Sammy's Organic Cooking Class in Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai Cooking Class at Sammy’s Organic Thai

Thai cooking lesson at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

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One of the things I really wanted to do on my travels was take cooking classes around the world. I love to cook and, at home, am always whipping up something or another for dinner. So the thought of learning to cook the specialty dishes of a country while actually in that country really appealed to me. Determined to make good on my goal, I looked into taking a Chiang Mai cooking class as soon as I arrived back in Thailand. Because Thai food is pretty much my favorite food ever. I can eat noodles all day, every day.

I chose to book Sammy’s Organic Thai Cooking School because the woman at my guesthouse recommended it and it was a) cheaper than a lot of the other offerings b) was hands-on with a variety of menu choices and c) held out on an organic farm so I’d get to see a little bit outside of the city. I was sold.

The day of my Thai cooking class started out with a little market tour where we saw how coconut milk was made and learned the difference between varieties of rice.

Chiang Mai Cooking Class at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Chiang Mai Cooking Class at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Chiang Mai Cooking Class at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

And then we headed off, about half an hour outside of the city, to the little farm cooking school where the class would be held.


Chiang Mai Cooking Class at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

There were six of us in the class: a couple from Washington state, two French guys, and a girl from Germany. It was about half the size of a full-capacity class and that made it nice. Just enough people to engage with but just few enough to make it more intimate and hands on. We all sat around the table and learned about and smelled and tasted some of the different ingredients, staples, that we’d be cooking with.

Chiang Mai Cooking Class at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Chiang Mai Cooking Class at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Chiang Mai Cooking Class at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

And then the cooking began!

Chiang Mai Cooking Class at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Chiang Mai Cooking Class at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Chiang Mai Cooking Class at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Chiang Mai Cooking Class at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Chiang Mai Cooking Class at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Chiang Mai Cooking Class at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Chiang Mai Cooking Class at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Chiang Mai Cooking Class at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Chiang Mai Cooking Class at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Chiang Mai Cooking Class at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Chiang Mai Cooking Class at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Chiang Mai Cooking Class at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Chiang Mai Cooking Class at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Chiang Mai Cooking Class at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

We got to choose what we would be making from lists in five categories: curry, soup, main, appetizer, and dessert. I chose to make green curry, Tom Yum Goong, Phad Thai, Chicken In Pandanus Leaves, and pumpkin custard. Here’s a look at all the yummy food!

What I cooked at my Chiang Mai Thai cooking class:

 

Green Curry with Chicken

(Gaeng Kiew Waan Gai)

A green curry with chicken and eggplants that combined a homemade paste of chillies, lemongrass, shallow, garlic, kaffir lime, coriander, cumin and other spices for creamy bowl that combined spicy and sweet.

Cooking Green Curry at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Cooking Green Curry at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Cooking Green Curry at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Cooking Green Curry at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Cooking Green Curry at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Cooking Green Curry at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Cooking Green Curry at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Cooking Green Curry at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Cooking Green Curry at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Cooking Green Curry at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

 

Hot and Sour Prawn Soup

(Tom Yum Goong)

A spicy and sour shrimp soup with strong flavors of lemongrass, galangal (a spice similar to ginger), chillies, and lime.

Cooking Tom Yum Goong at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Cooking Tom Yum Goong at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Cooking Tom Yum Goong at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Cooking Tom Yum Goong at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Cooking Tom Yum Goong at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

 

Thai Fried Noodles

(Phad Thai)

A popular street food in Thailand, the phad thai recipe mixed rice noodles and tofu in a tamarind-based sauce.

Making Phad Thai at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Making Phad Thai at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Making Phad Thai at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Making Phad Thai at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Making Phad Thai at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Making Phad Thai at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

 

Chicken In Pandanus Leaves

(Gai Hor Bai Toey)

Small chunks of sesame and soy marinated chicken were carefully wrapped in pandanus leaves, deep fried, and served with a sweet chili sauce for dipping.

Making Chicken In Pandanus Leaves at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Making Chicken In Pandanus Leaves at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Making Chicken In Pandanus Leaves at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Making Chicken In Pandanus Leaves at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Making Chicken In Pandanus Leaves at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Making Chicken In Pandanus Leaves at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Making Chicken In Pandanus Leaves at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

 

Pumpkin Custard

(Sung Khaya Fak Thong)

A dessert of sweet custards combining egg, coconut milk, and palm sugar steamed with pieces of pumpkin.

Making Pumpkin Custard at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Making Pumpkin Custard at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Making Pumpkin Custard at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Making Pumpkin Custard at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Making Pumpkin Custard at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

 

And then we ate!

Chiang Mai Cooking Class at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Chiang Mai Cooking Class at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Chiang Mai Cooking Class at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Chiang Mai Cooking Class at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Chiang Mai Cooking Class at Sammy's Organic Thai Cooking School in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

 

Everything we made at this organic Thai cooking school was amazingly delicious! One of my favorite dishes was the green curry. It’s amazing how actually simple it was to make (well, besides all the grinding my weak little arm had to do to make the curry paste.) And the Phad Thai was so good and it will be nice to make it every so often instead of always ordering it from down the block at home. The Chicken In Pandanus Leaves were tasty little bits of chicken, but I think a lot of work for such small little bites!

My day learning to cook Thai food at Sammy’s Organic Thai Cooking School really was a fun, and different, way to spend my day in Chiang Mai and I can’t wait to cook some of these recipes again for everyone when I get home!

Whenever that will be…



Want to learn to cook Thai food in Chiang Mai, Thailand? Check out Sammy’s Organic Thai Cooking School (65 Moonmuang Rd., Chiang Mai, Thailand).

Traveling to Chiang Mai, Thailand?
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Hi, I'm Val. I spent most of my 20s in a standstill, unable to pick which path in life I wanted to take. I wanted the nomadic life of a traveler but also wanted the husband, the condo, and the kitten. Unable to decide which life I wanted more, I did nothing. When I turned 30 I’d had enough of putting my life on hold and decided to start “choosing my figs.” So, I quit my job, bought a one-way ticket to Europe, and traveled for three years. Now I'm back in Chicago, decorating my apartment in all the teal, petting my cats, and planning my next adventure.

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3 Comments
  • Nicole
    February 2, 2012at8:45 pm

    I love making pad thai at home. You’ll get all snobby about the stuff from restaurants now. 😉 I’m always, ‘ugh, this should not be bright orange!’.

  • Ellen Deng
    December 7, 2012at2:58 am

    Hi, Dear Val, I’m Ellen Deng, editor of Top Travel magazine (http://www.wtrip.com.cn/), Beijing. We’re a monthly mag focusing on overseas travel. I’m going to publish a piece on Chiang Mai, our freelancer also went to Sammy’s and rode the elephant, but unluckily her computer is broken and some photos were missed. Would you mind if we use some of your pics of the cooking school and the elephants? Your photos are really great! It would be quite appreciated if you agree on that. Of course I would note you’re the copyright owner. Thanks a lot! Ellen

  • Ellen Deng
    December 7, 2012at3:32 am

    If you could kindly allow that, please send the original pictures to my mailbox: dengyu@sg.com.cn. We’d like to have 2-3 pics of Sammy, 2-3 pics of tourist students learning cooking, 4-5 of the dishes, and a few of the elephants. Thanks again!

    I had clicked the website of Sammy’s, but strangely it’s not connected to their school.

    If you can leave your mail address here we can also contact by mail. Thx.

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