Thai food is widely known for being hot and spicy since almost all Thai food is cooked with basic ingredients such as garlic, chillies, limejuice, lemon grass and fresh coriander leaf and fermented fish sauce (nam pia) or shrimp paste (kapi) to make it salty.

Since rice is the staple food in Thailand, it is usually eaten at every meal with soups, curries, fried vegetables and nam phrik. Nam phrik is a hot sauce, prepared in a variety of ways and differs from region t oregion: nam phrik pla pon is a ground dried fish and chilli sauce, nam phrik pla raa is a fermented fish and chilli sauce, nam phrik kapi is a shrimp paste and chilli sauce, nam phrik oong is a minced pork, tomato and chilli sauce. In general, the basic ingredients of nam phrik include shrimp paste, garlic, chilli, fermented fish sauce and iemon juice.

Other common seasoning in Thai food include galingale (khaa), blackpapper, ground peanut, tamarind juice, ginger and coconut milk. As a result, it takes hours to prepare a proper Thai meal in the traditional way as it involves so much peeling and chopping and pounding so it needs time to prepare in advance.

In fact, Thai food varies from region to region, for example, glutinous or sticky rice is more popular in the North and Northeast than steamed rice. Moreover, in some rural areas, certain insects are also eaten e.g. crickets, silk worm larvae, red ant larvae. At the same time, Thai desserts are often made from sticky rice or coconut milk, flour, egg and coconut sugar while a variety of fruit is available all the year round.

Meanwhile, the basic characteristic taste of Thai food in different parts of the country can be described in different ways: in the central region, food is hot, salty, sweet and sour. Rice is served with different types of nam phrik and soups e.g. tom yam kung (prawn soup with lemon grass. Dishes usually contain a lot of condiments and spices. In the North, food is mild or hot, salty and sour, but never sweet. Sticky rice is served with boiled vegetables, nam phrik oong and soups or curries. The North is also well-known for its sausage called "naem" which consists of fermented minced pork. It has a sour flavour and is sold wrapped in cellophane and banana leaf.

Food in the Northeast is hot, salty and sour. Their favourite foods include papaya salad (som tam), sour chopped meat salad "koi", sour minced meat salad (lard) . People use a lot of condiments but not many spices. Their meals generally consists of sticky rice and nam phrik pla raa accompanid by a lot of vegetableas including those found growing wild. On the other hand, food in the South is renowned for being very hot, salty and sour-tasting. Curries are popular and made with a lot of spices and condiments. Khao yam (a mixture of rice) raw vegetables and fermented fish sauce or boo doo is also a common dish. Generally southern people eat little meat and other varieties of nam phrik are not so popular, the most common one is nam phrik kapi.

Though the major portion of Thai food is described as being spiced and chilli hot, it currently enjoys worldwide popularity especially the exotic Tom Yam Kung, a uniquely piquant prawn soup that is renowned for it simplicity, creativity, artistic flair and delicious taste. Above all, the tastes of Thai cuisines can be amended to suit individual desire, for example, by reducing the amount of chillies in certain dishes to lower the heat or increasing amount of lime juice to increase sourness. Visitors who have tried the exotic Thai food will never forget to order them again whenever their favourite dishes are available.

Individual dishes

    * Pad Thai (Thai: ผัดไท) - rice noodles pan fried with fish sauce, sugar, lime juice or tamarind pulp, chopped peanuts, and egg combined with chicken, seafood, and tofu
    * Rad na (Thai: ราดหน้า) - wide rice noodles in gravy, with beef, pork, chicken, shrimp, or seafood. (Originally from China)
    * Khao pad naem (Thai: ข้าวผัดแหนม) - fried rice with fermented sausage (typically from the Northeast)
    * Pad see ew (Thai: ผัดซีอิ๊ว) - noodles stir-fried with see ew dum (thick soy sauce) and nahm plah (fish sauce) and pork or chicken.
    * Pad kee mao (Thai: ผัดขี้เมา) - noodles stir-fried with Thai basil
    * Khao khluk kapi (Thai: ข้าวคลุกกะปิ) - rice stir-fried with shrimp paste, served with sweeten pork and vegetables
    * Khanom chin namya (Thai: ขนมจีนน้ำยา) - round boiled rice noodles topped with various curry sauces and eaten with fresh leaves and vegetables.
    * Khao soi (Thai: ข้าวซอย) - crispy wheat noodles in sweet chicken curry soup (a Northern dish)
    * Khao pad gai (Thai: ข้าวผัดไก่) - fried rice with chicken
    * Kaphrao gai (Thai: กระเพราไก่) - minced chicken in sauce made up of a combination of hot green chilies, garlic, and basil
    * Gai himaphan (Thai: ไก่หิมพานต์) - juicy chunks of chicken with cashew nuts and chilies

