Asia Scenic Thai Cooking School title photo *This post contains affiliate links

When John and I went on our honeymoon to Thailand, we knew that a cooking class had to be on the agenda.  John has made Thai food quite a few times in the past and we enjoy eating it often.  Now we had to know the secrets to make it easily at home!  After some research (not on my part), John stumbled upon Asia Scenic Thai Cooking School.  We decided to wait until we got to our hotel in Chiang Mai to sign up.

Part 1: Cooking School

When we arrived in Chiang Mai, one of our first missions was to sign up for the cooking class.  We wanted to go on a Sunday.  The woman at the reception desk told us that FORTY-THREE people were signed up for that day.  OMG.  She couldn't guarantee that we would be in the same cooking group since the class size was so big, so we opted to go on a Wednesday instead. *Fact: most hotels have all of the tour information that you have been looking online for before your trip, and you can sign up with them.  They will make sure that your trip is booked, take your deposit, and guide you to the van that picks you up on the day of your excursion.  Cool!

There were two options for the cooking class: in the city or on the farm.  We felt that the city would work best for us, so we signed up for the Wednesday class.  The night before the class the four of us (we had BF travel companions) decided to go to our favorite bar near the hotel, and we had one too many drinks.  On Wednesday morning, we felt like crap.  While getting ready, I tried on a pair of see-through leggings and a short t-shirt thinking it would be okay for a day of cooking.  John told me otherwise.  I may have still been drunk.

man at Thai cooking school eating the food he made John, slightly hungover and enjoying the cold water and frequent snacks during a really humid day

Our van picked us up right on time, and it was a short drive to the cooking school from our wonderful hotel at Pha Thai.  When we showed up, we waited a short while for the other students…but quickly realized that there were none!  John and I were the only students in the all-day cooking course.Wonderful. We had undivided time with our instructor, Yups.  She showed us all of the great herbs and spices to buy at the market and took her time giving us one-on-one instruction for our dishes.  It was amazing.  The hangover ensued, but the ice water and frequent snacks kept us afloat.

The Details

As part of the all-day course, we picked one item from each of the categories below.  John and I were able to choose different items from each category (we didn't have to cook the same thing).

  1. Stir Fry: Pad Thai, Cashew Chicken, Pad See Ew or Spicy Basil Chicken
  2. Salad: Laab, Papaya Salad or Glass Noodle Salad
  3. Soup: Tom Yum, Tom Kha Gai or Tom Sab
  4. Spring Rolls: everyone makes them
  5. Curry Paste: Red, Green, Panang, Massaman or Khao Soi
  6. Curry: Make chicken or tofu curries using the curry paste that you make
  7. Dessert: Sticky Rice with Mango, Bananas in Coconut Milk or Fried Bananas

Cost

***Prices as of October 2017***

Full-day course (7 dishes)
In the city (9am – 3pm): 1,000 Baht
On the farm (9am – 4pm): 1,200 Baht

Half-day course (5 dishes with some limitations)
In the city (varying times): 800 Baht
On the farm (9am – 2pm): 1,000 Baht

***Includes free transportation within a 3km radius to downtown Chiang Mai, an introduction to Thai herbs, web photos, a brief tutorial on making sticky rice, and unlimited water***

spring rolls, larb and papaya salad Chicken larb/laab, spring rolls, and papaya salad.  All delicious, and all made by us!

My favorite learning experience was at the beginning of the class when Yups offered us a traditional Thai snack. Miang Kham, or "one bite wrap", is all of the flavors of Thailand wrapped up in Cha Plu leaves.  All of the flavors are explosive, yet work in perfect harmony with each other.  When John and I made this at home for our family, we couldn't find Betel leaves or Cha Plu leaves so we used yam leaves instead.  Below is a picture of our Miang Kham.

photo of ingredients needed for miang kham All of the Thai flavors are represented in Miang Kham: sweet, spicy, acidic, salty, fragrant, and sometimes nutty.

