Chiang Mai Cooking Class – Northern Thai Cuisine

So, those of you following our blog know that Tony and I take cooking classes whenever we can. Yes, when we go back to the US, you all will benefit from our built up knowledge! ☺

We were especially excited about our cooking class in Chiang Mai because we were able to take a private class to learn Northern Thai cuisine.  And our teacher had just been featured on Gordon Ramsey’s show so we knew she had to be good!

We quickly learned that this woman is truly entrepreneurial. She and her husband, who co-own the cooking school, picked us up in their signature VW Van. We were promptly given a very glossy very professional looking cooking book. She even published her book so she could sell it in local stores.

She explained that she started the cooking school when her boss – a chef at a local restaurant – wouldn’t give her a day off to attend her own wedding!   She comes from a family of entrepreneurs – her mother is a private chef in Hong Kong and her uncles own a food staples store.  So soon after she was married, she fired her boss and started her cooking school.   Flash forward 10 years and after a lot of hard work, she has created a very nice business.  We were very impressed with her story.

So what did we make?  Let’s take a look:

Khao Soi. This is a very traditional Northern Thailand specialty. A little bit curry, a little bit soup, It’s the dish one should have when they visit Chiang Mai.

Below is a red curry dish that we made using – among other herbs – small raw aubergines (a kind of eggplant).  The recipe included a long list of other herbs and spices.  It was our favorite dish!

We made 2 other dishes which were so yummy from start to finish that we didn’t get a chance to take pictures!

We cannot recommend this cooking class enough.  If you ever find yourself in Chiang Mai, be sure to check out A Lot of Thai cooking school!