Thai Farm Cooking School in Chiang Mai Show Notes

Each podcast episode I dive into a specific experience that can be replicated and then give you a how-to guide to make it happen. Today we are getting our fingers dirty and we are talking about experiencing a Thai Cooking Class in Chiang Mai, Thailand. These are the show notes for the Thai Farm Cooking School in Chiang Mai.

Please listen to the episode above or wherever you listen to podcasts.How I found the Thai Farm Cooking School6 weeks ago when I was leaving Koh Lipe, Thailand (listen to the last episode if you’re interested in Koh Lipe), I met a family at the Elephant Café and they started giving us their tips for visiting Chiang Mai (which is the 2nd largest city in Thailand located in Northern Thailand). They gave us a full itinerary and they recommended a cooking school in Chiang Mai called The Chiang Mai Thai Farm Cooking School.

I’ve always been the cook in my family. I read cookbooks for fun, but truly homemade Thai cooking has always intimidated me, so thought a Thai cooking class in Thailand would be a great way to be introduced to homemade curry pastes, sticky rice and more.My Full Day at the Thai Farm Cooking School in Chiang MaiThe Chiang Mai Thai Farm Cooking School was fairly full, but they had one spot for me on the 9 days I was there in Chiang Mai. For you listeners out there, go ahead and book early if you know you’re going to Chiang Mai.

This school offered 2 classes, a half day and the full day. I opted for the full day and was picked up at my hotel in a nice van with about 9 other people.

We first stopped at a market in town (where no other tourists were at) and our teacher, Kim, explained the difference between sticky and non-sticky rice. You can actually see the difference and you use different methods to cook each. Take note to never boil sticky rice, it just won’t work.

Kim also walked through how to make each dish vegetarian and the correct substitutes for fish sauce and oyster sauce.Life at the Organic FarmWe continued on our drive to the Organic farm where the Thai Farm Cooking School was held. When we got to the farm we all put on straw hats and headed to the field. Kim showed us ingredients I haven’t seen before like Thai Eggplant and dynamite chilis. I took too big of a bite out the dynamite chili I tried, and it was spicy! There wasn't milk outside either, let's just say that I made a little bit of a scene!

Going into the farm brought a whole new experience to food. It was to smell and taste each ingredient, bringing in all of the senses.

Back in the kitchen, it was time for us to make our own curry paste. We could choose in between red, green, or yellow. I chose green… it had lots of fresh ingredients and I had to muddle my own curry. It was hard work making my ingredients into a paste. Each time my instructor stopped by, I thought mine was done but she told me to work harder. I have so much respect for people who make their own curry paste!

At the school, we also got to choose a soup to make. I chose Thom Kha soup, a coconut milk based Thai soup and I swear it was the best soup I’ve ever had in my entire life. I could taste each ingredient, and the flavors danced on my tongue. Really everything I ate at this cooking school was my best meal inThailand.

We also made a chicken cashew stir fry, spring rolls, mango sticky rice, and we learned how to decorate our curries. We used coconut milk for cooking and coconut cream for the décor. You’ll see that we made fun designs on top of the curry using coconut cream. We ate at many restaurants on our trip in Thailand and no one else plated like the Thai Farm Cooking School.

Why Should You Take a Thai Cooking Class in Chiang Mai?You will make new friends, plus you'll be around like-minded people who love to eat and travel too. We came from many different parts of the world including Chile, France, the US andmore.