Thaifoodmaster

Online Siamese Culinary Masterclasses for Professional Chefs and Thai food enthusiasts

Join my in-depth, inclusive, highly inspirational, and informative online courses. How would you like to master your Thai cooking skills and learn both familiar and unknown dishes from the Siamese culinary legends of the past? 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.

23/07/2026

ผัดพริกขิงเนื้ออ่อน (phat phrik khing neuua aawn)
Stir-fried Sheatfish with Phrik Khing Paste
Jeeb Bunnag (จีบ บุนนาค), 1933

Ten Sheatfish Under Dry Paste

Score ten sheatfish along both flanks. Deep-fry in generous lard until crisp, then lift onto the plate, each fish overlapping the last. While they rest, the phrik khing paste (พริกขิง): seven dried chilies, rinsed several times, seven white peppercorns, kaffir lime zest, coriander root - pound fine. Two tablespoons of lemongrass, five slices of galangal, twenty-five cloves of garlic, five shallots, in with the rest, pound fine again. Crush five more cloves, fry them in two tablespoons of lard, add the paste, stir-fry until dry and aromatic. Scatter in a little sugar, sprinkle good fish sauce over. Spoon the dry paste across every fish, edge to edge. Coriander and kaffir lime leaves over the top.

Now in the Archive →
thaifoodmaster.com/heritage

The Siamese Recipe Archive is a Thaifoodmaster preservation project. We digitize, translate, and publish historical Thai culinary manuscripts — primary sources from the Rattanakosin era.

13/07/2026

แกงจืดลูกชิ้นกุ้งกับผักกาดปลี (gaaeng jeuut luuk chin goong gap phak gaat bplee)
Mild Soup with Prawn Balls and Chinese Cabbage
Jeeb Bunnag (จีบ บุนนาค), 1933

Leaf Showing at Head and Tail

Pluck one head of Chinese cabbage into leaves, soak, rinse in permanganate. Sort by wrinkle: the most wrinkled, small and large, go to the rolls; the rest, two side leaves out, ribs shaved, cut into diamonds, khanom piak puun style. Ten giant freshwater prawns, heads broken off, the head fat and head meat squeezed out and kept apart. Pound the bodies fine with five garlic cloves, coriander root — what's on hand — fifteen white peppercorns, salt to suit. Spread the paste over the rolled yellow and green leaves, leaf showing at head and tail. Arrange on the plate, steam just cooked. Strain the stock, bring it to a boil. Ten shiitake, soaked and torn, back to the boil, then the rolls with the head fat and meat. Scatter chicken breast boiled and shredded fine, five garlic cloves fried golden. Ladle to the center of the bowl. Scatter coriander, white peppercorns.

Now in the Archive →
thaifoodmaster.com/heritage

The Siamese Recipe Archive is a Thaifoodmaster preservation project. We digitize, translate, and publish historical Thai culinary manuscripts — primary sources from the Rattanakosin era.

05/07/2026

ข้าวแขก (khaao khaaek)
Indian-Style Rice - Layered Jasmine Rice and Coconut Milk pudding with Crispy Shallots
Jeeb Bunnag (จีบ บุนนาค), 1933

Ladle It Twice as Thick

Boil 1/2 cup of milled rice in 2 cups of water until soft and broken fine. Stir until thick enough to shape into a ball. Salt it lightly. Scoop, spread level on the plate. Thai fresh floral water three times over — pressing thick cream from 1/4 kg of coconut, dissolving 1 teaspoon of kneaded rice flour, dissolving 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric. Strain through fine white cloth. 1 dessert spoon of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of ground salt, stirred over heat until cooked and thick. Taste. Ladle it over, twice as thick as the rice beneath. Crispy fried shallots on top.

Now in the Archive →
thaifoodmaster.com/heritage

The Siamese Recipe Archive is a Thaifoodmaster preservation project. We digitize, translate, and publish historical Thai culinary manuscripts — primary sources from the Rattanakosin era.

