This Common Mistake At Thai Restaurants Is Costing You The Best Flavors Of The Food - Tasting Table

"It's a unique mixture of sour, sweet, salty, and spicy. Most cuisines use these flavors, but instead of relegating sweetness to desserts or making heat an optional addition like many European dishes, you'll find all four of these flavor profiles in most savory Thai recipes. They tie directly into something many people fail to utilize: the four condiments you'll find at Thai restaurants."

"While you'll see variations, they are usually sugar, chili flakes, fish sauce, and chili vinegar sauce, and ignoring them is one of the biggest mistakes you can make at a Thai restaurant. Like salt and pepper or hot sauce, those condiments let you balance a dish to your personal taste. In fact, the meals are prepared with the expectation that you'll make those flavor adjustments."

Thai cuisine balances sour, sweet, salty, and spicy flavors in most savory dishes, with condiments provided at restaurants to let diners customize those elements. Common condiments include sugar, chili flakes, fish sauce, and chili vinegar, each serving a role: sugar adds sweetness, chili flakes add heat and can counter sourness or bitterness, fish sauce supplies salt and a fermented umami funk, and prik nam som (chili vinegar) provides acid and heat. Meals are often prepared expecting diners to adjust flavors with these condiments, using them much like salt, pepper, or hot sauce.

Read at Tasting Table