No other national cuisine enjoys quite the degree of popularity that Thai food (0) DOES. Ten years ago it was a rarity in Europe and the United States and prior (1) ............ that it was virtually unknown. Now Thai cooking has become (2) ............ of the West's favourite exotic styles of cooking. As well as the growing popularity of Thai restaurants throughout the world, there has been an increase little by little in (3) ............ availability of ingredients on supermarket shelves. One of the things that make Thai cooking (4) ............ challenging is the sheer variety of types of dish. Thai food lies between Chinese and Indian cuisine, with influences from Burma, Cambodia and Malaysia, all of (5) ............ has had an effect on Thailand at different stages of its history. Some of the ingredients come from far afield. Chillies, to give (6) ............ one example, are originally from Central and South America but were incorporated quickly (7) ............ the national diet. Taken all (8) ............, these influences from abroad have made Thai cooking a strongly regional set of cuisines.