One of my Thai highlights took place on the morning before we departed. It was a cooking class through Maliwan cooking school and it was great! The school was a little hard to find (down winding alleys), but when we did, we were impressed with the professional and friendly people.

We began with an informative tour of a local market where we learned about not only the ingredients for our dishes, but many other fruits, veggies, pastes, and fish.

Once we were back we each had our own stations and learned how to make Tom Yum Goong, Pad Thai, Green Curry Paste, Green Curry, and Mango with Sticky Rice. What I was astonished by was the speed at which the dishes were created, very intimidating. It was also cool to learn how cues for next steps were based on change in aroma rather than set times. The instructor led us carefully through each dish, letting us taste, understand, ask questions, and adjust ingredients depending on our tastes. How hot do you like your tom yum?

Yum, yum, yum, and yum. I cannot wait to try these recipes at home!!!