Thai Cooking Class

Cooking Experience:

This cooking class was recommended by a friend that is currently living in Chiang Mai. We were able to book a day or two in advance and pay at the time of the tour. They had a morning class and evening class. Since our flight arrived early afternoon around 1PM we booked for later in the day. It gave us enough time to get settled, shower and take a nap before the class. Our pick up time was around 4:15PM and we were hauled into the back of a mini truck/van. There was a total of six people for the class which was great. We made our first stop at the Market (like with most cooking classes). We received a quick run down of the ingredients we would be using for the meal and given a short period of time to roam around the market. Once we re-grouped we loaded back onto the mini truck/van and headed to the location for the class.

Upon arrival we were introduced to the assistants for the evening, placed our things at the table and washed our hands. We had spots in the kitchen next to a cutting board. The instructor introduced himself and the dish we would be preparing- from there it was a step by step on chopping up the ingredients, placing them in separate pockets on the plate prior to adding them to the pan on the stove. We made a really good noodle dish first- and was able to choose the level of spice and whether we wanted clear or coconut base. Once completed we were able to enjoy at the dining room table. It was a great way to interact with the rest of the people on the tour. Once we finished that meal, we would move on to the next course. Which were all out of order- I think that was on purpose to avoid getting full off the lighter dishes and missing out on the main one. We made a total of three courses- by the last one many of us were full and ended up sharing our creations with the rest of the people at our table.

The set up of the school was like a house. There was a dining room area set for us and the kitchen was on the other side. There were multiple stations for cooking and a long table with cutting boards, bowels, herbs, spices and veggies. We basically followed the instructions of the teachers (there were two leads).

I prepared the following dishes:

Fried Noodles Thai Style
Hot and Sour Prawn Soup
Fried Fish Cakes

We had unlimited drinks (water, tea, coffee and soda). It seemed like so much food was being made and by the third course I was full. I sampled things but really couldn't eat everything even if I tried. It was great that we took this in the evening (like a late lunch/early dinner).

The whole class was about 4 hours long from start to finish. The cost was $25 USD and worth every penny. I posted a link to the website in white at the start of the blog. Be sure to take tons of pictures and video!