Thai cuisine tends to blend multiple elements from various Southeast Asian traditions, with an emphasis on lightly prepared dishes with strong aromatic components. The spiciness of Thai cuisine is well known, but balance, detail and variety are of great importance. Thai food is known for its balance of three to four fundamental taste senses in each dish or the overall meal: sour, sweet, salty, and sometimes bitter.

Thai meals typically consist of either a single dish or rice with many complementary dishes served concurrently and shared by all. It is customary to serve more dishes than there are guests at a table.  Among the sauces and condiments frequently served with Thai food, you may find phrik nam pla/nam pla phrik (consisting of fish sauce, lime juice, chopped chilies and garlic), dried chili flakes, sweet chili sauce, sliced chili peppers in rice vinegar, sriracha sauce, or a spicy chili sauce or paste called nam phrik.  Cucumber is sometimes eaten to cool the mouth after particularly spicy dishes. They often also feature as a garnish, especially with one-dish meals.

For more information about Thai cuisine, you may want to read the entire Wikipedia article.