After stumbling off a night bus from Krabi to Bangkok, I was in need of a serious refuel. It was 5am, I was on Koh San Road (completely sober) and I had a cooking class booked… but not until 9am. My hotel was the other side of the city, and I there were very limited places where I could enjoy a soy cappucino, charge my devices, and log into WiFi.
So I ended up in Starbucks. Just keepin it real.
BUT, after a few hours’ wait, it was time for my next adventure. I’d booked onto a vegan and vegetarian cooking class in Bangkok, ran by Mai Kaidee cooking schools.
The cooking class is located right by Koh San Road, so I happily pottered off there, rather hungry (I hadn’t eaten since 3pm the day before due to travel inconveniences) and hoped that soon my stomach would be rather impressed.
Thai Food
Ask people who are travelling around Thailand what their favourite part of it is, and many answers will include ‘the food’… with a dreamy look on their face. Thai curries, soups and salads are world-famous, and many people’s goals when visiting Thailand is to eat as much of the stuff as possible.
I was very keen on both eating Thai food in Thailand and elsewhere, so I thought I’d travel to the capital of Thailand to learn how to make it myself.
Oh and also, I’m vegan – so it had to be a vegan cooking class in Bangkok. This is where May Kaidee stepped in!
Vegan and Vegetarian Cooking Class Bangkok
I arrived at May Kaidee and was given a (glass, I was pleased to see) bottle of water while I waited for my instructor. Once upstairs was prepped, I headed up and met Ize, who would be my cooking teacher for the day.
We discussed the various food we were going to make – basically all the Thai classics, but in a vegan version. Ize explained that while many dishes in Thailand have fish sauce, it’s very easy to omit this and the flavour isn’t all that different. As Mai Kaidee is a vegetarian cooking school in Bangkok, they sometimes use egg – but this can be left out to make it a vegan cooking course in Bangkok.
On the list for the day was:
- Pumpkin Hummus – a Thai starter I didn’t know about, served with raw vegetables
- Fresh Spring Rolls – everyone’s favourite!
- Tom Kha Soup – this is a spicy soup with vegetables
- Pad Thai – the famous Bangkok noodle dish, made without meat/ shrimp and in my case, with no egg
- Massaman Curry – delicious potato curry
- Mango Sticky Rice – the most popular Thai dessert!
We also learnt how to make chilli paste and peanut sauce, to be served with some of the dishes.
So we basically had a 6 course meal on offer, all to be consumed before midday. This is how I like to live my life.
While everything was pre-cut, the cooking was left to me with just a little instruction by Ize. I won’t give away the recipes here – you’ll need to do the cooking course to find them out – but I did get a little recipe brochure and some information about amazing vegetarian Thai cooking.
Cooking, Eating and Singing
Generally, I’d cook one or two dishes and then eat them, before starting to cook the rest. This meant that nothing went cold while I was still cooking them.
I wanted to make sure I got to sample everything, so at times I just had a little bit of what was on offer and opted to save it for later. I took the food away, but there were only plastic bags on offer, so I used my tupperware when possible.
I was also challenged to sing the ‘Thai cooking song’ (which you can see above). I managed to kind of get it – although I still have no idea what it meant!
Vegetarian Cooking Class in Bangkok: Difficulty
My cooking class was actually so much easier than I thought it would be! I like to cook, but I’m not a Michelin star chef or anything – but it surprised me how easily the dishes were created. This was, of course, under the instruction of Ize (I haven’t tried to create any dishes myself yet!) – but it’s definitely possible to create these dishes without prior experience of Thai cooking.
What to Bring to the Vegetarian Cooking Class
A big appetite is essential – if you’re doing the morning class, don’t eat breakfast! I’d recommend bringing some tupperware to avoid wasting plastic for takeaway, and maybe, if you’re a no #1 klutz like me, a spare change of clothes. Other than that, Mai Kaidee provides everything, including drinking water refills.
Booking Mai Kaidee Vegetarian Cooking Class Bangkok
You can book the vegetarian cooking class in Bangkok by clicking here. Prices start from 1,500 baht per person.
You can also learn about how to make tofu, fruit carving, soy milk and desserts, or become a real pro with a 3, 5 or 10 day course!
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