In general, the basic ingredients of nam phrik include shrimp paste, garlic, chilli, fermented fish sauce and lemon juice. As a result, it takes hours to prepare a proper Thai meal in the traditional way as it involves so much peeling and chopping and pounding so it it needs time to prepare in advance. In fact, Thai food varies from region to region, for example, glutinous or sticky rice is more popular in the North and Northeast than steamed rice. Moreover, in some rural areas, certain insects are also eaten e.g. crickets, silk worm larvae, red ant larvae. At the same time, Thai desserts are often made from sticky rice or coconut milk, flour, egg and coconut sugar while a variety of fruit is available all the year round.
Dishes usually contain a lot of condiments and spices.
In the North, food is mild or hot, salty and sour, but never sweet. Sticky rice is served with boiled vegetables, nam phrik oong and soups or curries. It has a sour flavour and is sold wrapped in cellophane and banana leaf. Food in the Northeast is hot, salty and sour. People use a lot of condiments but no many spices.