Tales from Thailand: Chiang Mai, Day 1--Cook like a Thai

We were picked up by 9:00am for an all-day cooking and eating experience. We started by selecting the five dishes we wanted to learn to prepare (and then eat). Then our lead chef, Nok, took us to a nearby market and gave us an overview of the ingredients we would be using--from types of cooking oil to fresh coconuts and lemongrass to kaffir limes.

First dish--fried noodles with chicken for me, and Neil cooked his favorite, cashew chicken. We each cooked in separate kitchens (three kitchens for different dishes) and returned to eat at our low table with mats and triangular pillows for chairs. My fried noodles with chicken was light and delicious, a Pad Thai, light in texture and fresh in flavor. Neil shared a few bites of cashew chicken, and the flavors were incredible.

Next dish--appetizers! I selected spring rolls, and Neil picked papaya salad. First we stir fried the chicken, tofu, and vegetables. Then we made the rolls and deep-fried them to golden brown perfection. Both of these tasted even better than when we have eaten them in restaurants; however, we don't claim to be impartial judges.

For our third course we had our choice of soup. I opted for seafood coconut soup, and Neil made Tom Yum (hot and sour) soup. I was surprised to learn about the ingredients are used just for flavor, not for consumption. These included lemongrass, galangal (Thai ginger), and kaffir lime leaves. I also reaffirmed my opinion that I do not enjoy fish balls. Luckily the shrimp and squid were delicious.

Next up--nap time. Seriously. We curled up on our mats and laid our heads on our triangular prism pillows and slept. This was amazing for me as I went to bed late the night before, woke up at 3:45am, and didn't sleep on our short flight.

After our rest, we prepared dessert so that we could enjoy it immediately after eating our curry (smart strategy). I opted for mango sticky rice, and Neil chose fried bananas with ice cream. I have tried mango sticky rice twice since we have been in Thailand and honestly haven’t been thrilled. However it is a well-loved Thai dessert (and the mangoes are always delicious). The rice was pretty straightforward: steam sticky rice and make coconut-sugar sauce (with both granulated sugar and palm sugar, which is like a gooey brown sugar, and a dash of salt). Then we poured the sugary coconut sauce over the rice and let it sit and soak up the flavors.

Now it was time for the most intimidating portion of the class—making curry! Green curry for me, and Panang curry for Neil. Surprisingly, this wasn’t too difficult. It involved mincing veggies (green chilies, shallots, garlic, Thai ginger (galangal), lemongrass, kaffir lime peel, coriander root, turmeric root), then grinding them with mortar and pestle, and adding a bit of shrimp paste. Bam! Homemade and fresh green curry, with a kick! Then I made green curry chicken (with two kinds of eggplant, baby corn, Thai basil, and coconut), and it was fantastic! Neil’s Panang curry was delectable!

Then it was time to enjoy dessert too. Surprisingly I liked my mango sticky rice—it was noticeably less salty than other ones that I had tried. I also helped Neil with his deep friend bananas and ice cream!

Two thumbs up for Baan Thai Cooking School.

And two thumbs up for Rimping Village Hotel which took great care of us, immediately upon arrival. (If you had this tree in front of your hotel, you would use it as the logo too.)

After a swim, we wandered through a small part of Chiang Mai, finding the night market. Then I enjoyed my second nap of the day while getting an hour-long foot massage (for $6) and finally we found the 24-hour flower market.