The air is alive with the mouth- watering aromas of lemongrass, coriander and freshly grated ginger. We can almost taste them, and taste them we will, because today we’ll be preparing traditional Thai fare – in Thailand, no less.
A group of 10 culinary-curious tourists have gathered at the Zabb E Lee Cooking School in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai. There are two five-hour courses to choose from, in the morning and late afternoon, held in an airy bamboo pavilion surrounded by tropical greenery.
But first we visit the local market. Vendors vie for our attention, small fish glisten on ice, exotic aromas abound. Our teacher, who goes by the name Alice, explains which herbs, chilli peppers and vegetables go with which well-known dishes, from extra-spicy som tum (papaya salad) to Thai green curry.
Back in the pavilion, each of us gets a cooking station with a wok, mortar, pestle and freshly chopped herbs. Each can choose four traditional dishes – an appetiser, stir-fry, soup and curry, plus a curry, and sticky rice with mango, a classic dessert with coconut milk sauce and slices of fresh mango.
Relaxed and with humour, Alice explains every step, be it the proper way to chop garlic, bruise lemongrass stalks or stir-fry the ingredients of a dish. From time to time, we even sing and dance a little. Thai cooking is fun!
After each dish has been prepared, we sit together at a long, wooden table and enjoy our self-made creations.
Many of us are surprised to find that quite a few taste better than their restaurant versions.
Thailand’s second-largest city after Bangkok, Chiang Mai has become a premier culinary tourism destination, with many cooking schools both in and around it. Among them are Sammy’s Organic Thai Cooking School, Grandma’s Home Cooking School (specialising in Lanna cuisine, influenced by neighbouring countries Myanmar, Laos and China) and Mama Noi Thai Cookery School, located on an organic farm.
Many of the schools offer a pick-up service from tourists’ hotels; there are half-day and all-day courses, and the prices are surprisingly moderate.
The cooking courses are a hands-on – and in-mouth – experience that give you know-how you can use at home. Wouldn’t it be nice to toss flavourful pad thai, a popular Thai street food featuring stir-fried rice noodles, in a sizzling wok in your own kitchen? – CAROLA FRENTZEN/dpa
