Online Siamese Culinary Masterclasses for Professional Chefs and Thai food enthusiasts

In my masterclasses, for the first time in the English language, I reveal the culinary secrets hidden in old and hard-to-find Siamese cookbooks and recipes dating from the late 19th century to modern days.

Get unlimited access to Thaifoodmaster’s constantly growing library of prime professional masterclasses, articles, recipes and videos on Siamese culinary topics, available nowhere else in English.

Online membership:
Masterclasses, Articles, Recipes, Daily Heritage Translations.
Professional Guides: Siamese Chili Relishes (น้ำพริก และ เครื่องจิ้ม), Thai Curries (แกงไทย), Thai Salads (เรื่องยำๆ) and The art of Siamese old-school menu design (สํารับอาหารไทย).

In-person workshops:
Chiang Mai, 2026. Limited spaces.

Masterclasses

Practical and kitchen-tested recipes with a mix of theory, history, psychology, and Siamese culture tidbits.

Aromatic Primer for Thai Cuisine - Part 1

Curry Paste Permeability

Minced-Bird Style Curries - A Peek Into Traditional Ingredients and Cooking Methods (แกงสับนก; Gaaeng Sap Nohk)

Reflections on the Lifecycle of Heat: Mastering Vibrancy and Maturity in Green Curry (แกงเขียวหวาน)

Patterns – Decoding the Complexity of Siamese Curry Paste: A Multidimensional Exploration

Aromatic Alchemy - The Art and Science of Pounded Curry Pastes

The Story of Gaaeng Buaan (แกงบวน) – The Oldest Siamese Dish?

The Secret Healing Powers of Siamese Curries – A Closer Look at Gaaeng Yaa (แกงยา)

The Art of Siamese Duck Curries - Theory and Practice (แกงเป็ด - ศิลปะ ทฤษฎี และ การปฏิบัติ)

Articles and Recipes

Roman Tube Noodles (Macaroni) (แป้งหลอดโรมัน; bpaaeng laawt ro:h man)

Roman Tube Noodles, a 1945 Thai-Western fusion dish with rich duck broth and macaroni. From Jeeb Bunnag's 'Cookbook of Desserts, Tea Accompaniments, and Snacks or Appetizers'.

Perfumed Braised Beef and Potato Curry with Three Gingers, Thai Basil and Bitter Orange (แกงเนื้อใส่เปราะหอมสดและส้มซ่า; Gaaeng Neuua Sai Bpraw Haawm Soht Lae Sohm Saa)

Discovered in a memorial book for the funeral of SubLt. Soophoht Jeungpraphaa (ร.ต. สุพจน์ จึงประภา) (1925-1966), this beef and potato curry dish unites two distinct curry styles: Massaman curry, known for its sweet and warming complexity of dry spices, punctuated by the vibrancy of bitter orange juice; and gaaeng phet (แกงเผ็ด) spicy curry, dominated by a basil herbal identity. The recipe maintains a sense of traditional elegance despite the startlingly unusual culinary fusion; as these two cooking styles are woven together, their spiced comfort, earthy warmth, citrusy freshness, and cool herbaceous notes meld in a gentle refinement. Drawing upon familiar and novel elements, this curry is both comforting and stimulating. Massaman curry typically presents as a deep, rich dish. Its unique flavor profile is derived predominantly from a range of dry spices that point to its Persian-inspired roots in Siamese cuisine, along with a curry paste that exudes a sense of freshness. The dried chilis are roasted to deepen their color; the rest of the ingredients, such as the shallots, garlic and dry spices, are roasted too, individually, before being pounded into the paste. Conversely, the gaaeng phet (แกงเผ็ด) curry integrates dry spices more sparingly and is known for flavor qualities that are based on a phrik khing (พริกขิง) paste made of fresh aromatics and a basil herbal identity.

Thanom Palaboot (ถนอม ปาลบุตร) - A Teacher's Compilation

Thanom Palaboot (ถนอม ปาลบุตร) was a teacher at the Girls' School (โรงเรียนสตรี) in Maha Sarakham Province (จังหวัดมหาสารคาม) when she compiled this four-volume kitchen manual (คู่มือการครัว) in May 1941 (พฤษภาคม พ.ศ. ๒๔๘๔). She wrote from the northeastern region (ภาคอีสาน), far from Bangkok (กรุงเทพฯ), producing a work intended for practical household instruction. She had researched and compiled cooking recipes (ตำราปรุงอาหาร), organizing them into categories as a household manual for her own use. Friends and fellow teachers (เพื่อนครู) urged her to publish, and she undertook further research to meet their expectations. Her sources were multiple: teachers and professors (ครูและอาจารย์), textbooks (ตำรา), explanations from those with expertise (ผู้ชำนาญ), and friends who shared her interest in cooking. The series totals approximately 800 recipes across four volumes covering curries (แกง), salads (ยำ), stir-fries (ผัด), fried dishes (ทอด), dipping sauces (เครื่องจิ้ม), side dishes (เครื่องเคียง), snacks (ของว่าง), sweets (ของหวาน), and beverages (เครื่องดื่ม).

Arab Cake (ขนมเค๊กอาระบี; khanhom khek aarabee)

Arab Cake, a Thai Muslim bread pudding dessert made with bread, banana, and coconut cream infused with saffron. From Ibrahim Haji Roshidin Tuan's 1938 cookbook.

