Thai native shares culture with culinary art
At son-in-law’s San Antonio-area restaurant, food expert creates intricate traditional desserts to serve others
SAN ANTONIO — Cooking is how Jiraporn Namarsa meditates.
Namarsa’s intricate desserts require focus, time and artistry. There’s thong yip (egg yolkshaped flowers) and luk chup (mung bean paste candies). Cooking tethers her to Thailand, the land of her birth, and to Buddhism, which calms and humbles her.
Sharing her faith, food, and culture with others has been Namarsa’s passion since moving to the United States 31 years ago. She is selfless with her time, energy and skill.
Each morning, the 72-year-old prepares breakfast and lunch, which she delivers to Buddhist monks in the community. A tenet of her faith is to offer food to the monks to observe their sacrifice for others.
“I feel good that I can do many things for other people,” Namarsa said. “And educate some people about the culture and my ability to teach at the same time.”
Preparing various dishes has soothed Namarsa’s soul since she was 9. Her parents taught her the culinary arts at their home in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, and it wasn’t long before she was preparing meals for the family.
Namarsa grew up with three brothers and a sister who still live in Thailand. She was 16 when she met her husband, Somchai, in high school.
After graduating, Namarsa went on to teach biology in Thailand for 20 years. Her husband became a mechanical engineer. In 1990, the next chapter of her life moved her more than 8,000 miles away. The family, including her 13-year-old daughter, Somjira, moved to Clarksville, Tenn., when her husband helped open a tile-making factory. Eight years later, they moved to Wisconsin, where Namarsa had to drive three hours to a temple in Chicago.
Nowadays, Namarsa shares her recipes at Thai Topaz, owned by her son-in-law David Thanairongroj, in Castle Hills in the north San Antonio area. With its wood carvings at the entrance and a tuk-tuk — a three-wheeled vehicle used in Thailand — the restaurant reminds Namarsa of her homeland.
Nimble with a carving knife, Namarsa has spent time at the restaurant, showing customers how she creates decorative desserts with a small paring knife. One specialty is tiny, fruit-shaped mung bean desserts. Using steamed mung beans, she molds the paste into miniature fruits that resemble oranges, cherries and mangoes. Food coloring makes the shiny fruit look like real produce.
The family also has hosted cultural events, such as Songkran, a water festival celebrating the start of the Thai New Year in April.
Thanairongroj, 46, has learned from his mother-in-law and shares her passion for passing on Thai customs. They’ve hosted students and held cooking classes at the restaurant, donating the proceeds to a temple.
“We want to bring people our traditions and not just food,” Thanairongroj said.
Namarsa has kept her ties to Thailand, visiting once or twice each year and crocheting during the 12-hour flights. Last year, the pandemic prevented her from her annual visit, and Namarsa’s mother died March 4 at the age of 106. Unable to be with her family, she honored her mom at a traditional Thai funeral ceremony at a local temple.
She misses her mother, who created some of the first food carvings she ever saw. With just one child, Namarsa was able to invest hours into the meditative, culinary art form, unlike her mother, whose focus was on raising five children. And the memory of her mother lives on in the lessons Namarsa teaches family and friends.
On Fridays, early in the morning, Namarsa takes 10 to 15 minutes to prepare a light breakfast and gather a handmade flower arrangement that she delivers to the monks. She buys flowers with donations from the Thai community. After she arrives, she places the floral piece before a statue of Buddha. Namarsa is one of many who support the monks.
Each week, Namarsa’s cycle of compassion continues. There’s treasured time with her family, creating culinary masterpieces and finding inner peace through service to others.
“No matter who you are, you can be calm and peaceful,” Namarsa said, “and be happy.”