Okay, rewind. I’m now going to take you back to Chiang Mai, Thailand because I completely missed sharing my amazing cooking class experience there. So sit back, relax, and let your mouth commence salivating.
One of the top-rated things to do in Chiang Mai was to attend a cooking class. My first reaction at the time was “Really?!” What was so special about a cooking class? I knew there were a number of amazing ones I could take back in California. Then I read more of the reviews and realized it was more than cooking — it was a full-blown experience. So we went for it, and booked one of the highest-rated cooking schools on TripAdvisor: Siam Rice Thai Cookery School. We booked the half-day course, which was still a three-course meal. It included making a soup, a noodle dish, and curry.
Our experience began with a trip to the local market so we could learn about all of the ingredients that go into some of the most famous and mouth-watering Thai dishes.
The place buzzed with sounds from butchers chopping meats, cash registers ringing in sales, and shop owners assertively telling potential customers to ‘try out a sample,’ or ‘buy, buy, buy.’ Delicious smells tickled my nostrils — from the fresh scent of ginger root and basil to the heavenly whiff of fried fish and pork rinds sizzling on the pans. Our guide expertly described to us all of the various ingredients that we would be using in our cooking class that day.
Of course, since we were in Thailand, there was no shortage of more exotic delicacies present at the market as well. Among the dried fish and fried chicken heads, there were also bags full of caterpillar larvae for sale. I checked with the guide to make sure these particular ingredients weren’t going into our dish, and was relieved when he said they weren’t.
After the market, we made our way to the cooking school, where we would spend the next few hours creating from scratch what so many people crave when they think of Thai food. We were kindly greeted by the head chef, who would be walking us through how to prepare each dish. A cute little cooking station housed all of the sauces, ingredients, and cooking equipment we needed to make our savory concoctions.
We were first taught how to master food presentation. A big part of what makes a dish so appetizing is how it is arranged on a plate. I had excellent skills in this area, as you can see.
Up next was making the first course: Thai soup. We got to choose from a variety on the menu: coconut, spicy basil and chicken, and a few others. I am a spice lover, so my natural choice was the spicy chicken and basil soup.
One of the best things I learned during the course was my spice-level tolerance. For me, I needed 7-8 peppers to reach my ideal point of sweaty satisfaction (compared to Dan who could tolerate around 5-6, and Mischa, only 2-3).
After we finished making our soup, we were brought to a different area of the school where we could sit down and enjoy our meal. Indeed, I made my soup very spicy. But I blamed the humidity and hot weather around me as the cause for the sweat dripping down my forehead. I devoured it.
During the second course, we had the choice to make Pad See Ew, Pad Thai, or Pad Kee Mao (drunken noodles). The three of us decided to make one of each and share — a very smart decision. The air around us filled with the delicious scents of cooking oil, oyster sauce, fish sauce, and sugar — all of the staple ingredients you need for authentic Thai cooking.
Last but not least, it was time to make Thai curry. At this point, Mischa, Dan, and I were all getting quite full. But we forged on — determined to know what it takes to create a delicious curry dish. Turns out, making the curry from scratch was actually a very laborious
experience. We didn’t have a blender handy, so we used mortar and pestle to grind the curry ingredients together. Our chef mentioned that the Thai people have a saying when it comes to women making curry: the more fine (and beaten down) the curry paste, the better wife and lover that woman is. I worked hard to make my curry paste as smooth as possible — although I think I was beaten by one of the British girls also attending that class. Regardless, all of our curries — Panang, spicy red chicken, and spicy green chicken — all turned out to be very delicious.
We left the class fully satiated and feeling a big food coma coming on. I wasn’t sure how anyone who booked a full-day course could take in so much food. A full day included a seven-course meal for each person — enough to feed an entire family and then some. This half-day course was more than enough for me and my friends. It was an amazing experience — and as I write this now, I can feel my stomach growling as my senses take me back to that wonderful, palate-pleasing time.
Life With Nat 