Fresh Vegetables
52 fresh Thai vegetables, from morning glory to banana blossom – each with its Thai name, phonetics and market photo.
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Thai cooking ingredients are at the heart of every dish we teach at Thai Akha Kitchen, our family-run cooking school in Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand. With roots in the Akha hill-tribe community of Northern Thailand, we source fresh ingredients every morning from Chiang Mai’s local market – and we bring students with us.
For example, kaffir lime (มะกรูด – Ma Krut) is one of the essential Thai and Akha ingredients. The green, bumpy-skinned fruit looks similar to a regular lime, and its leaf is used for Thai and Akha cooking.
People have often asked: if they can’t get kaffir lime, can they use normal lime instead? The answer is NO. If you can’t get the kaffir lime then it is better to skip this ingredient rather than try to replace it with regular lime. However, if the recipe calls for the skin of the kaffir lime which comes from the bumpy kaffir lime fruit, and the fruit is not available, you can use the kaffir lime leaf instead. Due to many countries’ importing rules regarding fruit and vegetables, many countries can only stock the leaves instead of the fruit, as it is a prohibited product.
Here we feature the most important Thai cooking ingredients used in Akha and Central Thai cuisine, organised into 6 categories: Fresh Vegetables, Fruits, Misc. Ingredients, Spices, Rice, and Meats. Every Thai cooking ingredient in these guides includes both Thai script and English phonetics – useful for shopping at Chiang Mai’s Local Markets.
If you are in Thailand and learning to speak Thai, try bringing the Thai cooking ingredients list to the market and asking for each item in Thai! Your efforts are always appreciated and guaranteed to earn a big, warm smile.
Cooking with Thai Ingredients in Chiang Mai
In our morning and evening classes these six categories come together in one wok: fresh vegetables and herbs from the morning market, spices pounded into curry paste, rice steamed the Northern way. Browse each guide below, then come and cook the real thing with us in Chiang Mai.
List of the 6 Thai Ingredient Categories
Misc. Ingredients
40+ pantry essentials that season every Thai dish – fish sauce, palm sugar, coconut milk and the classic curry pastes.
The Chiang Mai Markets Behind Our Fresh Ingredients
Every dish you’ll cook begins at dawn, in Chiang Mai’s fresh markets. Each morning our Akha team hand-picks the herbs, vegetables, and aromatics for the day – lemongrass and galangal, kaffir lime leaves and holy basil, morning glory, pea eggplants and bird’s-eye chilies – bought the same day they reach your station. Nothing sits for days in a fridge: your ingredients are as fresh as the market that morning. We shop mainly at two beloved local markets – Chiang Mai Gate and Muang Mai – the heart of where our cooking begins.
Visit Our Two Chiang Mai Markets
Where the day’s fresh ingredients come from
🛒 Chiang Mai Gate (South Gate) Market
A few minutes from our kitchen, the market by the old city’s southern gate is our morning stop: fresh vegetables and herbs piled high at dawn, eggs and tofu, dried spices by the scoop and the pantry staples that season every dish. The stalls turn over fast, so everything we carry back is at its freshest.
🛒 Muang Mai Market
Along the Ping River, Muang Mai is Chiang Mai’s largest fresh-produce market and our source for aromatics in volume: lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime, garlic and chillies by the basket, and tropical fruit at its ripest. When a recipe needs the best of the season, this is where we find it.
Want to see them yourself? Join the Morning Class with its fresh-market tour, where we walk the stalls together – from the vegetable baskets to the spice stalls – before cooking back at the kitchen.
Recommended by Lonely Planet – 2026
Listed among the best things to do in Chiang Mai by Lonely Planet – independent recognition that stands beside the Thai Akha Kitchen awards 2026.
Lonely Planet again recommended Thai Akha Kitchen among the best things to do in Chiang Mai in 2026 – an unbroken run since 2019. Two of travel’s most trusted names, TripAdvisor and Lonely Planet, pointing independent travellers to the same Akha kitchen, year after year. It is the kind of steady, repeated endorsement that sits naturally beside the Thai Akha Kitchen awards 2026.
