Is Asian Street Food, Safe to Eat?

How many times have we heard of someone who has suffered from variously named illnesses, such as Bali Belly, Bangkok Belly, Thailand Tummy, Delhi Belly, or whatever? I know I have been on the receiving end, and it's not funny! But, is it just the food? Is it the cleanliness of the food stall? Or, is there some other culprit?

One of the most stupidly ignorant things I have ever heard is that Asian people are so used to their foods, and the way they are prepared, that they do not get sick. What a load of rubbish! Asian people do get sick from much the same causes / reasons, as Westerners. In fact, they die, too, from lack of decent Medical Services.

I have not travelled all over Asia, nor have I eaten at all street stalls, but when I did, I was extremely selective - and I never ate from a stall which I did not watch for at least 15 minutes, to see their 'hygiene' techniques, and from where, and how, their ingredients were sourced, and how they prepared the food, and even then, it was nearly impossible to protect myself.


Most times, if food contains 'bugs' which will make you sick, or are no good for your body, your own digestion system will, generally, reject them. In other words, your stomach will select reverse gear, and you'll vomit. However, it's the sly little pathogens, which can trick your system, and get through the security net, giving you the belly from hell that you do not want - or worse!

Most of those pathogens, such as Cyclospora cayetanensis, E-coli, Trichinella spiralis or Campylobacter jejuni, vary in their causes, potency, and in their effects on you.

For instance, Cyclospora cayetanensis causes gastrointestinal upsets, and is transmitted through food, or water, which has been contaminated by human faeces. Human Faeces? (****!) I had a friend who got really crook from a 'tummy bug'. It prompted me to think!

E-coli lives in the intestines of cattle, sheep, pigs, and poultry. It can get into the water system through animal faeces and can infect humans through improperly cooked and handled meat. Symptoms go from a mild flu-like ailment all the way up to kidney failure, and even death. How many times do you see the farm cattle, such as the buffaloes, wallowing nearby? Does the water come from the same source? Mmmm?

One of the worse pathogens, is Trichinella spiralis which is a worm that is transferred to humans from infected Pork. People who become infected start out with abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and watery stools. Then, the face very often becomes puffy and swollen, especially around the eyes, and headache and even delirium occur. Five percent of those infected die. Survivors may take six months to re-cover and be left with permanent heart or eye damage. Was the pig killed in a registered abattoir, or 'on the farm'?

Newer pathogens are discovered as new techniques are developed. Campylobacter jejuni is now the most common bacterial cause of diarrhoea in industrialized countries. Caused by contaminated raw foods it is the most common pathogen in poultry. It brings on fever, headache, muscle pain, diarrhoea, and nausea; in extreme cases it leads to arthritis, blood poisoning, meningitis, inflammation of the heart and other organs, and paralysis.


So, with all those 'bugs' able to get you, and the various ways they are transported to you, is it any wonder that some people get sick - and after they have arrived back in their home country?

I got very sick, back in 2001, from eating watermelon. It was suggested that a common practice of some farmers, was to use a large 50 mls syringe to inject additional water into melons, to increase their weight, and therefore, the prices they got at the market. Unfortunately, for me, and I suppose many others, the water used, was not from a healthy source. I spent one week in Thailand's Hat Yai hospital, then, when they gave up and could not help me any further, I flew home to Australia, to seek medical attention, and recover. I was OK, about a week later.

Leafy vegetables are washed, but what is the water like? Where does it come from? I bet there are not many roadside stalls using bottled water to rinse-off food. Has the stall-keeper washed his/her hands properly after ablutions? Was the meat kept chilled? Was the cutting-board cleaned properly after cutting-up the raw chicken, when they prepared your salad?

I am currently watching a program series on TV, about Asian Food, presented by English Chef, and Writer, Rick Stein. He is travelling through Asia - places like Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia, and apart from the fact that he is an extremely well-known chef, and should know better, he really is an enigma. I believe he has been to Thailand many, many times, yet, not only can't he say 'Thank you', or 'delicious', in Thai, he eats 'willy-nilly' from food markets, and stalls. I expect that one day, we'll read about him in the papers.

In summary, roadside stalls, and street-vendors are generally, OK. Look at them. Check them out. Ten extra minutes won't hurt. Don't you be the same as many people. Don't spoil your holiday with a trip to the hospital and a week, or more, in bed - wishing you were dead! It will happen. It's just a question of when.

The roadside stalls may well serve great food, and be well worth the experience, as I found out on many occasions, but then again, so is Russian Roulette, I suppose, - if you win!


Ref: Suite 101.com ... Article by Rupert Taylor.

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Pumpkin in Coconut Milk - 'Fak Thaawng Gaeng Buat'

One delicious Thai dessert, is Pumpkin in Coconut Milk - 'Fak Thaawng gaeng buat'. It is similar in ways, to Bananas in Coconut Milk - Kluai Buat Chee, but seems to develop a deeper, richer, flavour, when the pumpkin breaks-down, a little.

This is one dessert you'll be making, time and time again.

Ingredients:

1 cup x water
1/2 tspn x salt
2 cups x Pumpkin - chopped into small cubes
1/3 cup x Palm Sugar
1/2 cup x Coconut Milk - try to limit the amount of fats included.


Method:

Skin the pumpkin, remove the seeds, and cube it into pieces of ½" x ½" x ½". Add the water and coconut milk to a pot, and heat it over low heat. Add the salt.

Add half of the sugar and taste it for sweetness before adding more. If you find it to be too sweet, add more water. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Add the pumpkin, and let it boil until cooked. Serve hot, warm or room temperature.

The key to this dish is thinning-down the coconut milk. Coconut milk, or cream, will curdle when boiled. If your Coconut Milk is creamy, dilute it with water.




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Orange Rice

I do not think this dessert is strictly Thai. although I did have it for the first time when I was in Bangkok. I have searched for the recipe, many times, and eventually found it on p.134 of *The Margaret Fulton Cookbook.

It is a delightfully tasty, and 'easy-as-pie' dessert.

Orange Rice is one of those simple desserts, which anyone, who can cook rice, can prepare - in minutes.



Ingredients:

1 cup x Rice - Thai Jasmine, or Basmati - per person.
½ cup x Orange Juice - plus 2 tbspns more, for after the cooking. I squeeze my own.
1½ cups x Water
1 oz x Butter, or Margarine
½ cup x Sugar
1 tbspn x Grated Orange Rind


Method:

Rinse the Rice and drain it. Just once, is enough.
In a small saucepan, bring the Water to the boil. When boiling, add the Sugar and Orange juice - stirring well, to combine. Add this liquid mixture to your Rice Cooker and mix with the Rice. Start the cooking.

When the Rice Cooker stops the cooking, I allow it to sit for 5 minutes on 'warm'. Then, add the couple of tablespoons of Orange juice not used in the cooking, and the Orange Rind. Stir in and allow to cool.

This is delicious on its own, or with some whipped cream, or ice cream. I might even suggest some candied Orange Peel, too! Mmmm.


* The Margaret Fulton Cookbook - © - Originally Published by Paul Hamlyn Pty Ltd. 1968.


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