03/07/2026

งบปลาอุย (ngohp bplaa uy)
Grilled Fish Parcels
Jeeb Bunnag (จีบ บุนนาค), 1933

Ngop: Grill to Taste, Then Seal

Scrape one fine pla uy in salted water; fillet along the sides, rinse in tamarind water, then plain. Large pieces, set to drain. Pound in stages: dried chili with salt, a dessert spoon of sliced lemongrass, three slices of galangal, coriander roots, kaffir lime zest, a tablespoon of fingerroot, six fresh chilies, a dessert spoon of roasted peanuts. A quarter half-shell of coconut — half grated into the paste, half squeezed for cream. Khlaao mix (เคล้า) the fish through the paste, then through two tablespoons of good fish sauce and a little nam dtaan maaw sugar (น้ำตาลหม้อ). Wrap, grill briefly, taste. Seasoning good — mix a little cream through, spoon onto basil over four layers of banana leaf, drizzle every last drop of the rest. Fold square, wooden pin, fire. Turn often. The leaf chars gold. Trapped heat cooks the inside through. Slide the round leaf under-liner, contents and all, onto the plate.

Now in the Archive →
thaifoodmaster.com/heritage

The Siamese Recipe Archive is a Thaifoodmaster preservation project. We digitize, translate, and publish historical Thai culinary manuscripts — primary sources from the Rattanakosin era.

29/06/2026

There is no pure Thai food. The name itself is younger than my grandmother.

Once you can read a dish, its whole history sits there in plain sight - and read in the right order, the plate becomes a calendar.
The Layered Table follows Thai food back through every layer that built it: the rice-and-fish foundation, the Mon and Khmer ground, the Indic spice technology, the foreign quarters of Ayutthaya, the two Chinese roads, and the regions the center absorbed last - down to the single year a state gave the whole accumulation one name and called it Thai.
The whole map, three thousand years of it, is in my new piece.

→ Read The Layered Table:
https://thaifoodmaster.com/articles_on_thai_food_and_culture/81379

29/06/2026

ข้าวตังปิ้งปรุง (khaao dtang bping bproong)
Grilled Seasoned Rice Crust
Jeeb Bunnag (จีบ บุนนาค), 1933

Garlic-Lard, Brushed onto Rice Crust

Tear banana leaf into fibers, fold in half, roll, tie at the stem. Two brushes. Grill thin rice crust golden on one side — half a pan, broken into pieces of six bites each. Three heads of garlic, bruised till cracked, chopped nearly fine, jiaao fry in plenty of pork lard. Flip the crust. Dip a brush in the garlic-lard and phrohm across the whole piece, lifting some garlic onto the surface. Dip again in good fish sauce, phrohm light. Sugar if you want, not much. White pepper, coriander. Golden, done.

Now in the Archive →
thaifoodmaster.com/heritage

The Siamese Recipe Archive is a Thaifoodmaster preservation project. We digitize, translate, and publish historical Thai culinary manuscripts — primary sources from the Rattanakosin era.

28/06/2026

ลอยแก้วสาวสวรรค์ (laawy gaaeo saao sawan)
Heavenly Maidens Floating in Crystal Syrup
Jeeb Bunnag (จีบ บุนนาค), 1933

Rinse the Maraschino Dye Out

Quarter each maraschino cherry. Blanch in hot water, then cold-soak, the water changed several times — the dye bleeds out, the preserving syrup with it. Peel each grape clean, pierce the seeds out. Pit the canned cherries, keep them whole. Cook granulated sugar to a thick syrup. Two drops of vanilla essence. Cool the syrup, combine the fruits, chill. saao sawan (สาวสวรรค์) — heavenly maidens, the fruits jewel-bright in clear syrup. — Siamese palace cuisine.

Now in the Archive →
thaifoodmaster.com/heritage

The Siamese Recipe Archive is a Thaifoodmaster preservation project. We digitize, translate, and publish historical Thai culinary manuscripts — primary sources from the Rattanakosin era.