Central Thai Shared Dishes

    * Tom yam (Thai: ต้มยำ) - hot & sour soup with meat. With shrimp it is called Tom yam goong or Tom yam kung (Thai: ต้มยำกุ้ง), with seafood (typically shrimp, squid, fish) Tom yam talae (Thai: ต้มยำทะเล), with chicken Tom yam gai (Thai: ต้มยำไก่).

    * Gai Pad Khing - Ginger chicken.
    * Tom kha gai (Thai: ต้มข่าไก่) - hot sweet soup with chicken and coconut milk.
    * Satay (Thai: สะเต๊ะ) - grilled meat, usually pork or chicken, served with cucumber salad and peanut sauce (actually of Indonesian origin, but now a popular street food in Thailand).
    * Red curry (Gaeng Phet lit. 'hot curry', Thai: แกงเผ็ด) - made with copious amounts of dried red chillies
    * Green curry (Gaeng khiew-waan, Thai: แกงเขียวหวาน) - green curry, made with fresh green chillies and flavoured with Thai basil, and chicken or fish meatballs. This dish is one of the spiciest of Thai curries.
    * Massaman curry (Thai: แกงมัสมั่น) - an Indian style curry, usually made by Thai-Muslims, containing roasted dried spices, such as coriander seed, that are rarely found in other Thai curries.
    * Pad prik (Thai: ผัดพริก) - usually beef stir fried with chili, called Neua pad prik (Thai: เนื้อผัดพริก)
    * Pad kaphrao (Thai: ผัดกะเพรา) - beef, pork or chicken stir fried with Thai Holy basil.
    * Pad pak ruam (Thai: ผัดผักรวม) - stir fried combination of vegetables depending on availability and preference.
    * Panaeng (Thai: พะแนง) - dry curry with beef (Panang beef, Thai: พะแนงเนื้อ), chicken, or pork. It includes some roasted dried spices similar to Massaman curry.
    * Tod man (Thai: ทอดมัน) - deep fried fishcake made from knifefish (Tod man pla krai, Thai: ทอดมันปลากราย) or shrimp (Tod man kung, Thai: ทอดมันกุ้ง)
    * Boo Jah (Thai Crab Cakes) - crab cakes with pork, garlic, and pepper served with a simple spicy sauce, such as Sri Rachaa sauce, sweet-hot garlic sauce, nahm prik pao (roasted chili paste), or red curry paste and chopped green onions.
    * Choo-Chee Plah Ga-Pong - snapper in choo-chee curry sauce (thick red curry sauce)

Northeastern Shared Dishes

    * Som tam (Thai: ส้มตำ) grated papaya salad, pounded with a mortar and pestle. There are three main variations: Som tam poo (Thai: ส้มตำปู) with salted black crab, and Som tam Thai (Thai: ส้มตำไทย) with peanuts, dried shrimp and palm sugar and Som tam plara (Thai: ส้มตำปลาร้า) from north eastern part of Thailand (Isaan), with salted gourami fish, white eggplants, fish sauce and long bean.
    * Larb (Thai: ลาบ) - sour salads containing meat, onions, chillies, roasted rice powder and garnished with mint.
    * Namtok (Thai: น้ำตก) - made with beef and identical to larb, except that the beef is cut into thin strips rather than minced.
    * Yam (Thai: ยำ) - general name for any type of sour salad, such as those made with glass noodles (Yam Wun Sen, Thai: ยำวุ้นเส้น), or with seafood (Yam Talae, Thai: ยำทะเล).
    * Tom saep (Thai: ต้มแซบ) - Northeastern-style hot & sour soup
    * Gai yang (Thai: ไก่ย่าง) - marinated, grilled chicken
    * Sticky rice (Thai: ข้าวเหนียว)
    * Namprik num (Thai: น้ำพริกหนุ่ม) - dipping sauce made from roasted eggplant, green chillies, and garlic grounded together in a mortar and pestle.