Time to Tam Aa-Haan
Sam Vansomphone, 137 TESS
I recently found myself in Chiang Mai with a few friends. While planning out how we wanted to spend our evenings, someone threw out the idea of joining a Thai cooking class. My friends were all planning on moving into their own places and wanted to learn how to make a few local dishes. This way, they could truly thrive in their communities and take one step further toward their independence. I, however, joined purely for the vibes. I don’t have my own kitchen back at my site. Instead, I rely on the mee krua at my school to deliver meals to my house (aside from the ones I eat at the cafeteria). I didn’t have a good reason to spend five hours in the kitchen, learning and practicing a few Thai recipes. I just thought it would be a fun way to hang out with my friends.
This was by far one of the most fun nights I've had during service. Even if you don’t plan on cooking for yourself often, I still absolutely recommend attending at least one class. Whether you spend the time chatting with friends or meeting a few strangers, you will have an amazing time. There is something special about hanging out in a kitchen with a bunch of other farangs, making mistakes, and getting to cook your very own Thai dish.
Based on our research, most of the classes seem pretty similar. You are given a menu and get to pick out a few appetizers and entrees to learn. Some classes even include a chance to make desserts and drinks. For our class, we got to pick an appetizer, a stir fry, a soup, and a curry. My friends chose their dishes based on what they thought they could make at site. I was less limited in my choices and went with whatever I felt like eating that night, so my final menu consisted of larb gai, yellow curry stir fry, tom kha, and kao soi. Additionally, everyone was taught simple recipes for Thai tea and mango sticky rice.
It was a lot of food to say the least. The staff tried to make the portion a bit smaller, but I certainly did not finish everything nor did any of my friends. However, everything was absolutely delicious. Maybe it was because I put my blood, sweat, and tears into each course or because I got to season the foods exactly to my tastes, but pretty much every dish blew me away. I did make a few mistakes preparing the tom kha so I can’t say it was the most stellar, but: “arai go dai.” I’m just impressed that it turned out decent despite my poor attempts at balancing the flavors.
Ultimately, I think that everyone should attend at least one cooking class. Whether you plan on moving out to independent housing or want to stick with a host family for your entire service, it is nice to know a little about the food here in Thailand. If you’re ambitious, you could bring these recipes back to the states and prepare authentic Thai food for your friends and family. And if not, at least you will have a fun time and memories that will last a lifetime.
