Thai cuisines are amongst the most varied and most often misinterpreted foods in the world. It’s a common misconception to think Thai food is full of curry and chili to dull the senses. Most recipes use all the four basic tastes, salty, sour, sweet and hot, but there are dishes without any of those if you don’t like sour and sweet or hot at all. Thai gastronomy is a balancing act that is most probably originated from their rich and diverse cultural heritage.

Surrounded by many different countries Thailand developed a variety of cooking styles that change with every part of the country. Laying 1000 miles long the country has most different regions ranging from almost sub-tropical seaside to footsteps of the Himalaya. Laos, Cambodia, China and western culture all influenced dishes, but one thing is persistent through all the recipes. Thai food is all about balance and lightly made meals, using different spices to achieve harmony in a set of courses.

A traditional Thai family meal will consist of rice and several different sauces to dip the rice in. There are more servings than guests so that everyone can share food with each other. This is a practice used in some Thai restaurants and thus visiting a place in a small group of friends is advised. There is no such thing as appetizer or main course, everything is served at once and everyone takes what they like.

Thai people like hot food and they prepare their dishes in a way to have at least one hot course or sauce during the meal. They are used to chili so if you were thinking about ordering something hot, think again. If you see hot, or very hot on the menu it probably means devastatingly hot for an average North American or European. A mild to medium or slightly hot is definitely a safer first bet. If you’re not sure about the heat level in the food, ask your server to advise you something that is more to your taste.