I mentioned to my Thai friend that you were looking for a green curry recipe without coconut milk. The reply was, “Without coconut milk, you have no curry.”

This from Kasma Loha-Unchit, award winning cookbook author and cooking teacher:

“If you are concerned about the saturated fat content in coconut milk, know that this saturated fat has been shown in many independent studies to be a good saturated fat, easily metabolized to give your body quick energy. Contrary to popular myth, it does not transform into bad cholesterol to clog up arteries. In fact, cultures around the world that depend on coconut as their main source of fat have been found to be free of heart disease. The principle fatty acid in coconut milk is lauric acid, which is the same fat found in abundance in mother’s milk and is known to promote normal brain development and contribute to healthy bones. It also has important anti-carcinogenic and anti-pathogenic properties and is less likely to cause weight gain than polyunsaturated oils.

The potent anti-viral, anti-fungal and anti-microbial effects of coconut oil have implicated it in the treatment of both AIDS and candida. Whatever bad things you may have heard or read about coconut milk have not stood up to scrutiny by unbiased food scientists; however, the goodness of coconut milk has not been given equal press because of intensive lobbying against it by the powerful vegetable oil industry. Southeast Asians, meanwhile, have been staying healthy for generations with coconut an integral part of their diet.”

MSG has been used as a food additive for decades. Over the years, the FDA has received many anecdotal reports of adverse reactions to foods containing MSG. These reactions — known as MSG symptom complex — include:

Headache
Flushing
Sweating
Facial pressure or tightness
Numbness, tingling or burning in face, neck and other areas
Rapid, fluttering heartbeats (heart palpitations)
Chest pain
Nausea
Weakness

Did you know that there are also many health benefits of  authenic curry? While curry, or curry powder is actually a mixture of any number of spices, one main spice in most curry powders is turmeric. This is the spice that gives curry it’s yellow color and is also responsible, at least in part, for some of the health benefits of curried dishes.

Among the health benefits of curry is that of reducing inflammation of the joints. In fact, recent research shows that turmeric helped to prevent the swelling of joints in rats that had arthritis. And it’s not only arthritis that it may be helpful for. Other studies suggest that this powerful spice may also help protect us against cancer, heart disease and even Alzheimer’s disease.

But these health benefits are no surprise to those trained in Ayurvedic medicine where turmeric has been used for treating inflammatory disease for centuries. Since curry is a combination of many spices, there are dozens of health benefits that might be had by eating this tasty dish. Each spice has it’s own benefits and combining them can make for a powerful health boost as well as a tasty meal.

Curry is a favorite dish in Thai restaurants throughout the world and for very good reasons. Based on a delicious curry paste with fresh and dried herbs and spices, curry is unique and unlike any dish in Western cuisine. The endless combinations and fresh taste make curry a popular dish.

Curry is a staple dish of Thailand and in many Thai homes it is eaten on a daily basis. Using ingredients commonly found growing around the home and very little meat, curry is an economical and healthy part of the Thai diet. High in vitamins and rich in protein, it is easily digested when eaten with rice as part of a Thai meal.