Nat Thaipun is laying the foundations to help you become a better, more instinctive cook

Ever tried your hand at making a curry from scratch, only for it go disastrously wrong? Maybe it’s too salty, or too sweet, perhaps the sauce splits, or turns out weak, watery or unbalanced. For cooking novices, it can often feel easier to just order a takeaway than labour over a new skill.

But Good Food’s new recipe columnist Nat Thaipun insists that imperfection is an integral step in mastering the art of home cooking.

“I want to give people the confidence to cook not just Thai food but any kind of food, and not be hard on themselves” says the former MasterChef Australia winner and cookbook author. “Often I find people not wanting to cook because they feel like they’re doing the wrong thing.”

Adapting and allowing room for error are all part of the process, as explored in Thaipun’s new Good Food column, The Foundations. Whether you’re a rookie in the kitchen or know your way around a pan, she will demonstrate a new technique to help build your confidence and form the building blocks necessary to get creative with cooking. By next Christmas, you’ll have a whole new toolkit of skills at your disposal.

“You should be allowed to have the freedom to experiment because you never know what you’re going to come up with.”

Nat Thaipun

Thaipun’s inaugural recipe demonstrates how to make her versatile Panang curry butter sauce – rich and buttery with a heady kick, you can drizzle it over your favourite veggies or use it as a base for fusion dishes. While the sauce itself is relatively quick to whip up, it requires a keen eye to ensure the coconut cream and cold butter emulsify without splitting. But don’t fret if you’ve never tried this at home before; Thaipun will hold your hand each step of the way.

The best recipes from Australia's leading chefs straight to your inbox.

Sign up

Balancing flavours and adjusting sauces to identify what could be missing is another key aspect of Thai cooking – and cooking in general – that she’ll explore throughout her recipe columns. Each skill and nugget of wisdom will build on each other to help you understand the basics of experimenting in the kitchen.

“There are so many different ways to cook,” Thaipun says. “You should be allowed to have the freedom to experiment because you never know what you’re going to come up with. Adaptability is a big one.”

Before you know it, you’ll be scouring the fridge and pantry and whipping up a delicious meal on a whim – no exact recipe or measurements required. For now, try your hand at making this fragrant (and absolutely addictive) curry butter sauce – and stay tuned for the next summery instalment of The Foundations.

Emily Holgate – Emily is a producer for the Good Food App at The Age. She previously wrote for the likes of Broadsheet and Urban List.Connect via email.