Amazing Thai Cooking Class in Koh Lanta
Have you ever wanted to learn how to cook your favorite Thai dishes? Are you afraid there are too many hard-to-find ingredients needed? A fun and well-taught Thai cooking class at Thai Lanta Cookery School was a definite eye-opener.
How I Booked My Thai Cooking Class
This was a tour I booked within the first few days I was here since I was looking for some activities to do and maybe engage with some people. Traveling solo means I get to make all of my own choices about how I spend my days, but I also like to chat with people from time to time.
I chose the tour online and booked for the next week. Meeting and interacting with others, while learning to cook Thai food, sounded like a perfect combination.
Rescheduled My Thai Cooking Class
My class was scheduled for a Tuesday night. But due to a misunderstanding about Thai national holidays and office closures, I needed to change it to Wednesday evening.
On Monday, I planned to travel into the city of Krabi from Koh Lanta to get a visa extension. The problem with this was the Immigration Office in Krabi was closed on Monday, so I had to go on Tuesday. Not sure of how long the travel time back would be, I rescheduled my Thai cooking class to Wednesday night.
A quick email, that was confirmed within 15 minutes, changed my Thai cooking class to the next evening. I couldn’t wait to cook some delicious Thai food.
Arriving At the Thai Lanta Cookery School
As stated in the confirmation email, I was picked up at the hotel car park area at 3:45. The driver opened the passenger door of the small pickup truck after confirming I was the right person. Class started at 4:00 for the dinner class and we were there a few minutes before 4:00.
You can choose from lunch, dinner, or a special Thursday lunch with a visit to the local market to get the ingredients. I wish I would have seen that option, but I was happy with learning to cook my own Thai dinner.
Once we arrived, my driver indicated the class would be held upstairs. He pointed out a set of stairs which thankfully had railings on both sides.
The Beautiful and Peaceful Setting
At the bottom of the stairs, a gorgeous waterfall with a koi fish pond gurgled pleasantly. This was such an inviting and refreshing setting to learn how to cook one of my most favorite cuisines. Plenty of greenery decorated the area and I felt happy just being there.
Upstairs, I was greeted on the second floor with a lovely glass of blue pea blossom lemonade. The flavor was a bit sweet for me, but squeezing the lime wedge into it changed the color and created a tarter, more refreshing flavor. Perfect for a hot summer afternoon.
Looking around at the empty cooking area, I discovered I was the only student tonight! This was a private group class consisting of just myself and my amazing Thai cooking class teacher, Sam.
Checked Out the Thai Cooking Class Area
The setting is a beautiful second floor cooking area open to the cool breeze with plenty of fans to move the air around. I was worried it would be too hot while cooking, but it was comfortable with the fans and the breeze passing through the open sides.
Long dining tables are set up for the bigger groups that Sam said are common during the winter months when the island is full of tourists. Beneath the cooking school area is a restaurant and there’s a cafe at the street for more treats. Behind the cooking school were plenty of papaya trees. Sam informed me that galangal grew there, along with other herbs they use for cooking.
Thai Cooking Class Kitchen
The prep and cooking areas consisted of gleaming stainless steel counters and individual gas burners. Plenty of room around the tables and between the cooking areas meant you never felt crowded. This was definitely not a problem for me since I was the only student this night.
Chose My Personal Menu
I have always loved Thai food and chose 4 dishes out of the 10 available. The options available are listed below. All of the instructions for the 10 items are listed in the cookbook Sam gave to me soon after I arrived.
- Tom Kha – coconut soup with chicken, seafood, prawns, or vegetables✅
- Spring Rolls with Vegetables with tasty Thai sauce
- Golden Bags with Chicken and Prawns and tasty Thai sauce
- Papaya Salad – Som Tam✅
- Mixed Vegetables with Oyster Sauce
- Seafood in our Special Tamarind sauce✅
- Massaman Curry with Chicken, includes making the curry paste
- Larb with Minced Chicken – Thai spicy salad from Isan
- Stir Fried Chicken or Seafood – Sweet & Sour
- Sticky Rice with Ripe Mango – Khao Niaw Mamuang✅
My tastebuds chose papaya salad, tom kha soup, seafood in special tamarind sauce, and my absolute favorite of mango with sticky rice.
Making Thai Food At Home
I have avoided trying to make Thai food at home because I thought it was too difficult. So many ingredients that I usually don’t keep in my pantry or fridge. Plus, we have several delicious Thai restaurants in my local area. It was better to let them make it for me.
I was so wrong! It was easy once I understood the ingredients and how to prepare them. All of these “exotic” ingredients are available at the Asian market near my home and I will be able to prepare these Thai dishes for my family. They are all eagerly awaiting my return and a special meal.
The ingredients needed for my dishes were prepared for me once I made my 4 selections. Clean white plastic baskets were set out on the stainless steel prep top and would hold the ingredients for each of my dishes. The mango sticky rice didn’t need prepping before we started making it, so no pre-prep basket needed.
Prepped the Foods for my Thai Cooking Class
I washed my hands and put on my apron. We first chopped and prepped the vegetables and spices/herbs for my papaya salad. You have the option to choose your spice level and how many chile peppers you wanted to add. I went light on the spice but did add some. You have to have a tiny bit of heat in the papaya salad.
Sam showed me how to cut the items one by one and then I did it and added them to my prep basket. I peeled green papaya and carrot in long shreds using a peeler. Then the garlic and chilies, along with the tomatoes and long green beans were chopped, ready to be added to the salad after some crushing with the mortar and pestle.
