Asia Scenic Thai Cooking School

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Walking down the streets of Thailand, smells of food fill the air - sweet, spicy curries; grilled, fresh vegetables; whole, fried fish. It is impossible to walk more than five minutes without coming across a street vendor. Prices as low as 15 baht for a bowl of steaming hot, noodle soup are handwritten on a board resting against mobile kitchens. Inside a small cart, many talented women chefs can prepare nearly any Thai dish you name, all with the help of a handful of starches, a variety of vegetables and an assortment of spices. Having eating at several street vendors and savoring each bite, David and I decided it was our turn to try cooking.

There are numerous daily cooking classes offered throughout Thailand with no shortage in Chiang Mai. After our hotel suggested we go through Asia Scenic Thai Cooking School for 700 ($22) baht each, we agreed.

Upon our arrival, we all removed our shoes and gathered around a table, sitting on cushions with our feet tucked behind us. Our culinary professional, Gayray, spoke English with ease in a raspy voice. Her layered hair with brown highlights fell just below her collarbones. After we all introduced ourselves and Gayray went through the possible meal options, we selected what four dishes to prepare and then we walked across the lane to the open-air market. We stopped at a noodle stand where a Thai woman was removing fresh slabs of noodles from water and cutting it into thick, sen yai noodles. Gayray explained to us the different noodle options, ranging from sen yai (thick, rice noodles) to glass noodles to sen lek (thin, flat rice noodles). Farther into the market, we stopped at a rice stand and she explained to us the different types of rice - white, jasmine, sticky, brown, red and why some cost more than others (it depends on how old the rice is and how long it takes for it to grow). Because Gayray earlier prepared the noodles and rice for our course, we walked back to the cooking school empty handed.

Over the course of the following three hours, we prepared and ate four dishes. David and I both made Pad Thai and sweet mango and sticky rice, and I made cashew with chicken and khao soi (a popular yellow curry dish in the North) while David made hot basil and green curry.

After instructions from Gayray, we (there was nine of us) stood behind our flaming woks. The sizzling vegetable oil popped inside the wok. We had to be on our toes, ready to throw in ingredients, turn the heat up or down, add more oyster sauce or sugar. I could feel the heat on my forearms as I stirred the ingredients, first in a circular motion then flipping the food over so it would not stick to the bottom of the wok. Each dish took mere minutes to prepare because we used a high heat. After we finished our first dish, we gathered around the table and devoured our delicious food. (I was impressed with my pad thai!) After satisfying our hunger for the moment, we returned to the learning block to listen to Gayray instruct us on our next dishes, and then over the next two hours we prepared our remaining dishes.

After cooking, the nine of us returned to the table to enjoy our feasts. Each dish was extremely easy to prepare. With the freshest ingredients (straight from the garden or the market) our food was scrumptious; repeating this in America will be hard because we do not have many of the ingredients fresh, but it will be possible with dried spices. Upon completion of our meal, Gayray gave us a cookbook to take home and she apologized for any speaking mistakes she made throughout the course, which was unnecessary as her English was easy to understand and mistakes are bound to happen. The nine of us piled into the van and we were transported back to our hotels or other final destination.

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Photos

Everyone
The class learning from Gayray

Photo 3
Using the woks.

Dave
Using the mortar and pestle for his green curry.

Photo 6
Chopping...

The two of us
Eating!

Comments

[Shirley Darlings]

Your Cooking Class
Jenny and David Thank you for sending me your blogs. What a wonderful invention! Here I am at Scholl Canyon Estates in Glendale ,California seeing your wonderful pictures of a cooking class in Thailand You both look so good , nice and healthy. I'm glad you are enjoying your wonderful trip to Thailand. At first I told Bob I wasn't receiving the pictures so he must have given you my EMail. So glad to hear from you. I love living here at Scholl. We're busy all the time Had a beautiful trip to Catalina last week with about 20 of the residents. We had a marvelous electronic violin player, who travels with Yanni, the pianist. They will be going to So. America tomorrow

[Jhughes]

Hello Shirley, Dad and Andrea... Thanks for the commnets, I am happy to see you are reading my blogs (or blots, blops or blobs, Dad) Shirley, I am happy to hear you are enjoying your time at your new home. I am sure you love being able to socialize with everyone and I hear you often play the piano. A trip to Catalina sounds lovely, too! Right now we are down South in Phuket and it is pouring rain. It is the rainy season in Thailand; however, we have had few days of rain so today is actually a rarity. Anyway, thanks for the comment. I hopefully will see you soon because it has been a VERY, VERY long time. Love you all, Jennifer Ps -- Andrea, yeah kind of funny, but well, it was a strange encounter!