Taking a cooking class is one of the top things to do in Chiang Mai. I had a wonderful half day cooking class at The Rice Barn Thai Cooking Farm. In this article, I will share with you my experience of taking a cooking class in Chiang Mai.
Chiang Mai is the heart of Northern Thai (Lanna) cuisine. Lana Food is heavily influenced by neighboring countries like Laos and Burma. Some famous northern Thai dishes such as Khao Soi (curried noodle soup), Sai Ua (northern Thai sausage), and Gaeng Hinlay (stewed pork belly and ribs).
Why should you take a cooking class in Chiang Mai?
I traveled all around Thailand, and chose to take a cooking class in Chiang Mai, not other bigger cities like Bangkok or Phuket because:
#1. Chiang Mai is more relaxed than big cities like Bangkok. It’s easier to slow down and enjoy the cooking process. Many cooking schools in Chiang Mai are located in the countryside or organic farms, which are surrounded by rice fields, gardens, and nature.
#2. It is easy to choose high quality cooking classes in Chiang Mai while paying less than in the tourist-heavy cities like Bangkok or Phuket. Classes often include market tours, transport, and multiple dishes.
#3. Chiang Mai is home to a wide range of well-reviewed cooking schools. You can easily take a half-day, full-day, farm visits, and a vegan/vegetarian focus.
I booked a half day class because I believe it is enough to have a good introduction of Thai’s most popular dishes. I can free up my morning for other activities like visiting the temples and local attractions in Chiang Mai Old Town or the trendy Nimman area.
You can opt for a full-day class if you enjoy a slower pace and want a deep dive into Thai techniques and ingredients. You’ll get to cook more dishes in the full day course.
Other articles about Chiang Mai:
- 23 Best Things to Do in Chiang Mai
- 4-5 Days In Chiang Mai Itinerary
- Getting to and Around Chiang Mai
- Where to Stay in Chiang Mai
How to book a cooking class in Chiang Mai?
I booked my cooking class through a local agent called Chiang Mai Full Moon Travel, located on Ratchadamnoen Road, one of the main roads of Chiang Mai Old Town. The owner, Moon, is very enthusiastic and helpful. She can give you a good deal on tours in Chiang Mai.
I booked two tours with her, including the full day tour to Doi Inthanon and Elephant Sanctuary, and a half day cooking tour. I was happy with both tours. You just need to book one day in advance.
Be mindful that popular schools often fill up in advance in the high season (November to February). Moon gave me two best cooking schools to choose from but one of those was fully booked, so I took another one.
If you want everything organized before your trip, you can consider booking online directly through cooking schools website and the major travel platforms such as Klook, Viator, or GetYourGuide.
Some popular Cooking Schools in Chiang Mai to look at include Smile Organic Farm, Thai Farm Cooking School, Zabb E Lee, Asia Scenic, and The Rice Barn.
Basic info about Thai Cooking class in Chiang Mai:
| Duration | Half Day Course (3-4 hours) and Full Day Course (6-8 hours) |
| Prices | 800-900 baht for half day course and around 1200 baht for full day course |
| What to cook | Usually 5 dishes: one curry (green, red, Panang), one stir-fried (pad Thai, fried-rice, cashew chicken), one soup (Tom Yum Soup), one salad (Papaya salad), and one dessert (mango sticky rice). |
| What include | Transportation, All ingredients, Market tour, eating what you cook, a digital cookbook. |
| Location | Chiang Mai old town or countryside area. |
What is the cooking menu like?
Depending on the duration of your cooking class, you can choose 5 or more dishes to cook. Some schools have a fixed menu and some schools offer you to create your own menu to cook. Basically, it will include a Thai soup, a curry, a stir fried, a salad, and a dessert.
Thai Curry
Thai curry is known for its bold flavors with rich coconut base, and a mix of spicy, sweet, salty, and sour elements. The ingredient of Thai curry include curry paste (a blend of herbs, spices, and chilies), coconut milk, protein (chicken, beef, tofu, shrimp), vegetables, and fresh herbs like Thai basil or kaffir lime leaves
There are several different Thai curry, including:
- Green Curry
- Red Curry
- Panaeng Curry
- Khao Soi
- Massanman Curry
Thai Stir-fried
Thai stir-fried dishes are a cornerstone of Thai cuisine. Popular Thai Stir-Fried Dishes include Pad Thai, Fried Rice, Cashew nut with chicken, and Chicken Holy Basil.
Thai Soup
Thai soups are a vital part of Thai cuisine, known for their bold flavors, aromatic herbs, and comforting balance of spicy, sour, salty, and sometimes creamy profiles.
Popular Thai soups include Tom Yum (spicy & sour shrimp soup), Tom Kha Gai (coconut chicken soup), or Gaeng Jued (clear soup).
Thai Salad
Thai salads are packed with strong flavors and lots of texture. They are often made with fresh herbs, lime juice, fish sauce, chili, and sugar, as well as protein (like beef, shrimp, or squid). They use a mortar and pestle to blend all flavors together.
Some popular Thai Salad include Som Tum (Green Papaya Salad), Yam Nua (Spicy Beef Salad), or Yam Woon Sen (Glass Noodle Salad).
Thai Dessert
Most cooking classes will show you how to cook Mango Sticky Rice, a classic Thai dessert. The rice is cooked with coconut milk and sugar to create a rich, creamy texture. It is served with fresh mango slices and sweet coconut milk.
My Experience taking a half day Thai Cooking Class in Chiang Mai
I took a half day evening course. They picked me up at my hotel around 3.30pm, got to the local market to learn about Thai ingredients, then headed to the farm for the cooking.
