Interested in learning more about Thai food from the comfort of your favorite spot on the couch? Below is a list of the best online resources created by the internet's favorite Thai cuisine experts.
Best Thai Food Vlogs and Video Content
Mom Luang Sirichalerm Svasti, aka Chef McDang of Eating Thailand
Chef McDang was born into the Royal Family of Thailand. He was educated in the United States at Georgetown University, where, after watching Julia Child on American TV, he discovered his love for cooking and teaching others about Thai cuisine. From there he turned his professional attention to the culinary arts. In 2010 he published a cookbook called The Principals of Thai Cookery, which is considered by many to be a keystone resource on the topic. His YouTube series Eating Thailand offers a fascinating look into the regional cuisine of Thailand, with in-depth explorations into food traditions and the production of unique local products. He is very prolific today on Thai TV and media, as well international media, acting as "a sort of Thai food ambassador" around the world.
Chef Pailin Chongchitnant of Hot Thai Kitchen
Pailin was born in Bangkok and moved to Vancouver for her college education in Nutrition Studies. She studied culinary arts in San Francisco and started her Youtube career concurrently. Now, many years later she is an online authority of Thai cuisine, producing high quality educational and entertaining recipe videos. She is the author of the book Hot Thai Kitchen, Demystifying Thai Cuisine with Authentic Recipes to Make at Home.
Mark Wiens of Migrationology.com and Big on Spice
Mark is American by birth but grew up in various countries around the world. He currently lives in Bangkok with his wife, Ying, and their adorable child. His life's passion is food and travel, which he celebrates through his blog Migrationlogy.com and his Youtube videos. Mark speaks fluent Thai and has cultivated a vast network in Bangkok of chefs, non-profit organizations and locals working in Thai food and hospitality. His videos are a fantastic way to learn about Thai cuisine, regional dishes and ingredients. His most recent video endeavour is called Big on Spice which explores vegan Thai food and uncommon fruits and vegetables in Thailand. His site hosts a Bangkok City Guide which focuses heavily on food experiences in the city. If you find yourself in Bangkok, you can stop by his Kaprao Restaurant, Ped Mark, where he and a few buddies are cooking up the spiciest Pad Ka Prao in Bangkok!
Chef Pailin Pantawan (Pan) of Spicy Pan
Pan was born and raised in Chiang Mai Thailand, where she currently lives and teaches cooking at Pantawan Cooking School. She produces really informative Youtube videos where she brings her audience along for Chiang Mai market tours and restaurant visits and shares the inside scoop on the top dishes of Northern Thai cuisine. Her videos are a great place to start if you're interested in learning about Northern Thai Food.
Oh Happy Bear is a food and travel blog based in Bangkok. Ohhappybear.com was ranked among Thailand’s best blogs by The Culture Trip. The site offers a wide range of restaurant reviews in Bangkok and throughout Thailand via written and video content; there's even a section for Vegans and Vegetarians.
This one video from Bon Appetit
A lot of the BA Thai recipes are Americanized renditions of Thai cuisine, but this video in the Andy Learns series was anything but watered down! Thai Chefs at New York's Somtum Der guide Andy through the basics of Isarn cuisine and he is there for it; ready and willing to trying everything. Literally everything, he even sipped the fermented fish water in its raw state. This video is a great introduction to North-Eastern Thai Cuisine or Isarn Cuisine. For a more in-depth look at the Isarn region, check out Chef McDang's video series above!
Best Thai Food Blogs
Chawadee Nualkhair of Bangkok Glutton
Chawadee is an American of Thai descent, writing and working in Bangkok. She is a freelance journalist focusing mainly on food stories. She has published two books on the street food scene in Bangkok. Her blogs are beautifully written snapshots into her life in Bangkok. In her bio she writes her dislikes include "crowded, high-design restaurants; fusion that is forced; menus passing themselves off as 'authentic' when they are not; fried soft-shell crabs." Ditto on the fried crabs.
The Thai Food Master blog showcases the recipes and food stories of a collection of people living in Thailand. Hanuman, a foreign national of unspecified origins has been living in Chiang Mai since 1998, and in 2015 started documenting the authentic Thai recipes he has come to love. His partners include a Thai Chef and a Royal Thai Cuisine Chef and Historian. This site is especially interesting for those of us eager to learn about the history of Thai cuisine, and Royal Thai cuisine as they publish very detailed ancient recipes with a bit of history sprinkled in for flavor. And if all this wasn't good enough already, the food photography on the site is top notch!
Leela Punyaratabandhu of She Simmers
Leela is blogger and Author who focuses on Thailand and Thai cuisine. She splits her time between Bangkok and Chicago. Her most famous book, which you may be familiar with is Bangkok: Recipes and Stories from the Heart of Thailand. The blog hasn't been updated since May 2018, but the archives are a great resource for Thai cuisine stories and recipes.
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Do you have any favorite Thai food vlogs or websites that you think should be on this list? Leave a comment below and share!
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