Pad Thai noodles are one of the country's most popular dishes.
Thai cuisine is typically fresh, spicy food best known for its balance of five flavors: spicy, sour, sweet, salty and bitter (although this one is sometimes optional, particularly outside of Thailand, as many people do not enjoy bitterness in their food). Thai food uses lots of herbs, spices and fish sauce, while mixing in rice and curries.
Chiang Mai Thai Cookery School
The Chiang Mai Thai Cookery School has been operating since 1993 and has graduated more than 100,000 students. It is owned by Sompon and Elizabeth Nabnian, chefs who also have their own cooking show on television.
There are five courses offered at the school, each for a one-week period, with prices ranging from $30 per day to $140 per week. This does not include the cost of accommodations at the Jasmine Rice Village resort or meals outside of class.
Course offerings include: Introduction to Thai Ingredients; Making Curry Pastes; Tour of the Local Market; Shopping at the Market; and Vegetable Carving.
Thai Cooking Classes with Kasma Loha-Unchit
If traveling to Thailand is a little out of your budget, there is an excellent Thai cooking school in California. Thai Cooking Classes with Kasma Loha-unchit is located in Oakland and offers two types of programs: evening classes once a week for four weeks for $175, with beginner, intermediate and advanced levels; and week-long intensive classes during the summer that cost $600 for the entire program.
Loha-unchit is originally from Thailand and has been teaching Thai cooking since 1985. She has written two cookbooks, including "It Rains Fishes: Legends, Traditions and the Joys of Thai Cooking" and "Dancing Shrimp: Favorite Thai Recipes for Seafood."
Some of her favorite recipes are green curry with fish and shrimp dumplings, bitter melon and egg, and salted black olive fried rice.
Thai Gourmet House
Thai Gourmet House cooking school in Scottsdale, Arizona, offers demonstration classes for $88 each, group classes for $128 per class and private lessons for $500 per student for a full day.
Chef Praparat Sturlin is also originally from Thailand and founded her cooking school in 1989. She earned a culinary degree from Saovapha Culinary Arts College in Bangkok.
Tags: cooking school, Chiang Thai, Chiang Thai Cookery, Classes with, Classes with Kasma
