| Thai food is widely known for being hot and spicy | | | | tom yam kung (prawn soup with lemon grass). |
| since almost all Thai food is cooked with basic | | | | Dishes usually contain a lot of condiments and |
| ingredients such as garlic, chillies, lime juice, lemon | | | | spices. In the North, food is mild or hot, salty and |
| grass and fresh coriander leaf and fermented fish | | | | sour, but never sweet. Stikcy rice is served with |
| sauce (nam pla) or shrimp paste (kapi) to make it | | | | boiled vegetables, nam phrik oong and soups or |
| salty. | | | | curries. The North is also well-known for its |
| Since rice is the staple food in Thailand, it is usually | | | | sausage called "naem" which consists of |
| eaten at every meal with soups, curries, fried | | | | fermented minced pork. It has a sour flavour and |
| vegetables and nam phrik. Nam phrik is a hot | | | | is sold wrapped in cellophane and banana leaf. |
| sauce prepared in a variety of ways and differs | | | | Food in the Northeast is hot, salty and sour. Their |
| from region to region: nam phrik pal pon is a | | | | favourite foods include papaya salad (som tam), |
| ground dried fish and chilli sauce, nam phrik pla raa | | | | sour chopped meat salad (koi), sour minced meat |
| is a fermented fish and chilli sauc, nam phrik kapi | | | | salad (larp). People use a lot of condiments but |
| is a shrimp paste and chilli sauce, nam phrik oong | | | | not many spices. Their meals generally consists of |
| is a minced pork, tomato and chilli sauce. In | | | | sticky rice and nam phrik pla raa accompanied by |
| general the basic ingredients of nam phrik include | | | | a lot of vegetables including those found growing |
| shrimp paste, garlic, chilli, fermented fish sauce and | | | | wild. |
| lemon juice. | | | | On the other hand, food in the South is renowned |
| Other common seasoning in Thai food include | | | | for being very hot, salty and sour-tasting. Curries |
| galingale (khaa), black pepper, ground peanut, | | | | are popular and made with a loy of spices and |
| tamarind juice, ginger and coconut milk. As a | | | | condiments. Khao yam (a mixture of rice) raw |
| result, it takes hours to prepare a propoer Thai | | | | vegetables and fermented fish sauce or boo doo |
| meal in the traditional way as it involves so much | | | | is also a common dish. Generally southern people |
| peeling and chopping and pounding so it needs | | | | eat little meat and other varieties of nam phrik |
| time to prepare in advance. | | | | are not so popular, the most common one is nam |
| In fact, Thai food varies from region to region, | | | | phrik kapi. |
| for example, glutinous or sticky rice is more | | | | Though the major portion of Thai food is |
| popular in the North and Northeast than steamed | | | | described as being spiced and chilli hot, it currently |
| rice. Moreover, in some rural areas, certain insects | | | | enjoys worldwide popularity especially the eotic |
| are also eaten e,g, crickets, silk worm larvae, red | | | | Tom Yam Kung, a uniquely piquant prawn soup |
| ant larva. At the same time, Thai desserts are | | | | that is renowned for its simplicity, creativity, |
| often made from sticky ric or coconut milk, flour, | | | | artistic flair and delicious taste. Above all, the |
| egg and coconut sugar while a variety of fruit is | | | | tastes of Thai cuisines can be amended to suit |
| available all the year around. | | | | individual desire, for example, by reducing the |
| Meanwhile, the basic characteristic taste of Thai | | | | amount of chillies in certain dishes to lower the |
| food in different parts of the country can be | | | | "heat" or increasing amounts of lime juice to |
| described in different ways: in the central region, | | | | increase sourness. Visitore who have tried the |
| food is hot, salty, sweet and sour. Rice is served | | | | exotic Thai food will never forget to order them |
| with different types of nam phrik and soups e.g. | | | | again whenever their favourite dishes are available. |