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

Heritage 18: Issue Thursday, May 14, 2026

This week's folios: - ส้มตำมะละกอ — Earliest printed recipe for Papaya Som Tum (Nor.Sor.Hor.Dor, 1929) - ลาบเลือดโคหรือสุกร อีกวิธี ๑ — Laap with Cow or Pig Blood, Another Method (Nor.Sor.Hor.Dor, 1929) - ลาบเลือดโคหรือสุกร — Laap with Beef or Pork Blood (Nor.Sor.Hor.Dor, 1929) - ลาบปลาดุกหรือไก่หรือเนื้อวัว — Laap of Catfish, Chicken, or Beef (Nor.Sor.Hor.Dor, 1929) - วิธีเผาหัวสุกรป่า — Fire-Roasted Wild Boar Head Fermented with Bamboo Shoots and Salt (Nor.Sor.Hor.Dor, 1929) - วิธีปิ้ง — Method of Grilling (bping) (Nor.Sor.Hor.Dor, 1929) - ย่างปลา เนื้อสัตว์ต่างๆ และนกใหญ่ — Grilling Fish, Various Meats, and Large Birds (Nor.Sor.Hor.Dor, 1929)

Soup (ตมซุบ; dtohm soop)

Dtom soop, a restorative broth prepared with pigeon, oxtail, or goat's foot and medicinal aromatics specifically for healing the sick. From Ibrahim's Muslim Cook manuscript, 1938.

Khao Mee Seasoned Rice (ข้าวหมี่อย่างคลุก; khaao mee yaang khlook)

This article explores two methods of preparing Mee Fried Rice - the traditional Khao Mee Fried Rice and the lighter, seasoned rice alternative known as khaao mee yaang khlook. Discover the flavor chemistry at play and choose your preferred method for a delicious meal.

Airy Golden Cake (ขนมทองโปร่ง; khanohm thong pro:ng)

Khanohm thong pro:ng, a rice flour sponge baked in molds with whipped egg whites, from Jeeb Bunnag's 1933 Cookbook of Rice Companion Recipes.

Heritage 29: Issue Tuesday, September 29, 2026

This week's folios: - แกงกุ้งสำเภา — Junk-Ship Shrimp Curry (Maawm Ying Soophaa, 1949) - ยำไก่ — Yam of Chicken (c. 1890) (Maawm Sohm Jeen , 1890) - ผัดปูทะเลผสม — Stir-Fried Mixed Sea Crab (M.R. Tuang Sanitwong, 1935) - ไข่ดวงเดือน — Full Moon Eggs (Maawm Ying Soophaa, 1949) - ปลาร้าปลาดุกข้าวคั่วปิ้ง — Grilled Catfish-and-Roasted-Rice Pla Ra Relish (Lady Gleep Mahithaawn, 1949) - ข้าวผัดนก — Bird Fried Rice (Lady Gleep Mahithaawn, 1949)

Decorated Corn (ข้าวโพดประดับ; khaao pho:ht bpra dap)

Decorated Corn, a palace-style appetizer featuring spiced chicken molded around baby corn and adorned with kernels. From Jeeb Bunnak's 1945 Thai cookbook.

แกงไตปลาปลาดุกย่างโบราณ

แกงไตปลาปลาดุกย่างโบราณ - แกงไตปลา เป็นแกงพื้นเมืองของปักษ์ใต้ ที่มีความหลากหลายพอสมควร คือมีทั้งแกงประเภทใส่กะทิและไม่ใส่กะทิ แต่ที่เหมือนกันทุกท้องถิ่นคือ เครื่องพริกแกงต้องเผ็ด ใส่ทั้งพริกสดและพริกแห้ง และเป็นแกงรสจัด ม.ล.เนื่อง นิลรัตน์ ได้เล่าเอาไว้ว่า "เจ้านครส่งคนครัวมาสอน เดิมจะมีรสชาติเผ็ดมาก เปรี้ยวหูฉี่ พอมาถึงในวัง ก็ต้องแผลงให้เข้ากับภาคกลาง โดยนำมาดัดแปลงใส่ปลากรอบ ปลาย่าง ผักไม่ใส่รวมลงไป เวลาจะรับประทานก็รับกับผักสดที่จัดไว้ มีสะตอ ลูกเนียง...

Savory Filled Cockle Shell Dumplings (คลางแคลงทรงเครื่อง; khlaang khlaaeng sohng khreuuang)

Savory Filled Cockle Shell Dumplings, translucent palace-style dumplings with seafood and pork filling. From Jeeb Bunnag's 1945 Thai cookbook of appetizers.

