Thai Farm Cooking School

That's me! If you guessed I'm wearing a crazy bamboo hat and preparing sticky rice in a bamboo steamer you must be Thai! I lost the hat somewhere along the way, but hopefully the Thai dishes we made today will stick with me forever. I love Thai food! I would eat it everyday if I could live off of coconut milk, sweet eggplants and spicy papaya salad! Although, I'm guessing this isn't a balanced diet, those are just a few of my favorite reasons for Thai cooking. There are just too many to list for now...

Mrs. Emby teaching us about organic Thai farming and collecting ingredients for our dishes!

Long Beans (Thua Fak Yao)

These beans can grow up to 40cm long but picked when they are still young and crispy.

They're used often in salads and stir fried dishes.

Sweet Eggplant (Makheau Pro)

One of my favorite new veggies! It's a small round green eggplant that has a slightly sweeter taste than the purple eggplants we use in North America and Europe. They are often used in curries.

Mrs. Emby and her infectious smile!

Passion Fruit

Taste like a bland Kiwi.

Coconuts (Ma Prao)

Back to the classroom!

Sticky Rice is ready!

Definitely buying this 3 piece cookware set before we leave Thailand!!

The beginnings of our curry paste.

Now it's ready for hot chili peppers!

Hot Pepper Dance!

Curry Paste is ready!!

Adding the curry paste to our coconut milk

Veggies added!

Ready to eat!

Red Curry Chicken (Kaeng Phed Gai) 'Di-Mak' Very Good!

Next up... Fried Chicken with Cashew Nuts!

(Gai Phad Met Mamuang Him Mapaan)

My personal chef!

Pad Thai ingredients!

Ready for lunch! All this cooking makes you hungry!!

The delicious Mango and Sticky Rice! 

(Kao Nio Ma Muang)

Bananas in Coconut Milk

(Kluai Bod Chii)

After a long day of learning about organic farming, cooking 

and eating, I think somebody is ready for a nap!

Fresh Food & Fried Bugs

Chiang Mai markets are an endless display of color and aromas I never knew existed. Wandering through the paths looking at all the unusual veggies, fruits, flowers, and assortment of fried things, a frequent phrase comes to mind that our Thai Cooking Instructor liked to use... "same same but different." The market is just that, "same same but different." It has everything you would expect to find at a market, just in a different form from your usual grocery adventures.

Hot Chili Peppers (Prik Kie Noo)

One of the many varieties of rice (Kao)

Rows and rows of rice

☝For the garlic (Kra Thiam) & shallot (Hom Daeng) lovers ☟

Makheau Phuang (pea like bitter eggplant)

Fried Grasshopper anyone?

Why, of course!

Fried water bug!

Thais That Bind

Loving the flavors of Thailand! Spicy, more spicy and spiciest! Trying new things is always an adventure, and even more fun with food! I still haven't ventured into fried bugs or pickled pig legs, but the things I have tried I've enjoyed immensely! Not to mention the cheap prices... We've had two entrees, two drinks and a dessert for less than 300 baht, that's less than $10! The most we've spent on a dinner for two so far was at The House for a whopping 1,000 baht, which is only $30 and this was fine dining!

Takeout Pad Thai

Of course I couldn't come to Thailand and not have one of my favorite basic street foods, Pad Thai. I've had it three times now, once from a famous restaurant here in Chiang Mai called The House, once from a little hole in the wall called The Garden and again at a little restaurant across the street from our hotel as takeout. The takeout being the best I've had yet! (Pictured above)

Pad Thai from The House

Appetizer from The House

Napkin Folding at The House

Spicy Papaya Salad  (personal favorite)

Som Tam

Spicy Cashew Salad

Penang Curry with Chicken & Rice

Yellow Curry with Chicken and Rice

Kaeng Ka Ri Gai

Khao Soi

Coconut Ice Cream from The House

Fried Banana and Sticky Rice with Coconut Milk

from The Garden 

Kluai

A common open air dining experience in Chiang Mai