Joining a Thai cooking class (delicious recipes)
You guys, I’m in luuuhve. With red curry, pad thai, and tom yum goong soup topped with fresh chopped cilantro.
Thai cuisine is my absolute favorite so naturally I was THRILLED to join a Thai cooking class and learn how to make the awesomest, most heavenly tasty Thai food from scratch. This was my first cooking class, ever, and by the way self, WHY have I not been on to this activity sooner? ugh. When I saw the option in Bali, I knew I had to join one in Thailand, like, pronto.
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WHO-HO-HO-HOA. A 5-COURSE MEAL?
The Thai cooking class began with a trip to a local market. Our appointed chef showed us across the street, past small roofed vendors and florists to the bustling market place. The group of nine food-lovers gathered around the chef as he assigned us each a basket and pointed at colorful vegetables and spices.
Lemongrass, tomato, basil, coconut, onion, a good stash of fresh herbs, and, errr, wait, lemme think.
Yeah – I think that about sums up what was in my basket.
After 20 or so minutes, we went back across the street and into the cooking school.
First step of the day was to learn about the Thai ingredients. We prepared curry paste, which is one of the most important aspects of Thai cooking, and learned how to use fresh picked herbs and whole spices to increase aroma –> very important factor.
Aroma, aroma, and more aroma!
PAD THAI
Well, well, well, what do we have here?
To my hungry eyes it looks like fried noodles with bean sprouts and egg otherwise known as SUPERDELICIOUS pad thai. You guys. This dish. It’s one of my favorites EV-ER and I could live off of it until the end of the world.
So here I am with my first-ever home cooked pad thai. I was basically the happiest Dane alive.
GREEN CURRY
Green curry-liciousness. Omg, this dish was amaaaaazing.
The curry paste, veggies and chicken is stirred, then the coconut milk and fish sauce is added, and just like that, the green curry is done.
By the way, joining a Thai cooking class or any cooking class for that matter is a brilliant way to meet other travelers. I ended up hanging out with the girl next to me <— who was also a solo traveler.
SNACK
And this, my friends, is why I should not have waited, err, 8 MONTHS to write this post. Dang it.
I simply cannot remember what’s in this snack-meal, but I think it was something with minced chicken… ish.
RED CURRY
Hellooo, red curry, I’ve been waiting for you!
I made red curry with curry paste, chilis, coconut milk, kaffir lime leaves, and fish sauce. And a handful of fresh basil leaves to make the whole thing pretty.
Why oh why oh WHY is this soupy dish so yummy?
MANGO STICKY RICE
Color! sweetness! All on a plate.
There’s so much sweetness in this dish, and I totally fell in love when I tasted it.
Weird fact: I’ve been to Thailand countless times, but it’s the first time I’ve tried this uber-delicious dessert.
Oh, sticky rice, where have thou been all those years?!
I LOVED THIS THAI COOKING CLASS
Want to join a cooking class?
If you would like to join a Thai cooking class in Bangkok, I highly recommend Silom Cooking School. I paid 1,000 Baht and the class lasted about 3-4 hours. You can read more about them on their website.
This cooking school has three daily classes:
- Morning class ( 9 AM – 12:30 PM) market tour is included
- Afternoon class (1:40 PM – 5:30 PM) market tour is included
- Evening class (6 PM – 9 PM) minimum 2 people
Joining a Thai cooking class is so much fun. And it’s a great way to learn the culture and traditions in the country you visit.
Are you as crazy about Thai food as I am? What’s your favourite?
More posts from Thailand you might like
- What to Pack for Thailand (Packing List for First-Timers)
- Surprise! We got married in Thailand
- Koh Tao is my paradise in Thailand
- A Guide to West Coast Island Hopping in Thailand
- An island getaway to Koh Chang
- Where to Stay in Bangkok | Best Hotels in the Coolest Neighborhoods
- Koh Lanta is Thailand’s relaxing island
- Thailand Travel Guide
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Can’t believe I haven’t done this yet … next time I am in Thailand!
That was my thought exactly! This is one of the best activities I’ve tried in Thailand – I highly recommend.
I see everything is cooking in Thailand!! I missed these classes, but now I really regret. Undoubtedly, Thai cuisine is all about the aroma and freshness! 🙂
I’m ready to join one again when I return to Thailand. Would love to try a cooking class in Chiang Mai since the food is different up north.
