For our first day in Chiang Mai, Haddas and I decided to learn how to cook Thai. We've loved every meal so far and we wanted to be able to recreate these specialities on our own! We grabbed a light breakfast at the Green Tulip House and were on our way.
Before heading to the Chiang Mai countryside for our class, we stopped at a local market to pick up ingredients. There, we found our instructor Mae waiting to teach us about the fruits and vegetables we were to use throughout the day. While she keeps a garden at her house, we needed far too many ingredients for her to grow on her own. She pointed out 3 different types of basil, various roots and spices, and the mysterious MSG that Thai restaurants love to cook with. While popular in restaurants, Mae told us we were going to use sugar as a "healthier" substitute :)
When we were finished walking the market, we had some time to explore on our own. Haddas and I talked to a few shop keepers, tasted some fresh jack fruit, and made our way back to the truck. Compared to the markets we visited in Cartegena and Mexico City, we were really impressed with clean and organized the space was. On top of that, the people we met seemed genuinely interested to chat with us. With another great experience behind us, we left to begin cooking.
At our hostel, there were dozens of cooking classes to choose from. That said, Carl and Lauren had glowing reviews for this one and we considered no other. Everything made sense when we reached Mae's house in the countryside. It had two floors with a huge open-air patio on the first floor - this is where the class would take place. Next to her house was a garden with a dozen rows, each with a different vegetable or herb. Behind the house were mango and jack fruit trees, and past that was an enormous field that her family shared for growing rice. To start, we picked a few final ingredients to use during the class.
In addition to Haddas and myself, we were going to cook with two others from Canada, Meghan and Wes. They were really nice and told us great things about the Elephant Nature Park (our plan for tomorrow). We started by prepping vegetables for the soup, chicken pad thai, and basil chicken. Mae gave us very specific instructions for how to cut the vegetables and organize our plates. In Thai cooking, it's important to group ingredients that are added together. We both really enjoyed learning to cook in a wok and the fruits of our labor were delicious.
After stuffing our faces, it was time to prepare for the next two dishes: panang curry and vegetable spring rolls. Before we left for Thailand, Lauren taught us that curry is actually a mix of almost 20 different spices. She didn't lie but forgot to mention that they needed to be mashed into a fine paste. It took Haddas and I almost twenty minutes but the resulting curry mix smelled incredible.
Things slowed down in the afternoon. Mae instructed our Canadian friends on how to prepare their curry dish while Haddas and I snacked on our homemade spring rolls. The other two were staying for only half the day so we said farewell and went to explore the grounds. While the site was beautiful, you could see the distinct cracks in the soil. According to Mae, it had been a very dry year throughout Thailand and growing crops was hard for local farmers. While sad to hear, we both appreciated learning about everyday struggles for Thai people.
Once we'd rested and were almost ready to eat again, we returned to the kitchen to cook our penang chicken and prep for dessert: mango sticky rice and fried banana. We were going to prepare all 3 dishes together since they needed the same final ingredient... coconut. For the next half hour, Haddas and I sat on the floor first peeling our coconut and then shredding all the tasty insides into a bowl. Using that, Mae taught us how to prepare coconut milk. It took no time at all to cook everything by wok once the coconut milk was ready. The last meal was incredible but were we stuffed! Throughout the day, we had cooked and eaten 8 different Thai dishes.
We said goodbye to Mae and returned to Chiang Mai to meet Haddas' friend Alyssa for dinner. It was an epic reunion for Haddas and Alyssa since they hadn't seen each other for months. For the past year, Alyssa has been working for the Peace Corp in northern Thailand to help children in small villages. Together, we explored the night bazaar, ate more food, and even ran into Barkasaurus Cute again. Next up... elephants!
Before heading to the Chiang Mai countryside for our class, we stopped at a local market to pick up ingredients. There, we found our instructor Mae waiting to teach us about the fruits and vegetables we were to use throughout the day. While she keeps a garden at her house, we needed far too many ingredients for her to grow on her own. She pointed out 3 different types of basil, various roots and spices, and the mysterious MSG that Thai restaurants love to cook with. While popular in restaurants, Mae told us we were going to use sugar as a "healthier" substitute :)
When we were finished walking the market, we had some time to explore on our own. Haddas and I talked to a few shop keepers, tasted some fresh jack fruit, and made our way back to the truck. Compared to the markets we visited in Cartegena and Mexico City, we were really impressed with clean and organized the space was. On top of that, the people we met seemed genuinely interested to chat with us. With another great experience behind us, we left to begin cooking.
Haddas at the local market in Chiang Mai
At our hostel, there were dozens of cooking classes to choose from. That said, Carl and Lauren had glowing reviews for this one and we considered no other. Everything made sense when we reached Mae's house in the countryside. It had two floors with a huge open-air patio on the first floor - this is where the class would take place. Next to her house was a garden with a dozen rows, each with a different vegetable or herb. Behind the house were mango and jack fruit trees, and past that was an enormous field that her family shared for growing rice. To start, we picked a few final ingredients to use during the class.
Haddas in Mae's "Secret Garden"
Haddas picking holy basil for the basil chicken dish
In addition to Haddas and myself, we were going to cook with two others from Canada, Meghan and Wes. They were really nice and told us great things about the Elephant Nature Park (our plan for tomorrow). We started by prepping vegetables for the soup, chicken pad thai, and basil chicken. Mae gave us very specific instructions for how to cut the vegetables and organize our plates. In Thai cooking, it's important to group ingredients that are added together. We both really enjoyed learning to cook in a wok and the fruits of our labor were delicious.
Drew cooking pad thai
After stuffing our faces, it was time to prepare for the next two dishes: panang curry and vegetable spring rolls. Before we left for Thailand, Lauren taught us that curry is actually a mix of almost 20 different spices. She didn't lie but forgot to mention that they needed to be mashed into a fine paste. It took Haddas and I almost twenty minutes but the resulting curry mix smelled incredible.
Our ingredients for penang curry paste
Haddas preparing our curry with mortar and pestle
Things slowed down in the afternoon. Mae instructed our Canadian friends on how to prepare their curry dish while Haddas and I snacked on our homemade spring rolls. The other two were staying for only half the day so we said farewell and went to explore the grounds. While the site was beautiful, you could see the distinct cracks in the soil. According to Mae, it had been a very dry year throughout Thailand and growing crops was hard for local farmers. While sad to hear, we both appreciated learning about everyday struggles for Thai people.
Drew relaxing in the shade
Haddas in the rice fields
Once we'd rested and were almost ready to eat again, we returned to the kitchen to cook our penang chicken and prep for dessert: mango sticky rice and fried banana. We were going to prepare all 3 dishes together since they needed the same final ingredient... coconut. For the next half hour, Haddas and I sat on the floor first peeling our coconut and then shredding all the tasty insides into a bowl. Using that, Mae taught us how to prepare coconut milk. It took no time at all to cook everything by wok once the coconut milk was ready. The last meal was incredible but were we stuffed! Throughout the day, we had cooked and eaten 8 different Thai dishes.
Haddas peeling a coconut
Our beautiful mango sticky rice
We said goodbye to Mae and returned to Chiang Mai to meet Haddas' friend Alyssa for dinner. It was an epic reunion for Haddas and Alyssa since they hadn't seen each other for months. For the past year, Alyssa has been working for the Peace Corp in northern Thailand to help children in small villages. Together, we explored the night bazaar, ate more food, and even ran into Barkasaurus Cute again. Next up... elephants!
Haddas and Alyssa with Barkasaurus Cute
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