My newest favorite activity to do while on holidays is cooking classes.  What better way to experience a culture than through their food?  And that is exactly what I did on my first trip to Thailand, learn how to make some of their most famous dishes (and then eat them!)

We were told to arrive hungry and that’s what we did.  The meeting point was outside of a Thai market, where fresh produce is sold on the street in the mornings.  As we arrived in the afternoon, the school had pre-arranged to pick-up our ‘groceries’ from a small stand where the chef introduced us to the various key ingredients in Thai cooking.

We the proceeded to the school where we put on our aprons and started cooking.

We learned how to make everything from scratch including the coconut milk and green curry paste.  All the prep was done in the downstairs area where the chef would explain each ingredient and their importance in the dish.  Afterwards we would head upstairs where the stoves were set up to cook with the chef’s supervision in the middle.  Once you’re done cooking you bring the finished product downstairs to enjoy before moving onto the next dish.  While you were eating the staff would clean up and set up for the next dish.

Our chef was very knowledgeable as well as entertaining, constantly cracking sarcastic and dirty jokes.  It kept the class laughing and made the experience even more enjoyable.

In most the dishes we were able to add our desired level of heat via peppers.  My friends and I are all spicy fiends and added so much in the pad thai that we made the whole room cough when it was cooking (oops).

All-in-all, it was a great way to spend an afternoon for 1000 TBH (~$30 USD).  You come out full and with new cooking skills to use at home.  I highly recommend trying this cooking school out if you are in Bangkok and looking for something fun to do!

The menu:

• Tom Yum Soup
• Pad Thai
• Larb Gai – Chicken Salad
• Green Curry
• Mango Sticky Rice