Darégal

For centuries Thai cuisine has been a melting pot where influences from diverse Southeast Asian cultures  (Siamese, Khmer, Mon, Malaysian, Indonesian and Vietnamese) and Far East cultures (from China and Japan) have mixed, without forgetting the strong influence of Buddhist traditions from India.
Thai cuisine is exceptionally inventive, fragrant and explosive. It is characterised by the intensive use of aromatic plants, condiments, spices and especially hot peppers.
Thais distinguish several varieties of hot peppers, beginning with the atomic bomb of the small and green coloured “Prik kee nu lueng” variety followed by the “Prik kee nu” which, in spite of its yellow-orange shade, is just as spicy. Next come the “Prik chee fah” and the Prik yuak” which, even though considered to be mild, paralyse you in a flash. The famous “Prik Thai,” the equivalent of the “piment-oiseau” from Martinique, much feared by foreigners, corresponds to the mildest pepper quality. Thus what is considered as uneatable by a harissa fan is, for a Thai, barely spiced. Thus one can easily understand that most cooks and restaurant owners, especially in the West, have had to adapt their ways of doing things somewhat for the uninitiated.
Next come multiple salads (with shrimp, beef, green papaya, cuttlefish or lobster).
Among a multitude of main dishes, one can cite the most famous ones: stuffed chicken wings, Thai beef with basil, stuffed squid, grilled chicken with garlic and multiple brochettes without forgetting fish. These dishes go extremely well with Thai fried rice, delicious sweet and sour fried noodles or rice served in small woven bamboo baskets that is traditionally eaten with the fingers.
Thai desserts are very colourful and often delicious, often rice or coconut based.