Chiang Mai Thai Cookery School - Chiang Mai, Bangkok

During the morning session, on first day, we reviewed the ingredients used in preparing Thai food (i.e. lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, etc.) On the second day, we learned how to make green curry paste from the raw ingredients and on the third day we visited a local market. During the visit we identified and discussed various types of Thai vegetables and fruits. In the afternoon, each day, we learned how to prepare six Thai dishes - my favorites of the eighteen dishes we learned to prepare were Gaeng Kheo Wan Gai (Chicken in Green Curry), Phad Thai, Tom Yum Soup, Laab Gai (Minced Chicken Salad) and Som Tam (Papaya Salad). The food was plentiful. We could eat as much as we liked. There was no need to eat breakfast prior to class or dinner in the evening.

In the States, the Thai food often tastes a slightly different from the food Thai food prepared in Thailand. Originally, I thought the food was altered to accommodate the Western palette. This is probably not the case, however, as was pointed out in class. A more likely explanation is that some of the ingredients used in Thai cooking in Thailand is unavailable for use, or is cost prohibited, in Thai restaurants abroad. For example, cane sugar is often substituted for palm sugar, lime juice for kaffir lime leaves, ginger for galangal, etc. Authentic ingredients afford the authentic Thai taste.