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

แกงฮังเลหมู

สูตรทำแกงฮังเลหมู - This recipe comes all the way from India through the northern Burmese border. The masala spice mix is still sold in small packages with retro looking prints that seem to forever exist. There is no way in a recipe to communicate what's going on in here; a thick red chili paste marinate, that bursts in orange turmeric color, provides the perfect seen to the tender, almost falling apart, pork meat.

Battered Stuffed Vegetable hummingbird flowers (daawk khaae) (ดอกแค) (ดอกแคบรรจุไส้ชุบแป้งทอด; daawk khaae ban joo sai choop bpaaeng thaawt)

Vegetable hummingbird flowers filled with pork pounded with coriander root, battered and fried, with a pink-bean chili dip. From Sai Yaowapa, 1935.

Miang on Golden Trays (เมี่ยงถาดทอง; miang thaat thaawng) (กระทงทอง)

Miang thaat thaawng, palm-pressed fried pastry cups filled with crab, pork, pickled garlic, and bitter orange zest. Jeeb Bunnag, 1933.

Salad of smoked grilled duck breast with roasted shallots and bitter yellow eggplants (พล่าอกเป็ดรมควันกับมะเขือเหลืองและหอมเผา ; phlaa ohk bpet rohm khwan gap ma kheuua leuuang lae haawm phao)

Old Fashioned Roasted Chili Jam (น้ำพริกเผา; nahm phrik phao)

Nam phrik phao prepared without any oil, using sun-dried and dry-roasted aromatics combined with boiled seasonings. From Jeeb Bunnag's 1945 cookbook.

Spiced Skewers of Grilled Pork Neck and Firm Pork Fat with Fresh Pineapple (หมูปิ้งสัปปะรด; Muu Bping Sapbparoht)

Known as muu bping sapbparoht (หมูปิ้งสัปปะรด) and translated as grilled pork with pineapple, this dish showcases cubes of grilled pork meat and firm fat with fresh pineapple. The pork meat is marinated in light soy sauce and an array of dry spices, giving it earthy and slightly spicy notes. The cubes are then threaded onto skewers, interspersed with evenly sliced pieces of firm pork fat. When grilled, these pieces of pork fat introduce an additional layer of richness and juiciness to the meat. The preferred cut of choice for this dish is pork neck, a cut highly valued for its optimal ratio of lean meat to fat, culminating in a pleasingly succulent texture when grilled. In Thai cuisine, it is common practice to sprinkle grated coconut over glowing charcoal while grilling. The heat-induced combustion of aromatic fats within the coconut introduces an additional dimension of sweet, smoky richness to the dish. Meanwhile, the charring of the edges of the meat catalyzes the caramelization of its natural sugars, yielding a delightful sweetness that further enhances the smoky undertones of the meat.

ขนมเม็ดขนุน

It is believed that this dish was introduced to the Siamese royal cuisine in the middle of the seventeenth century by Portuguese traders. Later, along with other egg yolk-based golden sweets like the golden drops (thong yot ทองหยอด), golden flowers (thong yip ทองหยิบ) and golden threads (foi thong ฝอยทอง), these royal desserts were passed to commoners outside the court.

For the marzipan filling I am using, beside the mung beans, both the flesh and the water of fragrant young coconuts. It gives a rich, sweet and almost nutty flavor which works perfectly with the silky texture of the mung beans and the creamy golden egg yolks coating.

ข้าวเม่าทอด

เมนูนี้จะมีคำอธิบายและวิธีทำเป็นขั้นตอนละเอียดเป็นภาษาไทยและภาษาอังกฤษ

Deceptively simple, the recipe for battered, deep-fried unripe rice and grated coconut banana rolls (khao mao thaawt, ข้าวเม่าทอด) is actually quite challenging to master. Like so many Thai dessert recipes, this seemingly straightforward dish has a complex character.

Buaan Curry of Wild Duck (แกงบวนนกเป็ดน้ำ; gaaeng buaan nohk bpet naam)

Gaaeng buaan nohk bpet naam, wild duck fried in lard then boiled in lemongrass leaf juice with no coconut. From Tamra Gap Khao, 1890.

