Bangkok 1/2 Day Activity : Amita Thai Cooking Class

September 13, 2014

You would think I’m pretty good in cooking Thai food, having lived here for so long. Well, nuh-uh. Truth is, I don’t even know how to make Phad Thai. BUT, all this has changed, cuz I’ve joined a Thai cooking class where I “wok” out a mean looking dish of Phad Thai.

If you are in Bangkok, you’ve got to check this place out. It’s called Amita Thai Cooking Class. The classes are conducted in the garden of the owner’s home so you also get to see a real Thai house from back in the old days. They can arrange a boat ride to their house where you get off at their own mini pier which looks like this …

The class commences with this eye-catching appetizer, all from flowers and leaves of native Thai plants.

Our instructor, Chef Tam, gave us a tour of her Thai herbs garden while explaining all the different kinds of herbs used in Thai food. Thai herbs not only have a distinct flavor but are also full of health and medicinal benefits.

Then came the cooking demonstration. Chef Tam show us how to prepare each dish ( Phad Thai, Stir Fried Cashew Chicken, and Tom Ka Kai ). Tom Ka Kai is like the coconut version of the more renown, Tom Yum Kung. Each cooking demonstration was followed by a tasting session.

She also show us how to make this beautiful dessert, called ” Tub Tim Krob “. ( ” Tub Tim ” = jewels, ” Krob ” = crunchy ) What’s amazing is that all the food coloring used are natural. The blue comes from the butterfly pea flower, red from beetroot, green from ” baitoey ” leaves. Bai toey ( pandan ) leaves have a sweet and light fragrance. I am now very hungry.

The recipe for this water chestnut dessert is on their website, along with some other Thai dishes.

Next up, we get to work at our own stations. I like to add that even though we were cooking in an open area, everything was very clean. All the ingredients were covered up. Chef Tam is also good at sewing. You see those gas tanks ? She sew covers for them !