Get the English translation script and vocabulary list at ⁠https://www.patreon.com/c/ilearnThai⁠.

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When people think of Thai food, the first taste that often comes to mind is spiciness—whether from tom yum goong, green curry, or som tam. But here’s the twist: chilies weren’t always part of Thai cuisine.

They arrived from South America via Portuguese and Spanish traders, blending into local dishes until they became inseparable from the Thai palate.

Today, chilies don’t just add heat—they balance sweet, sour, and salty flavors, cool the body in Thailand’s humid climate, and define a cuisine now famous worldwide.

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