Thai food is distinguished by its balance of four core flavours in almost every dish — sweet, sour, salty, and spicy — combined with fresh herbs like lemongrass, galangal, and Thai basil that give the cuisine its distinctive aromatic quality. Unlike some other Asian cuisines that lean heavily on one dominant flavour profile, authentic Thai cooking aims for harmony between all four elements in a single plate. This is part of why traditional Thai food, prepared properly, tastes noticeably different from simplified or Westernised versions found in some restaurants.