Second, we prepped the ingredients for the tom kha soup, then the items needed for the special tamarind sauce seafood dish.
Fish is usually the base that the tamarind sauce is enhancing, but we had shrimp in mine. That was one dish I was so looking forward to and it ended up being my favorite. The sauce is so versatile and can be added to any kind of seafood, or even chicken. I plan to recreate the tamarind sauce dish first when I get home.
Time to Cook My Dishes
Once all of the ingredients were prepped it was time to cook. And I have to say that prepping everything ahead of time made the cooking process so much easier. Gas burners are arranged in a long line and we only used one at the end closest to us.
Tom Kha Soup
Sam set out the pan for the soup and it already had the coconut milk and water mixed in. She made sure to tell me the quantities and they are also listed in the complimentary cookbook you get when you arrive.
First in were the harder lemongrass, galangal, keffir lime leaves, the garlic and shallots. Once this was boiling we added the chicken and finished making it. Smelled so yummy and even though it was hot outside, I couldn’t wait to taste this soup.
Sam removed most of the harder herbs and spices that are not served with the dish and are not good to eat since they can be hard or bitter when chewed. She suggested an herb bag to throw into the pot when cooking which makes it easier to remove when it’s done.
Papaya Salad
No cooking needed for the papaya salad. I had so much fun making the papaya salad in the mortar and pestle created for this salad specifically. It is wooden and I will be ordering one when I get back home. They’re available for purchase there but it might be a bit hard to travel with something this big halfway around the world.
We first crushed the garlic and chilies into a rough paste. Next came the long beans and tomatoes, and then added the papaya and carrot at the end and used the spoon to mix everything together.
The final touch was adding peanuts and then some cashews on top. When she heard I liked cashews, another handful went on there. It was so good and fresh, and now that I have an understanding of what goes in there, I can adjust the flavors to my taste. It can be spicier or not, or with more lime juice to be more tart or more palm sugar for a sweeter flavor. The versatility is so simple to change to your taste. I can see this dish becoming a favorite at home with some shrimp thrown in for a perfect light lunch.
Seafood with Tamarind Sauce
The final course we made was the special tamarind sauce served over seafood and we used shrimp. This sauce was so delicious and versatile and could be used with any kind of seafood, fish, chicken, or even pork.
We combined all of the ingredients to make the sauce. This includes oyster sauce, light soy sauce, tamarind juice, palm sugar, and a little bit of water and oil. Next, I added in the chopped veggies and spices we prepared earlier. Once we got the sauce heated up and threw the veggies in there, it thickened up nicely.
We started with quickly stir frying the shrimp until they were pink and not overcooked. They went on the plate and then the tamarind sauce was served over it. This would go nicely with steamed rice but I skipped the rice because it would fill me up too quickly. This sauce was to die for!
Mango and Sticky Rice
We finished with making the mango and sticky rice. Sam showed me a traditional rice steamer made from bamboo that I could have purchased, but once again it was a bit large and would be difficult to transport home. I will try to find one of them online too. Thank goodness for Amazon.
She started the rice soaking before we began cooking. Sam suggested it’s good to soak a minimum of 1 hour but 2-3 hours before is fine. Then rinse and put into the steamer which takes about 10-15 minutes for the portion size I had.
While that was steaming we prepared the coconut milk that goes over the rice. I added palm sugar to it and then warmed it up in the saucepan. To make the thicker sauce that is usually served on the side, she left a little bit of the coconut milk sauce in the pan and added cornstarch, or corn flour as she called it. This thickened and sweetened it up within 2 minutes and we poured into the little dish.
Cutting the Mango
Next she showed me how to cut the mango and she used the kind I prefer that have a flatter pit inside. She cut the piece off and scored the mango flesh, then flipped it to create little squares that are easy to scoop off with your spoon. Sam made it look so easy. I haven’t mastered the mango cutting yet but I can practice.
Sprinkled mung bean seeds decorated the top and it was done. I was completely full by this time so I immediately had it packed up to eat later. The sauce was so good and I loved that I could now make this dish whenever I wanted. Before it went into the container, Sam made sure I had a piece of mango with some rice and sauce and I wished I could have fit more of it in my belly. So rich and creamy and delicious!
Take Home Goodies from my Thai Cooking Class
I have to add that I am unable to eat much food in one sitting due to weight loss surgery 18 months ago. Sam packed it up in plastic to go containers for me after I sampled each dish we created. They were just as delicious the next day in my hotel room.
The experience with Sam got me thinking about planning meals for my family to share my Thai experiences with them. I have always loved to cook and this special feeling of preparing food had left me recently. Thank you Sam for reigniting my desire to cook and share this love with those that I care for.
I enjoyed it so much and was proud I learned to prepare and cook some of my favorite dishes. Thanks Sam!
In Conclusion – Highly Recommended Thai Cooking Class
Even though this activity went much quicker because I was the only participant, I enjoyed my time with Sam so much and didn’t feel rushed. I told her to take the extra time she now had to enjoy her evening. She called the driver to come and bring me back to the hotel.
It was worth every penny of the cost of 1700 baht = $46.60 for the ride, the cookbook, the certificate, the lesson, and the actual meal that I learned to cook. That time and money was well spent and I will enjoy the newfound confidence to try these dishes at home.
If you are in the Koh Lanta area, make sure to check out Thai Lanta Cookery School for your very own Thai cooking class experience.
