CHIaNG MAi COOKING CLASS
On our first day in Chiang Mai, we went to a cooking class through Smile Organic Farm Cooking School. Our guide and instructor was Lily, and she was amazing, friendly with kids, and not on her phone the whole time! We actually learned how to make Thai food and brought home lots of recipes! In this experience, we first visited a local market, and then walked through their organic garden, learning about all of the vegetables and herbs we would later use in our cooking class.
The market was called Charoen Charoen Fresh Market, and it gave us a clear idea of what daily life is like for locals. Many people were bargaining with vendors to get the best and freshest foods. We saw exotic fruits and vegetables, such as rose apples, durian, dragon fruit and more, along with humongous sacks full of rice. We saw pink eggs and ready-to-go meals. This market was smaller and less disturbing, stinky, and hectic than the one in Hoi An – thank goodness!
After our quick stop at the market, we drove about an hour to Smile Organic Farm. When I arrived at their property, I felt very calm. No one was rushing around and everybody was quiet and relaxed. Their whole operation ran so smoothly; there was never a halt or a bump in the whole process.
Lily invited us out into their small garden. They grow many vegetables and herbs, including bitter eggplant peas, bucketloads of red and green chilis, thai basil, cilantro, cloves, turmeric, and eggplant. We were given hats that almost looked like sombreros! My mom thinks that it is an inside joke among all of the staff: they make us wear these hats to humor them because we all truly looked ridiculous!
Next came the best part of the experience – the cooking! Unlike our class in Hoi An, we got our own cooking stations which had an apron, a towel, a cutting board, a knife, a pan on top of a gas stove, and all of the ingredients we would need! We chose the dishes we’d like to make from a menu with many different options. I chose to make spring rolls, Pad Thai, panang curry, and Tom Kha Gai, which is a coconut milk and chicken soup.
Spring roll. We all made the filing. Lily was doing most of the cooking but then at times invited us to come and add ingredients. We filled the thin and delicate rice paper with many vegetables including cabbage, carrots, garlic, and onion. Then, we carefully rolled up the sides to form it into that classic spring roll shape. It was just the right amount of sweetness with the crispy outside!
Pad Thai. I made my Pad Thai out of tofu, shrimp, noodles, garlic, onion, egg, chives, and a sauce made of fish sauce, soy sauce, and water. Lily said that Pad Thai was one of the advanced dishes we could make, so I chose to make it for that reason! You add all of the ingredients to the sizzling hot pan and then watch as all of the ingredients cook together to create Pad Thai.
I couldn’t wait to eat it, the whole time I was cooking my mouth was watering. When I did get to taste it, it was incredible! I don’t even have the words to describe how good it was. I had tried bites of Pad Thai before, but today was the first time I had it as a meal. I’m so glad I made it, because if i didn’t I would be missing out on this delicious meal!
Panang curry. To make curry, first you have to make curry paste. We sat on the floor and mixed a whole lot of chilis, salt, pepper, cloves, and peanuts for about 10 minutes until it turned into a paste. It was a lot of work! After you grind the curry paste, you add it to coconut milk, chicken, and chopped up vegetables in the wok. We served the curry over rice so it cut some of the spicy flavor a bit. It was good, but still very spicy! After all, the base of the curry was just red chilis!
Tom Kha Gai. My last dish was coconut milk and chicken soup. To make this dish you add those ingredients (plus garlic, onion, and a few other things) to a pot and then watch it boil for 8 minutes. This soup was creamy, milky, and (most importantly) not spicy whatsoever!
All of the dishes I made were delicious! Lily assisted us whenever we needed her, and explained the dishes we were making and why certain ingredients were in it. I loved the whole experience and hope to do it again.We got all the recipes too, so when I get home we can all have a delicious Thai dinner!
