My post yesterday has me thinking all things Thai, including the most important thing – the Thai food and my cherished Thai recipes.

I had read so much about Thailand prior to my trip and one of the things I read most often was Thailand being known as one of the greatest food destinations in the world.  Given this, I knew I had to take full advantage of its culinary offerings and make food an important part of the trip.  I vowed to try as many different foods as possible and booked an authentic cooking class at a popular Thai cooking school to take home some fun, Thai recipes.

My husband and I arrived in Thailand and launched right into tasting our way through Thailand.

Our first full meal was lunch.  We ate at this unique restaurant which happened to be on the grounds of a military base.  Unfortunately I can’t remember the name but the food was fantastic.  We enjoyed this amazing fried fish and traditional Thai seafood soup.

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Of course, I had to compliment my meal with some traditional Thai beer.

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This beer was so light and refreshing; particularly with the hot, Thai weather.  I have yet to find this beer in the States but if I do, I am so buying it.

We also explored local food markets to get a sense of how the locals shop and eat.  The food markets were so cool and offered a totally different perspective to the trip.  I felt like I saw the real Thailand – not the beaches and attractions – but the real, everyday life.

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I wish I could say I was more adventurous and tried some of these Thai delicacies but I chickened out.  I couldn’t do it despite dares from the hubby.

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And yes, those are cow tongues (above) and fried bugs (below).

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But, the highlight of my food experience in Thailand was when I actually got to attend a professional cooking school and learn how to cook authentic Thai food from local chefs.  I attended the Baipai Thai Cooking School.

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I highly recommend Baipai to anyone considering a class with the school. The grounds are lovely, the staff is wonderful and the recipes are fantastic.  It was the first time I ever took a professional cooking course and it was easily a highlight of the trip.

I can’t say enough positive things about Baipai.  I walked away from my experience there glowing – it was so great.

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The Baipai Thai Cooking School class walked me (and the rest of my class) through three authentic Thai recipes:  Satay Chicken (Gai Satay), Hot and Sour Prawn Soup (Tom Yam Goong) and Chicken with Cashew Nuts (Gai Pad Med Ma-Muang).  The recipes were relatively easy to grasp and with Baipai’s help, I was a master Thai Chef by the end of the day.

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I wish I could share with you all of the recipes I learned while there but they are far too long to include in one post.  For the purposes of today’s post I will share with you Thailand’s most popular dish, and probably one you have never cooked before, Hot and Sour Prawn Soup (Tom Yam Goong).

The recipe listed here is from Baipai.  I will share with you some of my notes which helps to make the recipe a little easier to achieve.  

Hot and Sour Prawn Soup (Tom Yam Goong)

Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Servings: 1
Author: Bai Pai Cooking School

Ingredients

  • 2 Medium-sized Prawns shrimp, Cleaned
  • 2-3 White Mushrooms cut into small pieces
  • 1 cup of Stock/Broth
  • 1 Stalk of lemongrass thinly sliced
  • 1 Rhizome of galangal part of the ginger family (thinly sliced)
  • 1 Kaffir lime leaf torn to release the aroma
  • 5 hot chilies crushed
  • 1/4 TSP of salt
  • 2 TSP of thai chili paste
  • 1 TBS of fish sauce
  • 1 TBS lime juice
  • 2 TSP sugar
  • 4 TBS evaporated milk
  • Handful of coriander leaves

Instructions

  • Put stock/broth together with lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaf and salt into the saucepan, bring to a full boil over medium heat.
  • Add mushrooms and bring to a full boil again
  • Add prawns (shrimp) and leave to cook until shrimp are pink.
  • Do not stir.
  • Skim off fat/foam from the shrimp.
  • Next, add milk, stir a little then turn off the heat.
  • Add the flavors of the soup with the Thai chili paste, fish sauce, lime juice, sugar and crushed chilies.
  • Stir to blend well.
  • Note:  Do not put lime juice in the soup over heat.
  • The lime will turn bitter.
  • Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.

4 Comments

  1. I just tried a Thai soup recipe today that include lemon grass and Kaffir lime leaves. I’ve heard of the lemon grass, but not the leaves. Though the recipe may not have been authentic times, it was so good I had a second helping.

    Not sure I’d want to try the bugs either. 🙁

  2. Oh yum!! How fantastic. I LOVE Thai food 🙂 Although, I could do without the bugs, lol.. Thanks for sharing, checking out your recipe!

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