24/06/2026

Matsya Avatara (มัสยาวตาร; mat saya aa waa dtaan), the Fish Incarnation: a red snapper deboned entirely through the belly, skin and fins kept whole, stuffed and pressed shut and fried so the full silhouette comes back to the plate — fish you can eat with nothing to pick around. The shape sets the expectation; the dish meets it.

When you cook, you're making a promise to the diner's senses, and as a creative cook, it's your sacred duty to keep that promise. So if you cook Thai food, be mindful of the expectations you're setting for the flavors, textures, and overall experience the diner will have. Then, align the dish's colors, textures, and shapes to tell an authentic story the way you want to tell it. A good starting point is being honest; my mother taught me this one.

This week's folios:

- แกงเผ็ดปลาดุกโสด — Spicy Curry of Catfish and Pickled Bamboo (Jeeb Bunnag, 1933)
- น้ำพริกกุ้งสด — Fresh Shrimp Chili Relish (Jeeb Bunnag, 1933)
- ผัดฟองวิหคโสภณ — Stir-Fried Wild Duck with Salted Duck Egg Dumpling and Mustard Greens (Jeeb Bunnag, 1933)
- ผัดไก่กับข้าวโพดอ่อน — Stir-fried Chicken with Baby Corn (Jeeb Bunnag, 1933)
- มัสยาวตาร — Matsya Avatara (The Fish Incarnation) (Jeeb Bunnag, 1933)
- ขนมไข่เต่าวิเศษ — Magical Turtle Egg Dumplings (Jeeb Bunnag, 1933)
- ขนมทองโปร่ง — Airy Golden Cake (Jeeb Bunnag, 1933)

Now in the Archive →
thaifoodmaster.com/heritage

The Siamese Recipe Archive is a Thaifoodmaster preservation project. We digitize, translate, and publish historical Thai culinary manuscripts — primary sources from the Rattanakosin era.

23/06/2026

ขนมทองโปร่ง (kha nohm thaawng bpro:hng)
Airy Golden Cake
Jeeb Bunnag (จีบ บุนนาค), 1933

One Yolk, Foam in Thirds

Three eggs. One yolk. Beat it to a fluff and set it by. All three whites with eight tablespoons of sugar, beaten until the grains dissolve and the whites stand in stiff peaks, then the yolk beaten back through. Divide the foam into three. Into each third, one tablespoon of rice flour — ground to powder, sifted through muslin, a quarter-teaspoon of baking powder worked in, rested under a damp cloth — folded alone, light-handed, so the air stays. Molds brushed with butter or fresh-rendered coconut oil, filled short. Moderate heat, out at gold and fragrant. Inverted, into a glass jar. ทองโปร่ง — hollow gold.

Now in the Archive →
thaifoodmaster.com/heritage

The Siamese Recipe Archive is a Thaifoodmaster preservation project. We digitize, translate, and publish historical Thai culinary manuscripts — primary sources from the Rattanakosin era.

22/06/2026

ขนมไข่เต่าวิเศษ (kha nohm khai dtao wi saeht)
Magical Turtle Egg Dumplings
Jeeb Bunnag (จีบ บุนนาค), 1933

Turtle Eggs, Salt-Forward Cream

Shape the dough into turtle eggs — small ovals. Two cups of freshly milled rice flour, sprinkled with water, rested, kneaded; a quarter cup of cassava flour kneaded in with hot water until it holds. Steam. Squeeze a third of a kilo of coconut, cream kept thick. Salt it, drop the dumplings in. Off the heat the instant it boils. A little sugar, just for flavor — salt forward. Skim two tablespoons of that same cream. Stir-fry it with shrimp tomalley, then five shrimp cut not too small, a little salt. Coriander, white pepper, at the bowl.

Now in the Archive →
thaifoodmaster.com/heritage

The Siamese Recipe Archive is a Thaifoodmaster preservation project. We digitize, translate, and publish historical Thai culinary manuscripts — primary sources from the Rattanakosin era.