Have you ever taken a cooking class? While planning my trip to Thailand I was often told “Take a Thai cooking class!” I will admit, I love to eat but I am not a chef. 🙂 Although I have had the desire to take a cooking class in the U.S., it has not happened yet. How fortunate for me that my first experience was a Thai cooking class in Chiang Mai!
On the left Chef Chalong. On the right Chef Wichit
While in Chiang Mai my friend and I stayed at the DusitD2 Hotel. Dusit is a chain of International luxury hotels and resorts. The hotel was fabulous! It is a boutique hotel located steps away from the daily night markets. I contacted the hotel once I noticed they had a cooking class. Since our time in Chiang Mai was limited to 3 days, taking a Thai cooking class right in our hotel was very convenient.
The Thai cooking class at DusitD2 is run by one of the most acclaimed chefs in Thailand-Chef Chalong Sakkapalangkul. He is the president of the Association of Northern Thai Chefs. Along with Chef Wichit, they took us a journey of Thai dishes from all over the country. Although this Thai cooking class is usually from 11am-6m, they accommodated us for a two hour class with a wonderful set up right in the chic hotel lobby.
During our Thai cooking class, Joy and I worked with each chef to make 3 courses each! First we suited up with our Dusit aprons. The aprons are included in your cooking class package. The chefs then guided us through making the meals below. I can’t tell you how full we were after just the first course! All the dishes were delicious and not as difficult to prepare as I imagined. Some of the dishes can easily be made at home in a short period of time. We chopped, sautéed, boiled pasta and even learned how to make sticky rice! During the Thai cooking class, both chefs were very patient with us and shared information on the ingredients used. As I wrote about in my post “10 Reasons Why I love Thailand”, the hospitality here is never-ending.
1st course:
Larb Muang-spicy pork salad. When they call something spicy in Thailand-be warned-this is not American level spicy! The minced pork was seasoned with Northern chili powder, fish sauce, Thai coriander, Vietnamese mint among other herbs and spices.
Tom Yum Goong Soup: Another spicy Thai favorite made with chili peppers. The broth is made up of lemongrass, fish sauce, crushed chili peppers and kaffir lime leaves. Expect hot and sour flavors when drinking this soup.
2nd course:
Pad Thai Goong: If you enjoy Thai food then I am sure you have had Pad Thai. While in Thailand I had several types. Some were made like an omelet, some were on the sweeter side. The Pad Thai in this Thai cooking class was made with a red tomato sauce that was not visible once prepared. It was so flavorful I could not stop eating it!
Kaow Soi Kai: AKA as Khao Soi. This is a famous Chiang Mai curry noodle dish that was made with chicken. The ingredients include egg noodles, red curry paste, yellow curry powder, coconut milk and Thai coriander. It was garnished with deep fried egg noodles. I love Thai curries so it was a special treat to make a signature curry dish in this Thai cooking class.
3rd course:
Mango Sticky Rice:
This is a well-known dish and dessert in Thailand and beyond. You will find mango sticky rice everywhere-in the floating market, at street stalls, in restaurants and even being made fresh at the airport! I was very excited to learn how to make it during our Thai cooking class! Making sticky rice involves soaking the rice overnight then cooking it in a steamer for 25 minutes. You then add coconut cream, with sugar and salt mixed in, and let the rice absorb the liquid. Before serving, add some salty coconut cream over the rice. Serve with ripe mango and tada-mango sticky rice. I was actually drinking spoon after spoon of the coconut cream mixture because it was that good!
Tab Tim Grob: AKA Rubies in Coconut Milk.
The rubies in this dish are pomegranates. We watched the artistry of Chef Chalong preparing the rubies for this delicate dessert made with coconut milk and ice. It was such a refreshing dessert! If you love coconut, you will have a lot of dishes to choose from in Thailand.
And there you have 6 Thai dishes made in just 2 hours by 2 Thai chefs and 2 American tourists. lol . It was a lot of fun! If you are traveling to Chiang Mai Thailand, be sure to add the Dusit Thai cooking class to your itinerary.
So, have you taken a cooking class? If so share your thoughts with us below.
Although Joy and I received a complimentary cooking class from DusitD2 Hotel, all opinions expressed in this post are my own. A special Thank You to Diana Bates for arranging this opportunity.
For more information on the Dusit Thai cooking class please visit their website and reference the image below. The class is held every day from 11am-6pm and it includes a welcome drink, a Dusit apron, a small wooden mortar, and recipes from your choice of 3 dishes. You also get a certificate showing you completed the class! The price per person is 1800 THB (about $51 USD) or 3500 THB per couple (about $100 USD).
Before you leave…check out the video clip of our Thai cooking class from my Youtube channel and don’t forget to subscribe!
Comments
Sounds wonderful! I have always loved Thai food and also visited Chiang Mai but i traveled the budget route.However, since you seemed to have planned in advance to have this experience, it seems quite inexpensive when compared to US prices. My friend has just arrived there. I will share this idea with her. She is a vegan and is also on a shoestring budget, however. The pictures are fabulous!
Great post!
Hi Amy! Thank you! It was wonderful and a great way to learn some basic Thai cooking techniques. I hope your friend is able to take the class. I am sure they will accommodate vegetarian options.
nadeen recently posted…Dusit Thai Cooking Class in Chiang Mai!
I’m sooo happy you saved a post for the cooking class alone. All of the food looked delicious and the class looked like a lot of fun! My mouth was watering at those pics! I loved the video too!
Thank you! It was such a unique experience that I had to give it its own post. I am glad you enjoyed the video! Thanks for watching.
nadeen recently posted…Dusit Thai Cooking Class in Chiang Mai!
This looks like so much fun! Thai food is DELICIOUS, and I bet it is 1000 times better when you’re actually in Thailand. I’d have to make a few substitutions since I’m allergic to shrimp and other shellfish (boo!), but I think all of the seafood dishes would be just as yummy with chicken. 🙂 I haven’t made it to Chiang Mai (YET!), but I’m adding a cooking class to our must-do list whenever we get there.
Hi Natalie! Yes the food in Thailand was amazing. The flavors literally exploded in your mouth. I am so glad I took the cooking class to learn how these dishes are made! You will definitely enjoy doing it!
Thank heavens I found this blog post! Although joining a Thai cooking class is included in my itinerary. I’m still torn where to do it! This one is pretty good, given that you’ll get a certificate at the end haha feels so legit 😛
LOL! Thanks and yes it was very legit! I highly recommend it!