We cooked 5 Thai dishes including Tom Yum soup, Fried Chicken with Cashew Nuts, Green/ Panang Curry, Pad Thai, and Mango Sticky Rice. I had all my dishes for dinner and they dropped me at my hotel around 7.30 pm.
Visiting local Market and learn about Thai ingredients
The driver picked me up around 3.30 at my hotel, and drove me to meet the chef at a local market next to Ruamchok Mall. I joined a group of around 9 people and the chef. The chef took us around the market, showing us common Thai ingredients in the Thai kitchen.
The major ingredients in Thai cuisine include curry paste, fish sauce, Bird’s eye chilies, lemongrass, Galangal, Kaffir lime leaves, Thai basil, Palm sugar, Tamarind paste, and coconut milk. He also introduced us to popular brands of fish sauce, curry paste, and soy sauce that local Thai use for their cooking.
Arriving the Rice Barn Farm
After the market, we drove for around 30 minutes to reach the cooking school. We arrived at sunset and the place was beautiful and peaceful. It is surrounded by rice fields and a small pond.
How to Cook 5 traditional Thai dishes
There are 5 fixed things on the menu at my half day evening cooking class. It includes Tom Yum soup, Cashew Nuts Fried Chicken, Curry, Pad Thai, and Mango Sticky rice. We can choose Green curry or Panang curry. Green is more spicy, so I chose Panang Curry.
For each dish, the teacher gathered us at his station to show us how he cooked it, then we returned to our cooking area to practice. About Mango sticky rice, he showed us how to make it and he made it for the whole group to share at the end.
Tom Yum soup
We first cook, Tom Yum soup, the Thai hot and sour soup. We have a small bowl of fish sauce and chilli paste and a bigger bowl of lemongrass stalk, galangal slices, kaffir lime leaves, straw mushroom, tomatoes, lime for sourness, a small chili for that spicy kick, and Fresh herbs.
Here how we cook it:
- Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat.
- When it reaches the boiling point, put the small bowl of fish sauce and chilli paste in, stir to mixed with the water
- Then add the ingredient in the bigger bowl, cook for about one minute
- Add the prawns, stir to combine, then add the coriander leaves and lime juice.
Fried Chicken with Cashew Nuts
This dish includes sliced chicken breast, 1/2 onion, 1 clove garlic, 1 spring onion, 5-10 cashew nuts, 1 large red dried chili, 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon sugar.
How To Cook Chicken With Cashew Nuts:
- Heat the oil in a wok over medium heat
- When it is hot, add the garlic, onion, chicken and sauces and stir
- Add the spring onions and cashew nuts, Stir to combine.
Paneang Curry With Chicken
This curry dish includes sliced chicken breast, coconut milk, curry paste, fish sauce, palm sugar, kaffir-lime leaf, red chili, and sweet basil leaves.
Here how we cook it:
- Mix the curry paste, sugar, and fish sauce together
- Put oil into the saucepan, curry paste, fish sauce, and sugar and cook for about 1 minute.
- Add the chicken, the coconut milk and kaffir lime leaf
- When chicken is cooked, then add basil leaves and stir to combine.
Pad Thai
This national dish includes fresh rice noodles, garlic, chopped tofu, bean sprouts, chives, roasted peanuts egg, fish sauce, oyster sauce, white sugar, tamarind juice, and soy sauce.
Here how we cook it:
- Put oil in a wok and heat it until hot
- Add tofu and garlic, noodles, then water, cook until noodles are soft.
- Add the fish sauce, oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar, and tamarind.
- Add the bean sprouts and chives
- Add the beaten egg, and spread it over the noodles.
- Serve with roasted peanuts.
Mango Sticky Rice
The chef demonstrates to us how he made this dessert. It includes ripe mangoes, sticky rice, coconut cream, white sugar, salt, and pandanus leaves. He cooked it for the whole class then we shared.
Things To Do Before Half Day Evening Cooking Class In Chiang Mai
If you are taking the evening half course, like me, you will have plenty of time in the morning to explore the old town, its temples, and historical sites. Even when I came back from the class, I was still able to join the night markets in the city center.
Here are some of my suggestion on what to do in the old town before the cooking class:
Exploring the beautiful temples
Chiang Mai is packed with stunning temples. When walking around the old town, you can see many small and popular temples dating back to the 13th century. I recommend taking a visit to famous temples such as Wat Phra Singh, Wat Chiang Man, Wat Chedi Luang, and Wat Suan Dok.
If you are an active walker, you can walk around the old town to visit all its temples. You can combine walking with taking a short GrabBike or tuk tuk ride to avoid the heat.
Visiting historical sites, ancient gates
In addition to the temple, the old town is surrounded by ruins, moat, and historical sites. You can take a look at the Tha Phae Gate, which is one of the four major ancient gates in old town Chiang Mai. Other cultural attractions are the Three Kings Monument and Chiang Mai City Arts & Cultural Centre.
Wandering around local markets
To experience the daily local market, you can visit the Warorot Market near Ping River. The market has a vibrant atmosphere with everything to offer, from dry food, to fabric, souvenirs, and groceries.
At night, you will have a range of night markets to explore. These include the Night Bazaar, Chiang Mai Gate Market, or Chang Puak Gate Market. These markets are the perfect destination for eating, shopping, watching the show, and enjoying the lively atmosphere.
There are several interesting night markets on Weekends such as the Saturday WuaLai Walking Street market south of the old town, and the Sunday walking street in the heart of the old town.
More about Chiang Mai:
So there you have it, my Experience of taking a half day evening Thai Cooking Class in Chiang Mai. I’ve learned a skill that lasts for life. They also gave me a digital cookbook that I can follow to cook other Thai dishes. If you take a half day cooking class, you can spend the rest of the day exploring more about Chiang Mai Old town with its iconic temples and night markets.