Part 2: Testing out our new skills

After returning to the States, the first get-together with our family included a seven-course Thai dinner for eight people.  Yes, we are crazy.  We realized that although Thai food involves many ingredients, once you have the prep done it all comes together very quickly.  Plus, we had our cookbook from the cooking school to back us up.

Most of the recipes in the cookbook were for 1-2 people, so we multiplied everything to make sure there was enough food for everyone.  We found ourselves "winging it" when it came to some of the instructions because of translation errors.  Everything came out great because we trusted our instincts and prepped everything ahead of time.  The hardest part of the prep was the Panang curry paste for our Panang Kung – shrimp curry.  I kept trying to convince John to buy the Mae Ploy paste that you can find everywhere, but he insisted on making it himself.  So off to the Asian supermarket we went.

photo of ingredients for curry paste Everything needed for curry paste is really easy to find at Asian supermarkets.  Turmeric, galangal, limes, shallots, lemongrass, and garlic can be found in the produce section.  Coriander seeds and dried chilis can be found in the spice aisle.

Finding everything we needed at the market was pretty easy.  We decided to omit the ginseng since it is so damn expensive nowadays.  Based on the recipe in our cookbook, we decided to multiply the ingredients by 4 to get the amount we needed.  Since we added 48 dried chilis to the paste, we only needed a minuscule amount to get the flavor we wanted for our curry and had a lot leftover to burn our lips off in the future.  I would recommend adding between 30 (spicy) to 40 (SPICY) chilis to get the flavor and spice that you want.  The recipe isn't perfect, but after you make it and cook with it you can add more this or that to make it your own.

photo of ingredients for panang curry paste

First, I soaked the dried chilis in hot water for 10 minutes.  After draining, I sliced them as thin as I could. I gave all of the other ingredients a rough chop.  In the future, I would finely dice everything as much as I could.  John and I decided to put everything in the food processor first to get the ingredients as fine as possible.  Then, John went to work in the mortar and pestle.  Our mortar bowl is relatively small, so John had to mash everything in three batches.  With breaks, it took him almost 2 hours to get the paste the consistency that he wanted.  OMG!  Luckily, it made a lot of paste so we haven't had to make it since.

man making curry paste with mortar and pestle John diligently working on the paste.  Next time we will chop everything as fine as we can.

What's the difference between red curry paste and Panang curry paste?  According to our instructor, the only difference is the addition of roasted, unsalted peanuts.  So if you want to make red curry paste, omit the peanuts.  Voila!


close up shot of panang curry paste Look at that beautiful paste!  The recipe yields over a cup, and you only need a tablespoon or two for curry.  Freeze the rest and defrost as needed!

Click on the recipe below to print.  If you are interested in what products I use for Thai cooking, click on the pictures on the bottom of the post!

RED CURRY PASTE

  • 40 grams turmeric, minced
  • 40 grams galangal, minced
  • 40 grams shallot, minced
  • 40 grams garlic, minced
  • 40 grams ginseng, minced (optional)
  • 2 stalks lemongrass, sliced very thin
  • peel of 1 small lime, minced
  • 30-40 dried red chiles
  • 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon coriander seeds.
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted peanuts (add to make panang curry paste)
  1. In a small bowl, pour a few cups of boiling water over the chiles. Allow to soak for at least ten minutes. Strain. Mince chiles.
  2. Put all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until fine. You don't have to do this step, but it will make the mortar and pestle step easier.
  3. Working in batches, fill the mortar bowl halfway with your mixture. Use brute force with the pestle to break down the ingredients into a fine paste.
  4. Repeat with remaining ingredients.

*Main equipment needed: sharp knife, cutting board, a digital scale, food processor and mortar and pestle.
*I omitted ginseng because it is really expensive in the States. The flavor of the paste is still amazing.
*If you are worried about the spice level, add fewer chiles than the recipe calls for. I added 48 chiles to my batch and it was too spicy. I feel that 35 would be a good number to add for a mid-range spice.

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