The influence of the foreign trade was also important. The Portuguese brought their sweets to King Narai's court in the seventeenth century. Some say Buddhist monks from India brought curry to Thailand. Indian curry and Muslim cuisine were introduced at a palace feast in honor of King Rama I at the turn of the 18th century. Some of these dishes are still popular today including Masaman curry and yellow curry. Masaman curry contains many dried spices including cinnamon and nutmeg. Yellow curry can be spiced with turmeric, cumin, ground coriander seed and red chilies powder.

Indian and Chinese food has managed to find its hinges in western markets but Thai is still somewhat of a rarity. It is, however, a cuisine that takes the best from both Indian and Chinese, more often the staple rice and noodles from Chinese and the curries from Indian cuisine.