Provenance · Volume VI
The Thai Canon
Three hundred and thirty entries
Contents
I3
IIopening
III1
IV127
V198
VIopening
VII1
VIIIopening
IXopening
Xopening
Overview & Cultural Context
Why this cuisine is its own thing — roots, history, the living movement.
The Land & Sea
Terroir — geography, climate, what grows and swims here.
The Pantry
The defining ingredients, named to species.
The Method
The foundational techniques the cuisine is built on.
The Canonical Dishes
The dishes a serious practitioner is expected to know.
The Beverage Tradition
Wines, spirits, ferments, tea and coffee.
The Table & Service
How the food is served and eaten.
The Thread
Where this canon connects to others.
The Lineage & Authorities
The masters, the literature, the sources entries anchor to.
The Network
The producers and purveyors who carry the real ingredients.
← The LibraryVolume VI · contents
Thai · V The Canonical Dishes
Curries Coconut
Eleven entries
Coconut curries rest on a hierarchy of technique before protein or spice. Red curry is the most forgiving foundation; green curry is the benchmark against which all execution is measured; massaman is a slow braise governed by time rather than heat. From these three canonical forms, the section moves outward to paste-fried, dry-reduced, and yellow variations, then to protein-specific treatments and the regional Muslim iterations that carry their own dry-spice logic.
Gaeng Phet — Red Curry Benchmark / แกงเผ็ดGaeng Keow Wan Gai — Green Curry with Chicken / แกงเขียวหวานไก่Gaeng Massaman — Muslim-Thai Braise / แกงมัสมั่นGaeng Matsaman Neua — Beef Massaman Slow Braise Details / แกงมัสมั่นเนื้อCentral ThaiGaeng Panang — Dry-Reduced Coconut Curry / แกงพะแนงChu Chi — Dry-Fried Reduced Curry / ฉู่ฉี่Gaeng Kua — Paste-Fried Curry with Pineapple & Prawn / แกงคั่วGaeng Kari — Yellow Curry Technique / แกงกะหรี่Gaeng Khiao Wan Pla — Green Curry with Fish / แกงเขียวหวานปลาGang Ped Pet Yang — Red Curry with Roasted Duck / แกงเผ็ดเป็ดย่างCentral ThaiGaeng Kari Halal — Thai-Muslim Yellow Curry / แกงกะหรี่ฮาลาลSouthern Thailand
V · The Canonical Dishes · 1 of 13Next chapter → Curries No Coconut
Thai cooking rests on a philosophy of simultaneous flavour balance — sour, salt, sweet, and heat held in proportion — and on a set of foundational techniques that govern every preparation in the tradition. The canonical dishes of this chapter proceed from that philosophy into the structured forms it produces: the curry pastes, the clear broths, the wok preparations, the dressed salads, and the dessert tradition built on coconut milk, palm sugar, and rice starches.
Curries Coconut
Eleven entries
Gaeng Phet — Red Curry Benchmark / แกงเผ็ด · Gaeng Keow Wan Gai — Green Curry with Chicken / แกงเขียวหวานไก่ · Gaeng Massaman — Muslim-Thai Braise / แกงมัสมั่น
Curries No Coconut
Six entries
Gaeng Liang — Herb-Forward Vegetable Curry / แกงเลียง · Jungle Curry — Gaeng Pa / แกงป่า · Gaeng Som — Southern Sour Curry (No Coconut) / แกงส้ม
Desserts Sweets
Ten entries
Khanom Thai — Thai Dessert Philosophy / ขนมไทย · Bua Loy — Rice Flour Balls in Coconut Milk / บัวลอย · Khao Niew Dum — Black Sticky Rice Dessert / ข้าวเหนียวดำ
Fried Steamed
Seven entries
Hor Mok Talay — Steamed Seafood Curry Custard / ห่อหมกทะเล · Pla Neung Ma-Nao — Steamed Fish with Lime Sauce / ปลานึ่งมะนาว · Haw Mok Pla — Steamed Fish in Banana Leaf / ห่อหมกปลา
General
Eight entries
Tom Yam Kung · Thai Red Curry · Panang Curry
Grilled Smoked
Three entries
Gai Yang — Isaan Grilled Chicken / ไก่ย่าง · Moo Ping — Grilled Pork Skewers / หมูปิ้ง · Pla Pao — Salt-Crusted Grilled Fish / ปลาเผา
Regional Northern
Eight entries
Nam Prik Num — Northern Green Pepper Relish / น้ำพริกหนุ่ม · Nam Prik Ong — Northern Tomato Relish / น้ำพริกอ่อง · Khantoke — Northern Thai Shared Feast Format / ขันโตก