A new entry on my “must do” list. Looks amazing.!
Thanks, Sharon. The food was incredible!
I only spent a day in Phuket, but cooking classes in Thailand is defo on the list of things I want to do. Your experience looks amazing. 🙂
Anna, I highly recommend it. If I’d known it would be this fun and instructive, I would have found and joined one AGES ago 🙂
Hi Miriam, I came across your site through your comments on Silvia’s blog (Heart My Backpack). I am a German Travel Blogger and I absolutely love cooking classes! Your photos of the dishes and the recipes are truly watering my mouth and make me very hungry. 🙂 Everything looks super-delicious and very nicely arranged.
I have done ten cooking classes abroad so far, nine of them of them in Asia. I have done two in Chiang Mai (these two with my boyfriend) and one in Bangkok where I used a cooking school in Klong Toey, one of the so called “slums”. The good thing is that a part of the money you pay for the cooking class supports the whole neighbourhood in Klong Toey, not only the owner and her staff.
Besides learning how to prepare “classical” chinese food in Yangshuo, I did a Yunnan, a Sichuan and a Xinjiang cooking class in Beijing, While all of the courses I have done in Thailand and China were fantastic, the one my boyfriend and I did in Hoi An last December disappointed a bit, but that was due to certain conditions.
Ten cooking classes? Wow, that must be a record 🙂 I’d love to join one in Chiang Mai when I visit in November. Do you have a recommendation?
Hi Miriam, yes definitely. My boyfriend and I chose the Chiang Mai Thai Cookery School thaicookeryschool.com for our first cooking class in Asia in March 2008 (I had done one in Costa Rica a few years before). We were picked up at our hotel and taken to the Cooking School where we were first given an introduction into Thai spices before we started our actual cooking class. Everyone had its own cooking zone, equipment and ingredients and like you did in Bangkok we also prepared five dishes per course, After preparing each dish we sat together and enjoyed what we had just cooked before starting to prepare the next dish. After the cooking class everyone received a cookbook with the recipes of all five beginner cooking classes and we still prepare many of these dishes at home. We liked the course so much that we did another one at the same school just two days later. That one started with a tour of the local market; every cooking class begins with something different. I can highly recommend that cooking school although their prices seem to have risen significantly since we were there. From what I remember we have paid about 1000 Thai Baht for the first class and a little less for the second one because we didn’t recieve the cookbook a second time. From what I could just see from their website the price now is 1450 Thai Baht. I could imagine that it’s probably because they are quite well known due to recommendations in travel guide books and reports in the media. But even if you choose a different cooking school, I am sure yo will have a great time. Will you be at TBEX in Bangkok?
Thanks so much for your comprehensive answer, Vanessa! I will definitely check this cooking school out when I visit in November. And I don’t mind paying a little more when I know the quality is good. I won’t be at TBEX in Bangkok though, but I will attend in Stockholm next summer for sure.
This cooking class so useful for me. Thanks for posting about cooking. I like your blog.
I’m glad to hear that! I hope to see you here on the blog again.
wow!! like this classes are going on? really super I like very much for cooking and try new dishes to my family and friends. I love cooking. Very nice article and post some new dishes to do.Keep it up!
Thanks! I’m glad you found it helpful 🙂
Spicy, Hot, Sweaty, and amazing are everything I remember about the Thailand foods. I hope I can settle time to come back to Thalland and join the cooking class soon. By the way, thanks for your wonderful post
Yes, definitely do that! If you love Thai food, you’ll LOVE a Thai cooking class 🙂
Amazing suggestion for a food lover and the tourists. I am also a big foodie and I love to eat Thai food. Last year when I was on Thailand tour in my holidays then I joined Authentic Thai cooking classes at “https://www.mythaicooking.com/” in Bangkok on best prices. It was a great way for me to learn something new, experiencing and enjoying Thai cuisine while having fun at the same time. Now I can cook my all favourite Thai dishes. This cooking school is the best option for those who want to feel the new experience of Thai cuisine and cooking classes in Bangkok. Thailand tour is incomplete without Thai cooking classes.
Thanks, Caroline! I’m glad you had such a great experience on your cooking class.