Method for Roasting Wild Boar's Head - Fire-Roasted Wild Boar Fermented with Bamboo Shoots and Salt (วิธีเผาหัวสุกรป่า; wi thee phao huaa soo gaawn bpaa)

Wi thee phao huaa soo gaawn bpaa: wild boar's head fire-roasted, then salt-fermented with bamboo shoots for 20 days. Tamra Khraawp Lo:hk, 1929.

khanohm goom gaaeng thuaa (ขนมกุมแกงถั่ว; khanohm goom gaaeng thuaa)

Golden Baked Coconut and Mung Bean Custard (ขนมกุมภแกงถั่ว; khanohm pha goom gaaeng thuaa)

Khanohm goom gaaeng thuaa, a baked coconut and mung bean confection using top-heat charcoal baking, from Jeeb Bunnag's 1933 manuscript.

Angel Visiting the Chamber: A Salad of Pomelo, Pork Skin and Shrimp with Chili Jam Dressing, circa 1920s (ยำนางฟ้าเยี่ยมห้อง; yam naang faa yiiam haawng)

The name of this dish, yam naang faa yiiam haawng (ยำนางฟ้าเยี่ยมห้อง), translates to ‘Angel Visiting the Chamber Salad’ in English. This celestial salad, which originated in the 1920s, is a playful chili jam-based salad that combines the textural gradients of pomelo, with its citrusy bursts, chewy cooked pork skin, and the sweet and slightly resilient cooked shrimp meat. The pomelo’s citrusy notes are further amplified with thinly sliced lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves sliced into hair-thin juliennes. I like to adjust the sourness and sweetness of the chili jam-based dressing based on the acidity of the pomelo. As our aim is to achieve a final sour-salty and sweet flavor profile, a sour-salty dressing is suggested if the pomelo is sweet, while a salty-sweet dressing pairs better with a sour pomelo.

Khua Liver Curry with Fried Shallots (แกงขั้วตับ; gaaeng khuaa dtap)

Stir-fried Liver Curry, a salty aromatic dish prepared with butter and curry powder rather than coconut milk. From Ibrahim Haji Rocheedee's 1933 Islamic Cookbook.

Method of Grilling (วิธีปิ้ง; wi thee bping)

Method of Grilling (วิธีปิ้ง): bamboo-clamped indirect charcoal grilling of fish and meat for preservation. From Tamra Khraawp Lo:hk, 1929.

Miang Sot (เมี่ยงซด) - Miiang Soht, circa 1928

The word ‘miang’ is often used to designate Thai hors d’oeuvre-like snacks consisting of various ingredients wrapped in leaves. To chew on a miang parcel delivers a delightful melee of flavors and textures, each triumphing over the other in a continuous transformation, creating a captivating and ever-evolving taste experience throughout the bite. Miang sot is a fermented leaves dish that appeared in a cookbook published in honor of Thao Suphatigaanapakdee (also known as Prik Sirisamphan) (ท้าวสุภัติการภักดี (ปริก ศิริสัมพันธ์)), in 1928. Titled Gap Khaao Thai (กับข้าวไทย), the book features a collection of recipes that were once prepared and served to King Chulalongkorn Rama V. The author, Sohmboon Sirisamphan (เถ้าแก่ สมบุญ ศิริสัมพันธ์) a respected elder (known as thao gaae (เถ้าแก่) in Thai), was a distinguished businessman of Chinese origins. The dish is composed of fermented tea leaves; it is perhaps the closest tea leaves wrap to the ‘miang’ style introduced to the Siamese court by Princess Dara Rasami in the late 1800s. The dish gives us a glimpse of flavor of what her household, which participated in the informal marketplace events within the palace, might have to offer. The popularity of miang in Siamese cuisine is tied to the history of two kingdoms, Siam and Lanna, and the life of one princess, Princess Dara Rasami. The daughter of King Inthawichayanon of Chiang Mai and the fifth consort of King Chulalongkorn, the princess was selected at the age of thirteen, in 1886, to serve as a consort to King Chulalongkorn in the Inner Palace; the decision was shaped by both political strategy and personal transition. At the time, Siam was consolidating its power and extending its influence over neighboring regions, including Lanna. As the ruler of Chiang Mai, Princess Dara Rasami’s father, Intawichayanon, viewed the move as a strategic alliance. In return, King Chulalongkorn presented him with the medal of the Order of Chula Chom Klao, which is the Siamese equivalent of a knighthood.

Yanee Coconut Based Curry Stew (แกงตุนยานี; gaaeng dtoon yaa nee)

Coconut Based Curry Stew, a Thai Muslim dish featuring green eggplant simmered in a distinctly sour tamarind and coconut broth. From Ibrahim Haji Roshidin's 1938 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.

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