Regional Southern
Seven entries
Pla Haeng Tod — Deep-Fried Dried Fish / ปลาแห้งทอด · Kua Kling — Southern Dry Curry Stir-Fry / คั่วกลิ้ง · Prik Khing Neua — Southern Dry Beef Curry Stir-Fry / ผัดพริกขิงเนื้อ
Rice Noodle Dishes
Five entries
Khao Khai Jeow — Thai-Style Omelette Over Rice / ข้าวไข่เจียว · Khao Pad Krapao — Basil Fried Rice / ข้าวผัดกะเพรา · Khao Pad Pu — Crab Fried Rice / ข้าวผัดปู
Salads Dressings
Twelve entries
Som Tam — Green Papaya Salad Mortar Technique / ส้มตำ · Som Tam Pla Raa — Fermented Fish Papaya Salad / ส้มตำปลาร้า · Larb Isaan — Toasted Rice Minced Meat Salad / ลาบอีสาน
Soups
Eleven entries
Tom Yum Kung — Classic Prawn Hot-Sour Soup / ต้มยำกุ้ง · Tom Kha Gai — Coconut Galangal Chicken Soup / ต้มข่าไก่ · Tom Som — Sour Tamarind Fish Soup / ต้มส้ม
Stir Fry Wok
Fourteen entries
Phat Pak Boong Fai Daeng — Morning Glory in Fire / ผัดผักบุ้งไฟแดง · Phat Phak Ruam — Thai Vegetable Stir-Fry / ผัดผักรวม · Pad Thai Style — Noodle Frying Sequence / ผัดไทย (เทคนิค)
Also in this chapter
96 entries · page 1 of 2
อาหารไทย (Ahan Thai): The Philosophy of Thai FoodThai Cuisine: Regional Overview and Distinctionsผัด (Phat): Stir-Frying in the Thai Traditionยำ (Yam): Thai Salad as Flavour Architectureต้ม (Tom): The Sour and Spicy Soup Traditionข้าวเหนียว (Khao Niaw): Sticky Rice and the Northern Traditionอาหารเหนือ (Ahan Nuea): Northern Thai Cuisineอาหารอีสาน (Ahan Isaan): Northeastern Thai Cuisineอาหารใต้ (Ahan Tai): Southern Thai Cuisineสมุนไพร (Samunphrai): Thai Medicinal Herbs in Cookingขนมไทย (Khanom Thai): Thai Dessert Traditionเครื่องปรุงรส (Khreuang Prung Rot): The Thai Condiment SystemThai Herb Identification and Culinary RolesThai Herb Vocabulary: Horapa, Grapao, ManglakCoriander Root (Raak Pak Chee): The Overlooked ElementKrachai (Fingerroot / Chinese Keys)Fish Sauce (Nam Pla): Selection and UsePalm Sugar (Nam Tan Pip): Selection and UseRice Flour and Tapioca Flour: The Thai Dessert StarchesThai Eggplant Varieties and Their ApplicationsThe Thai Vegetable Vocabulary: Eggplant, Bamboo, Long BeansThe Rice Table: Constructing a Complete Thai MealGlutinous Rice / Sticky Rice (Khao Niew): Soaking and SteamingSticky Rice Steaming (Khao Niao)Coconut Rice (Khao Man Mamuang Base) RecipeGreen Curry (Gaeng Keow Wan) RecipeRed Curry (Gaeng Daeng) RecipeGaeng Kiao Wan (Green Curry) RecipeGaeng Kiew Wan Gai (Green Curry with Chicken) RecipeGaeng Massaman Nua (Massaman Beef Curry) RecipePhanaeng Nua (Panang Beef Curry) RecipeChu Chi Pla (Red Curry with Fish) RecipeKaeng Kari Gai (Yellow Chicken Curry) RecipeKaeng Pa (Jungle Curry) RecipeGaeng Kua Sapparot Goong (Pineapple and Prawn Curry) RecipeGaeng Kua Cha-Om (Acacia Leaf Omelette Curry) RecipeGaeng Ped Ped Yang (Red Curry with Roasted Duck) RecipeGaeng Phet Nua (Red Curry with Beef) RecipeGaeng Hang Lay — Northern Braised Pork Curry / แกงฮังเล RecipeGaeng Hung Lay (Burmese-Influenced Pork Curry of the North) RecipeKhao Soi (Northern Thai Coconut Curry Noodle Soup) RecipeKhanom Chin Nam Ya (Rice Noodles with Fish Curry Sauce) RecipeKanom Jeen Nam Ya (Rice Noodles with Fish Curry Sauce) RecipeNam Ngiao — Northern Pork and Tomato Noodle Soup / น้ำเงี้ยว RecipeTom Yam (Hot and Sour Soup) RecipeTom Yum Soup (Vegan Version) RecipeGaeng Jeud (Clear Thai Broth Soup) RecipeThom Saap (Isaan Sour Pork Rib Soup) RecipeLarb (Minced Meat Salad) RecipeLarb Gai (Minced Chicken Salad — Isaan) RecipeLaab Ped (Duck Larb, Northern Style) RecipeNahm Tok Mu (Waterfall Pork Salad) RecipeYam Nua (Thai Beef Salad) RecipeYam Takrai (Lemongrass Salad) RecipeYam Hed Ruam (Mixed Mushroom Salad) RecipeYam Som O (Pomelo Salad) RecipeYam Woon Sen (Glass Noodle Salad) RecipePad Kra Pao (Thai Basil Stir-Fry) RecipePad Krapao Mu (Stir-Fried Pork with Holy Basil) RecipeThai Green Curry (Vegan with Coconut Milk) Recipe