Thai style of eating unlike the way many Westerners dine, with a large chunk of meat as the main feature on the dinner plate and a small amount of buttered or flavored rice on the side, the Thai diet (and that of most Southeast Asians) consists primarily of plain, unflavored steamed rice, eaten with tidbits of spicy and highly flavored side dishes. A few bite-size pieces of chicken or meat in a curry sauce or stir-fried with chillies and basil, a few spoonfuls of hot-and-sour soup flavored with various herbs, a bite or two of fried or steamed fish and a few helpings of stir-fried vegetables or raw vegies dipped in a hot shrimpy sauce-these are all it takes to help a Thai polish up a large plate of rice and be more than satisfied. Instead of having a little bit of rice to go with the meat, the Thai way is to have a little bit of meat to go with the rice. Most Thai people prefer to eat more rice than meat.