ThaicuisineisthenationalcuisineofThailand.BlendingelementsofseveralSoutheastAsiantraditions,Thaicookingplacesemphasisonlightlyprepareddisheswithstrongaromaticcomponents.ThespicinessofThaicuisineiswellknown.AswithotherAsiancuisines,balance,detailandvarietyareofgreatsignificancetoThaichefs.Thaifoodisknownforitsbalanceofthreetofourfundamentaltastesensesineachdishortheoverallmeal:sour,sweet,salty,andbitter.

　　AsanacknowledgedexpertofThaicuisineDavidThompsonexplainsinaninterview:"Thaifoodain'taboutsimplicity.It'saboutthejugglingofdisparateelementstocreateaharmoniousfinish.Likeacomplexmusicalchordit'sgottohaveasmoothsurfacebutitdoesn'tmatterwhat'shappeningunderneath.Simplicityisn'tthedictumhere,atall.Somewesternersthinkit'sajumbleofflavours,buttoaThaithat'simportant,it'sthecomplexitytheydelightin."

　　Thaicuisineismoreaccuratelydescribedasfourregionalcuisinescorrespondingtothefourmainregionsofthecountry:Northern,Northeastern(orIsan),Central,andSouthern,eachcuisinesharingsimilarfoodsorfoodsderivedfromthoseofneighboringcountriesandregions:Burmatothenorthwest,theChineseprovinceofYunnanandLaostothenorth,VietnamandCambodiatotheeastandMalaysiatothesouthofThailand.[citationneeded]Inadditiontothesefourregionalcuisines,thereisalsotheThaiRoyalCuisinewhichcantraceitshistorybacktothecosmopolitanpalacecuisineoftheAyutthayakingdom(1351–1767CE).Itsrefinement,cookingtechniquesanduseofingredientswereofgreatinfluencetothecuisineoftheCentralThaiplains.

　　ThaicuisineandtheculinarytraditionsandcuisinesofThailand'sneighborshavemutuallyinfluencedoneanotheroverthecourseofmanycenturies.Regionalvariationstendtocorrelatetoneighboringstates(oftensharingthesameculturalbackgroundandethnicityonbothsidesoftheborder)aswellasclimateandgeography.SouthernThaicurrytendtocontaincoconutmilkandfreshturmeric,whilenortheasterndishesoftenincludelimejuice.ThecuisineofNortheastern(orIsan)ThailandissimilartosouthernLaocuisinewhereasnorthernThaicuisinesharesmanydisheswithnorthernLaocuisineandthecuisineofShanstateinBurma.ManypopulardisheseateninThailandwereoriginallyChinesedisheswhichwereintroducedtoThailandmainlybytheTeochewpeoplewhomakeupthemajorityoftheThaiChinese.Suchdishesincludechok(riceporridge),kuai-tiaoratna(friedrice-noodles)andkhaokhamu(stewedporkwithrice).TheChinesealsointroducedtheuseofawokforcooking,thetechniqueofdeep-fryingandstir-fryingdishes,andnoodles,oystersauceandsoybeanproducts.Dishessuchaskaengkari(yellowcurry)[3]andkaengmatsaman(massamancurry)areThaiadaptationsofdishesoriginatinginthecuisineofIndiaandthecuisineofPersia.

　　人工翻译，仅供参考泰国菜是泰国的烹饪方法。混合了东南亚几个传统的元素，泰国烹饪重视准备的菜肴具有强烈的芳香成分。泰国菜的辛辣是众所周知的。相对于其他亚洲国家的烹调方法，对于泰国厨师来说营养的平衡和多样化以及细节有很重要的意义。泰国菜以味道均衡著称，如每道菜或整个大餐涵盖了三到四种基本味觉--酸、甜、咸和苦。作为一个公认的泰国菜专家，戴维汤普森在采访中解释道：“泰国食物并不简单。它是通过用不同元素来创造一个和谐组合而完成。就像一个复杂的和弦音乐不管发生什么，都有一个平滑的表面。简单在这里一点都不是格言。有些西方人认为它是一个混乱的味道，但这就是泰国菜的重要所在，人们喜欢他的复杂性。”泰国菜更准确地描述为四个菜系对应的四个主要国家地区：北部，东北，中部和南部，每种烹饪分享了来源于周边国家和地区的类似食物：缅甸西北部，云南省中国和老挝北部，越南和柬埔寨的东部和马来西亚泰国的南部。除了这四个区域美食，泰国菜的历史也可以追溯到大城王国的世界性的宫廷菜。它的精细，烹饪技术和使用成分对泰国菜系有很大的影响。泰国美食和烹饪传统与邻国相互影响了几个世纪。区域差异往往关联到邻近的国家（通常是共享相同的文化背景和种族边界）和气候、地理。泰南咖喱往往含有椰奶和新鲜姜黄，而东北部菜系通常包括莱姆汁。东北部的菜系类似于老挝南部的烹饪，而泰国北部菜系有许多是老挝北部和缅甸山的食物。许多泰国受欢迎的菜肴原本是由大多数泰国华人组成的潮汕人引入到泰国的。包括米粥，炒米粉和猪肉炖饭。还引进了使用铁锅的烹调，油炸的技术、炒的菜肴，面条，酱油及豆制品。还有些食物像黄咖喱和咖喱鸡，是泰国改编于印度和波斯的烹饪。