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

Northern Thai-style fish laap with crispy aromatics (ลาบหมี่ปลา; laap mee plaa)

Fish Miang Naem (เมี่ยงแนมปลา; miiang naaem bplaa)

Miiang naaem bplaa, grilled snakehead fish with fire-roasted galangal juice and bitter orange, served in lettuce cups. Jeeb Bunnag, 1933.

Stir-Fried Macaroni (มักกะโรนีผัด; mak ga ro:h nee phat)

Mak ga ro:h nee phat, macaroni stir-fried with garlic-lard paste, pork, shrimp, and roasted peanuts. From Jeeb Bunnag, 1933.

Heritage 15: Issue Thursday, April 23, 2026

This week's folios: - แกงเผ็ดเห็ดเผาะหรือเห็ดยาง — Spicy Curry with Beef-Stuffed Earthstar or Lactarius Mushrooms (Jeeb Bunnag, 1933) - ข้าวต้มลูกชิ้นสุกร — Rice Soup with Pork Meatballs (Jeeb Bunnag, 1933) - ยำมะม่วงปลาฟู — Green Mango Salad with Puffed Snakehead Fish (Jeeb Bunnag, 1933) - แสร้งว่ากุ้งสด — Saaeng Waa of Fresh Shrimp (จีบ บุนนาค, 1933) - เป็ดอบทั้งตัว — Whole Roasted Duck (Jeeb Bunnag, 1933) - ขนมกุมภแกงเมล็ดบัว — Golden Baked Coconut and Lotus Seed Custard (Jeeb Bunnag, 1933) - ขนมสำปะนีแบบเดิม — Traditional Sampanee Confection (Jeeb Bunnag, 1933)

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.

Heritage 19: Issue Thursday, May 21, 2026

This week's folios: - แกงเผ็ด แบบสากล — “International Style” Spicy Curry (Gingganok Gaanjanaaphaa, 1935) - ล่าเตียง — Lattice-Wrapped Shrimp Bites (Jeeb Bunnag, 1933) - แกงต้มยำเห็ดโคน — Termite Mushroom Tom Yam Curry (Jeeb Bunnag, 1933) - ผัดกรกฏชะคราม — Stir-fried Crab with Seablite (Jeeb Bunnag, 1933) - ขนมเบื้องอิสลาม — Islamic Khanom Bueang (Jeeb Bunnag, 1945) - ทอดมันเซี่ยงไฮ้ — Shanghai-Style Fried Rolls (Jeeb Bunnag, 1933) - ตับสุกกรอบ — Crispy Cooked Liver (Jeeb Bunnag, 1933)

Heritage: Issue 4, Friday, February 6, 2026

This week's folios: - ข้าวเหนียวนึ่งหน้าเนื้อ — Steamed Gelatinous Rice with Beef Topping (Jeeb Bunnak, 1945) - แกงพวงพยอม — Shorea Flower Curry (Maawm Ying Soopha, 1949) - ลูกรอกไส้ไก่ — Egg Sausage in Chicken Intestine (Jeeb Bunnag, 1933) - ยำผิวส้มจีน — Mandarine Orange Peel Salad (Maawm Ying Soophaa, 1949) - แกงจืดฟักเขียวตุ๋น — Steamed Stuffed Winter Melon Clear Soup with Crab, Pork and Egg Sausage (Jeeb Bunnag, 1933) - ยำขนุนอ่อน — Young Jackfruit Salad (Maawm Ying Soophaa, 1949) - แกงเป็ดสวรรค์ — Heavenly Duck Curry (Maawm Ying Soophaa, 1949)

Side dish - Birds Resting in the Nest (นกนอนรัง; nohk naawn rang)

Birds Resting in the Nest, baya weavers stuffed with peppery pork and draped in fine duck egg threads. From Jeeb Bunnag, 1933.

Heritage 27: Issue Thursday, September 17, 2026

This week's folios: - แกงสะท้อน — Santol Curry (M.R. Tuang Sanitwong, 1935) - ข้าวต้มหอยนางรม — Oyster Rice Soup (Lady Gleep Mahithaawn, 1949) - แกงบ้านนอก — Country-Style Curry (M.R. Tuang Sanitwong, 1935) - ปูทะเลผัด — Stir-Fried Sea Crab (Maawm Ying Soophaa, 1951) - ข้าวผัดลูกหนำเนี๊ยบหรือหนำพ๊วย — Fried Rice with Salted Chinese Black Olive, or Nam Phuay (Lady Gleep Mahithaawn, 1949) - กุญซ่า — Goon Saa Lime-Cured Pork (Maawm Ying Soophaa, 1949) - ทอดมันมันหมูแข็ง — Battered Fried Firm Pork Fat, also called Muu Gradoht (หมูกระโดด) (Lady Gleep Mahithaawn, 1949)

Steamed Cup Cake (ขนมถ้วยฟู; khanohm thuai foo)

Steamed Cup Cake, a fermented rice flour dessert using cuttlefish bone as a natural leavening agent. From Ibrahim Haji Roshidin Tuan's 'The Muslim Cook', 1938.

Yam of Chicken (ยำไก่; yam gai)

Yam gai: chicken simmered in coconut milk until dry, then dressed with mint, kaffir lime and green mango. Maawm Sohm Jeen, Tamra Gap Khao, 1890.

Roasted Fish Pae Sa (แป๊ะซะปลาเผา; bpae sa bplaa phao)

Bpae sa bplaa phao: clay-roasted snakehead fish with chili jam and tamarind dressing, from Jeeb Bunnag's 1933 palace-style manuscript.

Baked Massaman (มัสหมั่นขาวอบ; mat man khaao ohp)

Baked Massaman, a molded rice dish with spiced beef and pickled garnishes. From Jeeb Bunnag's 1945 cookbook of Thai tea accompaniments and snacks.

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)

สูตรทำแหนมหมู

Naem is a fermented sausage made with pork, pork skins, cooked sticky rice (glutinous), fresh garlic, salt, sugar and bird’s eye chilies. The sausage is wrapped in banana leaves or synthetic casings, and fermented for 3-5 days at about 30 degrees (C) and 50% humidity. The fermentation process enables the growth of lactic acid bacteria and yeasts, mostly lactobacilli, which accounts for the sourness of the sausage. The salt acts as an inhibitor - preventing the meat from going rotten, allowing the lactic acid bacteria and yeasts to feed on the rice and sugar, and fermenting the meat to perfection.

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