, because I know that it is peak season, and we have to book soon!

Thetravellinggourmet - I enjoyed your post, and agree - those were silly questions.

Thanks again everybody for the wonderful replies. I'm sure I will have many more questions to come.

baaj

"My wife assures me that if you say MSG the Thais will recognize it."

Maybe they will, but I do know from experience that if you say 'MSG' in China, no one will have a clue what you are talking about.

DorisG

MSG is also my main concern for my upcoming trip to Asia. It gets me very sick specially in my stomach. As we will be doing most of our dinner aboard the cruise ship, no problem there. For safety when eating ashore (we are not fast food or street food eaters), I asked a friend to write "NO MSG" in few Asian languages for the the places I'll be visiting like Japan, & mainland China. I will show it to the waiter & I hope he will understand . But I think in major restaurants they"ll speak english. The idea of eating oranges after a meal to neutralize the MSG might seem logical but I always eat fruits alone & never after a meal.

KimJapan

MSG is very common in Japan. But MSG is not understood unless you say Ajinomoto or amino-san. It is guaranteed to be in most broths any kind of noodles are served in...unless you go to a really top noodle shop that makes their own.

W9London

I'm not an expert so correct me if I'm wrong, but Chinese characters for MSG are "taste" (or "flavour&quot and "essence" (or "crystal&quot. Don't know how it's pronounced, but certainly it sounds like a good idea to ask someone to write it in Thai. MSG is the name of actual chemical compound, not a product/brand name. Sometimes it may simply say "flavour enhancers" in the ingredients.

Most commercially prepared soup/broth mix tends to have MSG, so definitely ask beforehand.

hawaiiantraveler

Monosodium Glutamate