In the early days, there were no complicated utensils and equipments used to cook Thai food. Not to mention large cooking equipments such as pots, pans woks because they didn't exist in those days. The only metallic utensil used in cooking was knife. Therefore, cooking techniques were limited at the initial stage of Thai cuisine. However, the Thai ancestors were so creative that even without complicated utensils, they could make several delicious dishes that still present until today. 

The art of cooking Thai food has been developing over the years in accordance with the outside influences, especially from the west. With the advent of modern kitchenware, new ideas and techniques have been further enhanced. Today, a good Thai food cook can be more and more creative than in the early years.

However, no matter how things have been improved, some major typical methods of cooking Thai food still remain the same as they were in the past. The first is grilling. This method derived from the fact that Thailand is abundant in the supply of natural wood that can be applied to set the fire and cook food. Thai people normally grill meats and fresh seafood and eat them with dips (locally called as 'Nam Phrik') which has sweet-and-sour flavors so that they become tastier.

Another popular Thai cooking method is 'Yam' basically a kind of salad. But Thai-style salad is different from the western because the Thai dressing contains no fat ingredients, unlike mayonnaise and different types of Ranch that are high in calorie and fat. In cooking a dish of Thai salad, simply add a portion of salty seasoning such as fish sauce of salt, lemon juice, chili, and sometimes, garlic and shallot, and mix them together. Then, you can make several dishes of Thai salad be they shrimp salad, pork salad, papaya salad, beef salad and so on depending on a person's creative ideas. Therefore, some can find a dish of 'yam' very delightful while its herb and spice ingredients are good for health as well.

Boiling is another typical way of Thai food preparation. Before the age of modern cookery, Thai people used clay pots to boil food. They also used clay pots to cook rice and make variety of soups. The famous 'Tom Yam Goong' also originated from boiling technique. Curries were also developed in the olden days as well but the present-day curries are much different from they were previously because ancient Thais did not use coconut milk in those spicy soups.

The art of Thai cooking evolved according to the cultural influences from other countries, mainly China and Western Europe. Thai people much welcome a Chinese quick-frying method as the Thais have created a large choice of stir-frying entries in their menu. Another influence from the mainland reflects in an extensive use of noodles in Thai recipes. While the Chinese deep-fry noodle and create savory sauces to mix, Thais apply it in many characteristically Thai styles. Thai noodles taste sweet, sour and sometimes spicy. A distinctive dish is Mee Krob, or crispy noodle.

During the reign of King Narai the Great coinciding with the reign of King Louis XIV of France, Thai food took a great leap forward. Foreigners and trades arrived in Thailand at our old capital in Ayutthaya. With them, they brought new ways of cooking as well as new ingredients. Thais did not use coconut milk in their food prior to the arrival of these foreign nationals. Westerners used to milk in their food suggested us to add coconut milk in our curries. Through experimentations the use of coconut milk in curries became the norm.

Coconut milk in those days was mainly used only in desserts and some dishes. It is an important ingredient as same as palm sugar and rice flour. With the arrival of the Portuguese, we were introduced to eggs in our ending meal. Such Portuguese dessert as golden threads and golden flowers, which are made of egg yolks and sugar syrup, are well known until these days. Some still think that these sweets are types of Thai national desserts but in reality they are Portuguese.

Chinese people migrated to Thailand, . They brought with them their eating culture and through generations develop their owner food which later became a part of Thai cuisine.

Western cuisine had the greatest influence on Thai cuisine from the reigns of King Rama V onwards. Our beloved monarchs were educated in Europe and brought back with then western culture and western taste in food. From time to time we see this influence on the menu of some old style restaurants that serve Thai food but there are also stews available on their menu. Thais especially love beef tongue stew and this is definitely a left over influence from the western cuisine in the last 100 years.

 Thais are a nation of eaters. When Thais meet, the first word they greet each other is "where are you going?" and the next question is "have you already eaten?" We like good food. We have a very palate and we like to experiment. We are a nation of bountiful supplies of raw materials, ready to be transformed into flavor tempting delicacies. Thai food is actually not difficult to make but one must understand the mixes of ingredients and the taste combinations.