When we asked around about "must do's" in Thailand, participating in a cooking class was recommended multiple times. I was thrilled with this. It is right up my ally. We chose to do a half day class, instead of a full day, so the kids would last (especially Paige). Will, Ainsley, Reagan, and I all had our own cooking supplies and Marcus and Paige were observers/eaters.
The kids were super excited. My excitement was dampened by the heat. I was still feeling pretty awful from the flight and the heat. As a class we picked our menu and started cooking. My kids were not shy to participate at all. It was quite frightening actually. I keep my knifes pretty dull at home so we don't have major accidents when the kids are cutting but the cooking school was a different ball game. We were also working over our own fire/stove. Thankfully, no injuries for any of us.
We chose the Asia Scenic Cooking School for our classes. They have a great program and we loved being introduced to their garden and smelling/seeing the fresh herbs used in Thai cooking. They took us to the local vegetable market to purchase our supplies and to introduce us to some of the unique items offered. The kids were fascinated by the fresh fish swimming in the tubs waiting to be purchased. I loved the different rice and spices available for purchase.
Back in the classroom we were able to make our curry pastes from scratch. It was a great experience and I am grateful I can purchase good quality paste without making it each time:). The colors of the food were vibrant and gorgeous. One of the highlights was learning how to make authentic mango sticky rice. It is probably good that I wasn't feeling 100% or I would have voted spending another day at cooking school.
The kids handled their knife and stove well. I was very worried as I keep my knives a bit dull at home so they don't get a major cut. I was also panicked that Will would get burned but he did great.
Undoubtedly this was not a highlight day for Paige, the rest of us really enjoyed the cooking school. Ainsley and I were able to take an outing on the last day of our trip to a grocery store and fresh outdoor market where we purchased coconut milk and our own authentic bamboo sticky rice steamer. Let the fun begin!
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| Picking our menu |
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| Our teacher. He took us to their garden and introduced us to thai herbs |
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| Cute curly Paige |
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| So many kinds of tofu |
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| Paige loved the live fish |
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| Our welcome appetizer |
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| I don't think I am smiling in any photos. I was so miserable. |
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| Beautiful fresh curry pastes |
