One of the best parts of Thai culture besides the people is the FOOD! Thai food has an amazing array of dishes, spices, desserts, and drinks. This is why when we visited Thailand, we decided to learn how to cook a dish (or 4) from an authentic Thai chef. Enter the Pra Nang Thai Cooking School!
Pra Nang Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai
There’s no shortage of cooking classes available all over Thailand. But, we didn’t want to find one in a sterile kitchen environment inside of of a building – we wanted authentic! Of course, we did our research and scoured the internet to find a place that would fit our needs. We came across a small company called Pra Nang Cooking School and it’s located in the heart of a residential neighborhood in Chiang Mai. It also features small groups, pick up from our hotel, and going to the local market for supplies!
Chiang Mai Market & School Grounds
We stopped along the way at a local market so that supplies could be bought while we had a look around. We were also told to take photos of anything we had a a question on ranging from different dishes to suspicious looking meats. It was definitely a local market – we were the only tourists there and it was pretty evident. Once we arrived to the cooking school, we realized we were in a residential area of Chiang Mai which was unique to experience. The house was outfitted to become a cooking kitchen for small groups with several stations equipped with pots, pans, and fresh ingredients to be cut and cooked.
We were able to pick what soup, curry and desert to make, which was great as it meant we could choose different dishes to share. The food was delicious and we were even given a cook book of the not only the dishes we made but of the other dishes we could have made. It’s also a great way to meet and chat to other people, most people are so friendly. Our group had a couple for the Czech Republic that were a delight to cook and have dinner with.
Our teacher, Cat, was really good at explaining everything and answered whatever question we might have about ingredients or other tips and tricks to replicate the cooking back home. The food turned out amazing, and we were sent home with the leftovers – lots of them! The food was so good—very flavorful and the perfect amount of spicy (you get to choose how many peppers). After eating, we went back to the kitchen to learn how to roll spring rolls, curry paste, the curry of our choice and mango sticky rice.
Overall, it was a great experience – and one that we would definitely do again next time we visit Chiang Mai. It’s highly recommended – you won’t regret it! Visit their official site by clicking here.
