Thai cooking is a singular cuisine that easily distinguished even from its nearest neighbours. Yet this dinstictiveness is not the result of an unaccommodating attitude that refuses novel ideas and new ingredients. The true genius of Thai cuisine is its ability to incorporate the unfamiliar and absorb it so com^letely that it becomes an integral component.

Thai food is intertwined with all aspects of Thai culture. Since ancient times, dishes have been offered to gods and spirits that inhabited the Thai world and the Thai psyche. Such offerings ensured their aid in times of uncertainty. Today no celebration is complete without a meal, and the offering of food to monks is a sure way to obtain merit.
The diverse terrain of Thailand imposes its own marked characteristics on the cooking. The many physical barriers - uplands, mountain, rivers, tropical forest and coast line influanced the regional differences in culture and cuisine.

Rice plays a pivotal role in Thailand: its cultivation has altered the countryside and created a culture that is uniquely Thai. This primacy is refled at the table where all the dishes are accopaniments to the rice. It is impsossible to imagine a Thai meal without rice.

Thai cooking is not an instant cuisine, prepared with a flick of a knife and finnished with a toss of a pan. It needs the cook's attention, it takes time ans effort to be spent and it requires honed skills, but it rewards with sensational tastes.

Below are examples of popular Thai dishes.

Snacks and starters

Thais love to eat and not just at meal times. Hence snacks and starters are often eaten between meals, at teatime, or at drinking parties as well as at the start of the meal. The variety of snack in Thai cuisine reflects the abudance of raw ingreadients and the imaginative use of indigenous herbs and spices. Most popular are:


Spicy Thai Fish Cakes and Cucumber Salad. Thai name: Thot Man Pla and Achat	Chicken Satay and Peanut Sauce Thai name: Satay Kai and Nam Jim Satay

Soups and Salads

The lack of starch in Thai soups is a unique facet of Thai cuisine. By combining Thai herbs such as galangal, kaffir lime and lemon grass with clear broth, Thai soups are refreshing, while the herbs soothe thz stomach.
Salad dressing (nam yum) differ from those in the West in that they are not oily and contain no fats of any kind. This makes them light and delicious, however once tossed they should be eaten immediately. Most popular are:


Hot and Sour Soup with Prawns Thai name: Thom Yum Kung	Papaya Salad Thai name: Som Tam

Main Courses

Thai food are unigue because of the combination of ingredients. Curries tend to be quite light as the curry paste is made from fresh ingredients, while the richness is derived primarily from coconut milk.
The use of herbs and spices, plus the simplicity of the cooking process, makes Thai food refreshing, while the imaginative mix of ingredients enhances the taste. Most popular are:


Red Chicken Curry Thai name: Kaeng Phet Kai Sai Normai	Sweet and Sour Prawns Thai name: Priao Wan Kung


Egg Fried Rice Thai name: Khao Phat Khai	Phat Thai Thai name: Phat Thai

Desserts

Thai desserts use flour, rice, coconut and coconut milk. Thailand is famous for the variety of its fruits from durians to rambutans, so it is logical that local fruits are also combined with flour to make delicious desserts. Most popular are:


Sweet Sticky rice with Coconut Cream and Black Beans Thai name: Khao Niao Tat	Banana Pudding Thai name: Khanom Kluai