Songkhla Team Wins Thai PBS Nam Phrik Contest with Grilled-Fish Galangal Dip

A team of home cooks from the Khlong U-Taphao basin in Songkhla Province has won the “Best Nam Phrik” award for its “Nam Chup Hua Kha Kapi Pla Yang” (galangal dip with shrimp paste and grilled fish). The team took the prize in the final of “Yok Phon Khon Nam Phrik Season 2”, organised by the Thai PBS Culture and Arts Media Centre on 19 September 2026 at the Wooden Plaza, Building A, Thai PBS. The winning team received a royal trophy from Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, together with a cash prize. The final closed a competition that ran for 26 episodes.

The final was attended by members of the Thai PBS Policy Committee, academics, ingredient specialists and cooks from different regions, who came together to share knowledge about Thai nam phrik, with a large crowd of fans of the programme also present. The final round was judged on five criteria: taste, potential for further development, preservation of traditional wisdom, understanding of ingredients and the environment, and food sustainability.

Runners-up and the People’s Choice Award

Besides the winning team, several other finalists presented nam phrik stories drawn from their local wisdom. The dishes were nam chup mahat, nam phrik rak chu a-ma-ka, jaew sup, lotus root nam phrik and pla ma nam phrik, which received the People’s Choice Award from viewers following the programme. Each team reflected the different ingredients and ways of life of its own area. The event also featured exhibition booths on Thai food and eating culture, as well as booths selling nam phrik and regional foods, where visitors could buy and taste throughout the day.

On to Season 3 and a Follow-up Documentary

An executive of the Thai PBS Culture and Arts Media Centre said that two episodes remain to be broadcast before the season ends on Saturday 3 October 2026. The final episode will recap the programme’s journey and highlights, and will also announce “Yok Phon Khon Nam Phrik Season 3” under the new theme “Eating Rice with Nam Phrik”. The new season will widen the focus from nam phrik to rice, other foods and local wisdom across the country. A roadshow will visit different regions to hear from local people before the new season is developed.

Before Season 3, Thai PBS will also present the documentary “Behind the Kitchen of the Nam Phrik Cooks - Cooking with Master”, which shares the views and thinking of the cooks behind each bowl of nam phrik.

This news will interest those who follow local food and Thai wisdom, as well as restaurant operators and food-tourism professionals looking for inspiration from local ingredients and traditional nam phrik recipes that have the potential to be developed into community products.