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

ขมิ้นขาว

White turmeric is the underground stem (rhizome) of the tropical plant Curcuma zedoaria in the ginger family. About 80 species of Curcuma have been identified, including the better-known culinary member of the family, the turmeric, with its deep yellow pigment. Quite rare in the west, white turmeric is used in Thai, Indonesian and Indian cuisines. It possess quite a long list of herbal remedies; maybe because its high levels of antioxidants.

แกงกะทิสายบัวปลาทูนึ่ง

This old-fashioned Thai coconut curry dish is a simple expression made with ingredients commonly available to Thais, it features steamed mackerels - the fish that Thai people probably love the best and the stems of the lotus flowers - one of Buddhism's most recognized motifs.

The fish together with peeled lotus stems are boiled in coconut milk, to which a simple yet very aromatic curry paste, made only of white pepper corns, shallots and fermented shrimp paste is added.

Gravid Female Sea Crab and Egg Roe Salad with Dried Squid, Cucumber and Roasted Peanuts (ยำนางปู; yam naang bpuu)

Gravid Female Sea Crab with Roe Salad features crab meat, roe, and roasted peanuts in a balanced sour-sweet-salty dressing. From Princess Supha's 1949 royal cookbook.

น้ำตกปลาช่อน

Here is a wonderful spicy Nam Tok recipe; you may as well go for it! A crispy fried fish dressed with plenty of fresh herbs, plenty of chilies than some lime juice and fragrant ground roasted rice as a textural binder. It is an unpretentious dish, that is just about what is around and what is available; there is some sort of truth about it, which makes it so wonderful. If you are trying your first Issan style recipe, than this is the one to go for. It is not complicated to prepare and will show off beautifully the hearty and rustic flavors of Issan.

c1933 Manifold flavors curry – a chicken and pineapple spicy curry (แกงเผ็ดหลากหลายรส; gaaeng phet laak laai roht)

At first glance, this chicken and pineapple curry might seem ordinary or plain. After all, even though spicy curries with sour notes have been relished for ages, they feature repetitive patterns that could be viewed as common and perhaps uninteresting. However, with a calculated yet simple approach, this curry turns corners – quite literally – into a dish with a new flavor melody. It is thus referred to by its author, Mrs. Samaknantapol (Jeep Bunnag) (นางสมรรคนันทพล, จีบ บุนนาค), as laak laai roht, a “curry with manifold flavors (หลากหลายรส)”.

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).

Trinarong salad with ruby pomegranate seeds, translucent pomelo segments, and golden fried shallots glistening with lime dressing on a white plate

c1935 Trinarong Salad - Thai Three-Fruit Yam from Pathum Thani (ยำตรีณรงค์; yam dtreen rohng)

Central-style Thai salad combining pomelo, rose apple, and pomegranate with shrimp, chicken, and pork. From Ms. Booree Thohnsak's 1935 Pathum Thani memorial cookbook.

grilled-banana-leaf-parcels-with-chicken-fried-rice

Grilled banana leaf parcels filled with butter-fried rice with chicken, chicken offal and dried spices, served with a sour-sweet coconut-base vegetable relish (ข้าวงบไก่ อาจาดอังวะ ; khaao ngohp gai aajaat angwa)

The khaao ngohp gai (ข้าวงบไก่) recipe by Mom Chao Sai Ladawan (Princess Saisawali Phirom) evokes the flavor and aesthetics of Muslim-style cooking. First, cooked rice, chicken, and chicken offal are fried with butter and perfumed with whole spices. The buttery fried rice is wrapped in banana leaves and then grilled, forming a crispy outer crust of spiced-infused rice grains.

Bird Fried Rice (ข้าวผัดนก; khaao phat nohk)

Khaao phat nohk, field fowl or any small bird stir-fried with pork ham and mustard powder. From Lady Gleep Mahithaawn, 1949.

Rice Crackers with Sichuan Style Naa Dtang Savory Topping (น่าตั้งเสฉวน; naa dtang saeh chuaan)

Naa dtang saeh chuaan, a seafood-meat umami topping served with assorted crispy accompaniments. From Jeeb Bunnag's 1945 cookbook of Thai appetizers.

หมูหวาน

หมูหวานเป็นอาหารที่นิยมเสริฟคู่กับอาหารประเภทอื่น ๆ โดยนิยมทานเป็น เครื่องเคียงกับอาหารประเภท น้ำพริก ข้าวผัดต่าง ๆ หรือ แม้กระทั่งทานแบบเดี่ยว ๆ กับข้าวเหนียวร้อน ๆ ก็อร่อยไม่น้อย

น้ำพริกนรกปลาคังกรอบรมควัน

I love my food very spicy and I'm very generous with all things chili. People like me who also enjoy spicy food, in part, love it because It's a truly a food & mood issue. Chilies are known to boost endorphin levels in the body and that makes us feel better. Maybe that's the reason why marketers get my immediate attention simply with red packaging and the naughty smile of the devil holding to the brand name logo of their products.

Scented Cassava-Starch Diamonds in Coconut Milk (มันสำปะหลังยอหยา; man sam bpa lang yaaw yaa)

Man sam bpa lang yaaw yaa: cassava starch diamonds kneaded with pandan, served in floral-scented coconut milk. Jeeb Bunnag, 1933.

Kanchanaburi-Style Snakehead Fish Jungle Curry with Bitter Yellow Eggplants (แกงป่าปลา ; gaaeng bpaa bplaa)

This recipe is adapted from a recipe I obtained from a jungle food restaurant in Kanchanaburi province. The paste is a downgrade of a phrik khing paste – it omits the coriander roots and shallots. In addition, the recipe substitutes the fermented shrimp paste (kapi) with maawn fermented fish paste (กะปิมอญ; gabpi maawn), which is a popular ingredient among the Mon-Burmese population of the western province. The lack of shallots eliminates any sweetness that might impair the sharpness and heat of the dish. Furthermore, a double hit of citrus notes from holy basil are infused into the dish: from the holy basil flowers added to the paste and the holy basil leaves added to the curry.

Snakehead Fish Curry with Pickled Madan (แกงปลาช่อนมะดันดอง; gaaeng bplaa chaawn ma dan daawng)

Snakehead Fish Curry with Pickled Madan incorporates the fish tail into its curry paste and balances pickled sour cucumber with kaffir lime. From Maawm Ying Soophaa, 1949.

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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