BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THAI CUISINE

Thai food is now internationally famous. Whether chilli-hot or comparatively bland, harmony is the guiding principle behind each dish. Thai cuisine is essentially a marriage of centuries-old Eastern and Western influences harmoniously combined into something uniquely Thai.

The unique feature of Thai cuisine is the mixture of 4 basic tastes -- salty, sweet, sour and pungent. Many dishes can even be described as pungent and spicy with lots of garlic, chillies, and fresh herbs. Thai food not only tastes good, but is also healthy due to its low fat and high fibre and the nutritious properties of its herbal ingredients.

The tastes of Thailand range from spicy curries to mildly aromatic desserts and can sometimes surprise the visitor, for instance in the combination of both sweet and salty elements in the same dish.

Although it draws heavily on several of the great Asian culinary traditions, particularly Indian and Chinese, Thai food is unique, for its subtle combination of myriad ingredients, spices, herbs and sauces. One popular misconception about Thai cuisine is that it is invariably hot (spicy). In fact, many dishes are no hotter or spicier than any other Asian style.

Although popularly considered as a single cuisine, Thai food is really better described as four regional cuisines corresponding to the four main regions of the country: Northern, Northeastern (or Isan), Central and Southern.

Traditional Thai medicine regards food as a fundamental of a person's physical and mental health. If one consumes food which harmonizes with the seasons of the year, the geographical condition of his locality and the chemical elements in his body, good health and clear state of mind will be his. This principle has been observed by the Thai people for a long time to keep the body and mind in equilibrium.