Three-Color Prawn Clear Soup with Carrot and Mock Pakchoi (แกงจืดกุ้งสามสี; gaaeng jeuut goong saam see)

Three-color prawn clear soup: giant freshwater prawns and their pressed head fat added to long-simmered carrot and mock pakchoi. From Jeeb Bunnag, 1933.

Heritage 14: Issue Thursday, April 16, 2026

This week's folios: - แกงอะไรก็ได้ — Any-Which-Way Curry — Salted Beef and Dried Fish Broth Curry with Seasonal Vegetables (Mrs. Paan Nanthaaphiwat, 1953) - ชุบผักกับขนมปังทอด — Six Vegetable Broth with Fried Bread Croutons (Jeeb Bunnag, 1933) - มักกะโรนีผัด — Stir-Fried Macaroni (Jeeb Bunnag, 1933) - น้ำพริกผักต้มสำเร็จ — Completed Nam Phrik - Fermented Shrimp Paste Relish Parcels with Coconut Cream (Jeeb Bunnag, 1933) - ปลาอินทรีคั่ว — Dry-Fried Salted Spanish Mackerel Relish (Jeeb Bunnag, 1933) - หมูทอดเครื่องเทศ — Spiced Fried Pork (Jeeb Bunnag, 1933) - ข้าวตูเสวย — Royal Puffed Rice Confection (Jeeb Bunnag, 1933)

Pork Belly Coated with Salted-Fish and Green Mango Chili Relish (น้ำพริกมะม่วง หมูเคลือบเค็ม พ.ศ. 2476; naam phrik ma muaang mu khleuuap khem)

In this dish, slices of pork belly are coated with a sticky sauce; the sauce is reduced from braising a slice of grilled salted fish with coriander roots, garlic and white peppercorns (saam gluuhr). The dish is served with a sour-leading green mango chili relish that adds tartness with fiery accents to the saltiness of the pork. The salted fish gives the pork an initial fishy aroma that, although robust, gives way to a sense of home as it merges into the sourness and fruitiness of the mango chili relish. As an ingredient commonly used in the kitchens of rice-growing communities, salted fish signifies a comforting familiarity that conveys simplicity and warmth to the table. I like to pair the salted, fishy pork with seasoned rice dishes in which sour-leading relishes are mixed with rice along with other condiments.

Sweet Egg (ไข่หวาน; khai waan)

Sweet Egg (khai waan): candied salted duck egg yolk encased in floral agar jelly, molded inside an eggshell. Jeeb Bunnag, 1933.

Khaao Dtang Rice Crust Soup (แกงข้าวตัง; gaaeng khaao dtang)

Gaaeng khaao dtang, deep-fried rice crust paired with clear broth and egg-stuffed chicken intestines. From Jeeb Bunnag, 1933.

Delicious Rice (ข้าวน่าอร่อย; khaao naa a raawy)

Delicious Rice, a royal Thai fried rice combining shrimp, pork and chicken with elaborate garnishes including pickled vegetables and salted egg. From Jeeb Bunnak's 1945 cookbook.

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.

Get Access – Join Thaifoodmaster Today

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

Get access to everything right away. Unlock more than 50 Masterclasses, over 700 recipes and Articles
Access to Thaifoodmaster’s constantly growing library of prime professional classes, articles, recipes and videos on Siamese culinary topics, available nowhere else in English.
GET EXTRA - New Masterclasses and Daily Recipes
Gain access to NEW masterclasses as they become available. Access DAILY translations of heritage-recipes.
1-1 support from Hanuman
1-1 support from Hanuman to help you achieve your professional Thai culinary goals
Live Q&A Sessions
The opportunity to join a monthly live two-hour videoconference where I can answer your questions.
Great Value!
one year access for the price of 3 days in-person training.

You will get everything you need to:

To Get inspired
When you design or build a new menu for an event or restaurant or even prepare for dinner with friends.
To Satisfy your curiosity.
Finally !
To Master Your Craft
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