Submitted by Emily Seraphin on the 2017 winter session program in Australia and Thailand sponsored by the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics…
After experiencing the most terrible stomach bug (dubbed the “Bangkok Belly”) in Bangkok, I had been weary about continuing to try new foods. In fact, while in Rayong, I stuck to ham and cheese sandwiches for a solid three days—it doesn’t get much more American than that. Today, however, we took a trip to the Chiang Mai Thai Farm Cooking School where we were taught how to cook some of the most famous Thai meals thus pushing me to leave my comfort zone of food again (happily, though, I may add).
The day began with a stop to a traditional Chiang Mai market where our instructor, a hilarious and kind Thai woman named Ning, showed us around and picked up a couple of fresh spices we’d be using for the day. Our buses continued on through 20 minutes of beautiful, jungle-like terrain until we reached the cutest farm and our outdoor kitchen for the day nestled among trees and flowers.
We had a few variations of the basic meals we could choose from to make throughout the day and I finally settled on Green Curry Chicken, Shrimp Tom Yam Kum, the traditional Pad Thai and a surprisingly delicious banana and coconut milk dessert. Everything was absolutely delicious, but more importantly, like nothing I’ve ever eaten before. I have found that Thai food is an interesting mix of Chinese and Indian food—both of which I’m more familiar with from home. The Thai culture also uses an incredible amount of various spices, in both powder and sauce form, but it does not have to be spicy if you would not like it to be. One of the most important phrases I’ve learned so far actually has been “mai phet” or “not spicy”.
All in all, today was another day in the mountainous, beautiful Chiang Mai and it was an incredible experience to be able to cook and spend time with the locals.”