Fermented rice noodles with multi-sour aromatic chicken sauce by Lady Gleep Mahithaawn (ขนมจีนน้ำพริกไก่ อย่างท่านผู้หญิงกลีบ มหิธร พ.ศ. 2492; khanohm jeen naam phrik gai)

c1949 Fermented rice noodles with multi-sour aromatic chicken sauce by Lady Gleep Mahithaawn (ขนมจีนน้ำพริกไก่ อย่างท่านผู้หญิงกลีบ มหิธร พ.ศ. 2492; khanohm jeen naam phrik gai)

Laap with Cow or Pig Blood, Another Method (ลาบเลือดโคหรือสุกร อีกวิธี ๑; laap leuuat kho:h reuu soo gaawn eek wi thee neung)

Laap leuuat, cow or pig blood Laap with dry-roasted chili paste and reduced pla ra, served raw or cooked. Tamra Khraawp Lo:hk, 1929.

Recipes for Teaching Children and Grandchildren (หนังสือกับข้าวสอนลูกหลาน) - Collection Introduction

The 1949–1957 household cookbook of Lady Gleep Mahithaawn (ท่านผู้หญิงกลีบ มหิธร, 1876–1961), dictated to her grandchildren near the end of her life. Two hundred forty-eight recipes of aristocratic Siamese home cooking — fermented rice noodles, curries and soups, Thai salads, stir-fries, dips and relishes, and a full book of fruit, savory snacks, and sweets — each presented with the original Thai manuscript, a direct translation, and the household measures of the period kept as she gave them.

Yam "Goliath Special" (ยำ "โกไลพิเศษ"; yam go:h lai phi saeht)

Yam Goliath Special: eight boiled proteins — shrimp, pork, squid — dressed with pounded coriander root and garlic. Delicious Side Dishes, 1935.

Chinese-Style Chicken Soup (แกงไก่เจ๊ก; gaaeng gai jek)

Gaaeng gai jek, Sino-Thai chicken soup on skimmed bone broth with wood ear mushroom and chili lard finish. Paan Nanthaaphiwat, 1953.

Spicy Chicken Curry (แกงเผ็ดไก่; gaaeng phet gai)

Gaaeng phet gai, chicken simmered in a pork-lard-fried red curry paste with optional brandy or sherry. From Maawm Sohm Jeen's Tamra Gap Khao, c. 1890.

Islamic Khanom Bueang (ขนมเบื้องอิสลาม; khanom bueang itlaam)

Khanom bueang itlaam, a Thai-Muslim ghee-fried parcel of laminated wheat dough filled with turmeric-spiced chicken, potato, and onion. Jeeb Bunnag, 1945.

ขนมจีนน้ำพริกกุ้งสูตรมหาเด็ด

The sweet leading sour coconut cream based sauce, enriched and thickened with fragrant freshly roasted peanuts and golden beans are a wonderful coat to dress the sweet shrimp meat. The aromatics are being extracted in every possible way, by roasting, and frying, boiling and reducing, pounding and grounding. All the culinary methods are being fully employed to guarantee an absolute real first class dish. If you want to start some real Thai cooking going at your home, have the time and access to all the ingredients, than I really want you to try this dish. The building blocks of flavors work so well here and it will open you a great window to see the beginning of what is possible in Thai cuisine.

Royal Rice Porridge with Accompaniments (ข้าวต้มทรงเครื่อง; khaao dtohm sohng khreuuang)

Royal Rice Porridge with Accompaniments features crispy dried shrimp, tofu, peanuts, and potato chips atop soft rice porridge. From Jeeb Bunnag's 1945 cookbook.

Salted Indian salmon chili relish (น้ำพริกปลากุเลาเค็ม; naam phrik bplaa goo lao khem)

Sweet Bread and Fried Banana (ขนมปังหวาน; kha nom bpang waan)

Sweet Bread, a traditional Arabian breakfast of crispy Cavendish bananas fried in egg-flour batter and served with sugar-sprinkled bread. From Ibrahim's The Muslim Cook, 1938.

Siamese Culinary Legends of the Rattanakosin period

Siamese cuisine is the accumulated wisdom of cooks at every level of the society – from housewives cooking at home and caring for their families, to cooks in the temple, to the culinary masters who created elaborate dishes behind the palace walls.

In this series of short articles highlighting their lives and work, we salute and pay homage to the most prominent individuals who influenced and shaped the Siamese culinary arts bpaa ga sin (ปากะศิลป์) of the Rattanakosin Era.

These background descriptions will put into perspective the dishes we present and cook here on Thaifoodmaster and will also help you to cook Thai dishes that taste like they have a solid bond to the culture, the land and its people.

The Spice Vault

Here you will find recipes for popular spice mixes that you can make yourself! Homemade spice blends not only taste better and cost less, but you’ll also be able to create unique spice blends based on your personal preferences. As a bonus, you’ll use spices with no preservatives or artificial colors!

For example, members can explore recipes for Chinese five-spice mix, masalas for khao soi and hang lay curries, homemade Thai curry powder, and a variety of the spice blends used in Northern and Muslim Thai cuisines.

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Practical and kitchen-tested recipes with a mix of theory, history, psychology, and Siamese culture tidbits.

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When you design or build a new menu for an event or restaurant or even prepare for dinner with friends.
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Master your Thai cooking skills and expand your repertoire.

It is truly brilliant with a revolutionary approach introducing aspects and concepts never broached by cookbooks.

Ian Westcott

Sourcing Wines for Discerning Private Clients