-Fundalmental tastes: Sweet, Spicy, Sour, bitter and salty

-Common ingredients: Garlic, Chilies, lime juice, lemon grass and fish sauce.

-Staple food: Rice, Jasmine, (particularrly Jasmine variety rice included in almost every meal)


Culture
Thai food is universally famous. Wether chilli-hot or comparatively blands, 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 characteristics of Thai food depend on who cooks it, for whom it is cooked, for what occasion, and where it is cooked to suit all palates. Originally, Thai cooking reflected the characteristics of a waterborne lifestyle. Aquatic animals, plants and herbs were major ingredients. Large chunks of meat were eschewed. Subsequent influences introduced the use  of sizeable chunks to Thai cooking. 
Thailand's Cuisines:
 Culture:
· Independent country
· National religion is Theravada Buddhism
· 95% of Thais are Theravada Buddhist.
· Influenced by India, china and many western countries.
 
Population:
· 51st largest country.
· 63 million people.
· 80% of population is Thais.
· 10% Chinese origin
 Language:
· Official language is Thai.
· Words have many different meaning depending on the tone and how the word is pronounced,
· If a foreigner knows a few words you may get discount at stores. (i.e rah kah poot tai dai, "Thai speaker prices")
· Pronunciation is very important.
· Thais, sometimes, don't pronounce every single tone when speaking quickly.

·Thai dance main art of Thailand.
·The classical dance is categorized as high art and the folk dance is categorized as low art.
· khon and lakon nai are two major dances of the Thai classical dance drama.

Traditional Thai Music

Traditional Thai music is a blending of musical elements from a number of cultures, such as Chinese, Khmer, and Indian. This applies not only to the instruments but also to the melodies. Therefore Thai music can be said to be derivative. Notwithstanding that fact, Thai music has developed into a distinct form, which is regarded as belonging to the 'high' musical cultures of Southeast Asia.