I always love cooking. It started first by uploading pictures of my dishes onto my private Instagram account. After positive feedback, I thought to myself, “Why not create a public account on my cooking? That is how Cooking For Husband started in 2015.”
The momentum began when I uploaded a short video clip. It was a clip of someone making Khanom Khrok (ขนมครก), a traditional Thai dessert of coconut-rice pancakes in a supermarket. My brother, Bancha was with me. Within a few hours, my account suddenly had a hundred new followers. It meant a lot for me, at that time! It was a weird feeling, but I know I was onto something. I also wanted to introduce something different from what others are posting, which are the typical Thai recipes.
Having this Instagram account was something new and fascinating to me. Slowly, I began to have a routine of posting at least once a week. I was the first (within similar Thai cooking related accounts) that introduce Western elements, alongside our local Thai ingredients.
When I started to introduce better quality ingredients such as steak, lobster, bigger shrimps, I gained more followers. Eventually, Cooking For Husband’s content encourages others to be more adventurous in exploring new ingredients, besides the standard Thai ingredients.
The increase in the number of followers was always gradual and 100% organic. I never, and will not buy Ads to gain more followers.
Cooking for Husband
Where is the authenticity in that? I apply the same principle to my cooking. I do not create content for the sake of it. I post whatever I cook in my daily kitchen.
I use the same brand of fish sauce or soy sauce from Day 1 for my cooking. For essentials such as soy sauce, oyster sauce, and seasoning, I use Golden Mountain brand. I use coconut sugar as it is a healthier option, compare to sugar. I am very selective, and will not endorse the brand if I do not use it. I do not pretend that the product is good. If not, my audience will get confused why am I using a different soy sauce brand!
When my son was born, my content shifted naturally to baby food. I do see a drop in the numbers of followers, perhaps from those who initially followed Cooking For Husband. However, this also leads to writing my very first cookbook. I started talking to publishers end of 2018, and we started filming in February 2019. The recipes within are what I cook for my son daily. It was like second nature and took me four to five months to create content. If my son finishes my food, it is a green light for me that the recipe is good.
My philosophy has always been “I cook what I eat”. If I create content just for my audience, it becomes work. What is the fun in that? I never thought I would influence people. It is inevitable that whatever I post or comment will affect something or someone. That is why I never reveal the identity of my family on social media. I just let my food do the talking.
-As told to STT. Interview and photography by Theresa Burhan.
