Food forms a central part of any social gathering in Thailand. Thai food offers a variety of tastes and flavors. Mixing of spices and herbs and market fresh ingredients makes Thai cuisine a culinary specialty.

The staple diet in Thailand is rice accompanied by a variety of dishes that can be eaten according to individual taste with several condiments, a soup, a curry, a steamed or fried dish, a salad and one or more basic sauces.

Thai cuisine boasts of an ancient history. As far back as the thirteenth century, the Thai people established the heart of Siamese cuisine which is types of meat and sea food combined with local vegetables, herbs and spices such as pepper and garlic, served with rice. Subsequently, the Chinese brought noodles to Thailand and also introduced the steel wok which is considered an important cooking tool.

A Thai meal consists of four main seasonings - salty, sour, sweet and spicy. Unless there is a combination of all four tastes, it is not considered satisfying. When dining out, Thai's would order a variety of meat and/or fish dishes, vegetables, noodles and also maybe a soup. Dessert is usually fresh fruit such as pineapple, or rice cakes, depending on the region. With the rise of Ayutthaya, fiery chillie-pepper, coriander, lime and tomato was introduced and it is believed that the Portuguese may have brought it from South America. Other influences came from Persia, Japan and especially, China.

Thai cuisine was also influenced by Indian spices and flavors, which are evident in their red, green and yellow curries. Some of the Thai curries has Indian spices in its pastes and maintain its own flavor with the addition of their own spices and ingredients, such as Thai holy basil, Thai ginger and lemon grass. There are definite distinctions in the Indian and Thai curries which are unmistakable, and it will be impossible to confuse one from the other.

Other influences on Thai cooking came from neighboring countries such as Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia and Burma. Thai's also snack a lot. You can pick out snacks on the roadside or marketplace which costs very little. The popular snacks are spring rolls, chicken or beef satay, soups, raw vegetables with a spicy dip, salads and sweets.

Thai food presentation, which was developed in the palace to please the King of Siam, is among the most exquisite in the world. Platters are decorated with a variety of carved fruits and vegetables which are cut into flowers and other pieces of beauty. Thai food differs from region to region. Rice is popular in the North and Northeast, where as in the Central regions, Thais prefer 'steamed' rice, representing their cultural heritages.

Summery: This article describes Thai cuisine and how it was influenced by various other countries and how over time, the Thais have developed an originality of their own, which is very popular all across the world today.