Thai cooking, properly explained
Fish sauce first.
Everything else follows.
Learn the ten bottles and roots that Thai cooking is built on, then cook the dishes with the reasons behind every step. Heat shown on the Thai scale, so you know what you ordered.
- Recipes
- 8
- Pantry entries
- 17
- Heat levels
- 4
Tonight, in 20 minutes
Pad Kra Pao ผัดกะเพรา
Holy basil pork stir-fry with a crispy fried egg. The most ordered lunch in Thailand, done in one wok. Holy basil, not Thai basil, is the whole point.
Cook it tonightMost cooked
The dishes people make on repeat.
Pad Kra Pao ผัดกะเพรา
Holy basil pork stir-fry with a crispy fried egg. The most ordered lunch in Thailand, done in one wok.
Green Curry Chicken แกงเขียวหวาน
Fried-paste method with coconut cream, Thai eggplant and a big handful of basil.
Tom Yum Goong ต้มยำกุ้ง
Hot and sour shrimp soup, the creamy nam khon style, with chili jam and evaporated milk.
Pad Thai ผัดไทย
Tamarind, palm sugar and fish sauce in the right ratio, cooked two portions at a time.
Som Tum Thai ส้มตำไทย
Green papaya salad pounded in a mortar with lime, palm sugar, peanuts and dried shrimp.
The board
Everything on the menu.
Heat, time and type at a glance. Tap a row for the recipe.
The pantry
Know what each bottle does before you buy it.
Every ingredient page gives the Thai name, what it tastes like, what it is for, an honest substitute and how long it keeps.
Open the pantry guide- Fish sauce น้ำปลาSalt and depth. The backbone.
- Galangal ข่าPiney, citrusy. Not ginger.
- Holy basil กะเพราPeppery. For pad kra pao.
- Palm sugar น้ำตาลปี๊บCaramel sweetness that rounds salt.
- Bird’s eye chili พริกขี้หนูSmall, hot, fruity.
- Mortar and pestle ครกPound, don’t blend.
Thai 101
Four flavors. One rule: taste before you plate.
Every Thai dish is tuned across salty, sour, sweet and hot. Learn which bottle fixes which problem and you can rescue any dish at the end.
Read Thai 101