Thai Cooking Class in Chiang Mai: Market to Table

Market shopping, five dishes cooked at your own station, a meal you prepared

The Rice Barn Thai Cooking Farm in Chiang Mai is a hands-on cooking class where you shop at the market with your instructor, then cook five authentic Thai dishes at your own station in an air-conditioned kitchen. The course runs six hours and includes all ingredients, materials, transport and refreshments; you leave with the confidence to remake these meals at home.

The Experience

The morning or evening starts at the market with your instructor, who walks you through the stalls to source the ingredients for the day. This is not a demonstration—you are picking what goes into your dishes, learning why freshness and timing matter more than the ingredient list alone. Back at The Rice Barn's kitchen, each person gets their own cooking station. You prepare Thai Hot and Sour Prawn Soup, Fried Chicken with Cashew Nuts, your choice of Green Curry or Panang Curry, Pad Thai, and Mango with Sticky Rice. The instructor guides you through each one, but you are doing the work: chopping, frying, seasoning, tasting.

The reason Thai food tastes different from restaurant to restaurant, even when the recipes look the same, is technique and ingredient quality—the things a cooking class teaches you to see. By the end of the six hours, you have made five dishes from scratch and eaten what you cooked. That confidence carries home. An air-conditioned vehicle picks you up from your hotel and brings you back; coffee and tea are provided throughout the day.

What’s included

• All ingredients and cooking materials.
• pickup and return transport in an air-conditioned vehicle.
• coffee and tea throughout the six-hour class.
• the five dishes you prepare, which you eat at the end.

Good to know

Infants must sit on laps

Operated by The Rice Barn Thai Cooking Farm Chiangmai

Is this one for you?Book the morning session if you want to shop the market when it is busiest and most stocked; the evening class suits anyone whose schedule runs late. Either way, you spend the full six hours cooking, not watching—each person works at their own station, so the pace is yours and the instruction is live.

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Top questions

What five dishes do I learn to cook at The Rice Barn?

The Rice Barn teaches Thai Hot and Sour Prawn Soup, Fried Chicken with Cashew Nuts, Green Curry or Panang Curry (you choose one), Pad Thai, and Mango with Sticky Rice. Each person cooks all five at their own station.

Do I shop at the market or does the instructor bring the ingredients?

You go to the market with your instructor at the start of the class. Walking through the stalls together is part of learning why ingredient quality and freshness change the taste of the finished dish.

How long is the cooking class and what time does it run?

The class is six hours long and runs either in the morning or evening, depending on which session you book. Pickup from your hotel is included.

Is this class hands-on or do I watch a demonstration?

This is completely hands-on. Each person has their own cooking station and prepares all five dishes themselves, with the instructor guiding you through each step.

What is included in the price?

The Rice Barn includes all food and cooking materials, an air-conditioned vehicle for pickup and return, and coffee or tea throughout the day. Alcoholic beverages are not included, though you can purchase them at the cooking school.