Discover Thai Cooking Ingredients in Chiang Mai
Your Questions Answered
Thai Akha Kitchen is a family-run cooking school in Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand, with deep roots in the Akha hill-tribe community. Each morning our classes begin at the local fresh market, where students handle, smell, and taste fresh Thai cooking ingredients before a single wok is lit. Understanding Thai cooking ingredients is not just preparation – it is the cooking class itself.
Akha cuisine differs from central Thai food in its use of fermented pastes, bitter herbs, and smoky flavours inherited from mountain village cooking traditions. Many of the ingredients on these pages – galangal (ข่า – Khaa), lemongrass (ตะไคร้ – Ta Khrai), butterfly pea flower (อัญชัน – An Chan) – are sourced fresh from Chiang Mai’s local fresh markets or grown by local hill-tribe farmers.
Explore our experiences: Morning Cooking Class (with market tour, 1,400 THB) · Evening Cooking Class (1,300 THB) · Local Market Tour · Online Cooking Class · Thai Ingredients Guide · About Thai Akha Kitchen
What are the most important ingredients in Thai cooking?
The essential Thai cooking ingredients are: galangal (ข่า – Khaa), lemongrass (ตะไคร้ – Ta Khrai), kaffir lime leaf (ใบมะกรูด – Bai Ma Krut), Thai basil (โหระพา – Ho Ra Pha), fish sauce (น้ำปลา – Nam Pla), shrimp paste (กะปิ – Ka Pi), and jasmine rice (ข้าวหอมมะลิ – Kaao Hom Ma Li). Together these 7 ingredients form the aromatic backbone of most Thai and Akha dishes.
What makes Akha cuisine different from central Thai food?
Akha cuisine from Northern Thailand uses more bitter vegetables, fermented soy (เต้าเจี้ยว – Tao Jiao), and black pepper where central Thai food relies on chili heat. The Akha hill-tribe tradition also features sticky rice (ข้าวเหนียว – Kaao Nieow) as the daily staple, eaten by hand, rather than the steamed jasmine rice of central Thailand. Our Morning Cooking Class explores these differences in depth over 5 to 6 hours.
Can I learn to cook with Thai ingredients in Chiang Mai?
Yes – Thai Akha Kitchen offers hands-on cooking classes in Chiang Mai for all skill levels. In our Morning Class (about 6 hours, includes market tour) and Evening Class (about 5 hours), you will cook 11 authentic dishes from scratch using the ingredients on these pages. Small groups of 2 – 10 people ensure personal attention from your Akha host.
What is kaffir lime and why can it not be substituted?
Kaffir lime (มะกรูด – Ma Krut) has a uniquely floral, resinous aroma that comes from specific volatile oils – citronellal and limonene – not present in regular lime. The double-lobed leaf (ใบมะกรูด – Bai Ma Krut) and bumpy fruit zest are both used in Thai curries and soups. No other citrus replicates this profile. If unavailable, it is better to omit the ingredient entirely rather than substitute with regular lime.
Where can I find Thai ingredients outside Thailand?
Most Thai and Akha cooking ingredients are available at Asian supermarkets, online specialty stores, and some larger Western supermarkets. Frozen kaffir lime leaves, galangal paste, and lemongrass stalks are widely exported. Fresh butterfly pea flowers (อัญชัน – An Chan) and fresh Akha spice pastes are harder to source – another reason to cook them here in Chiang Mai first! For broader context on Thai culinary traditions, the Wikipedia Overview of Thai Cuisine is a useful reference.
Can I book a class on the same day or last minute?
Last-minute bookings are sometimes possible depending on availability. We recommend booking in advance, especially during peak season (November to February). For same-day enquiries, please Contact Us directly.
Has Thai Akha Kitchen won any international awards?
Thai Akha Kitchen has been recognised among the world’s best cooking schools for 11 consecutive years – including #1 Cooking School Worldwide on TripAdvisor in 2022 and 2023, and #1 Cooking School in Thailand in 2026. See all awards on our Awards Page.
What is the best cooking class in Chiang Mai for beginners?
Both the Morning and Evening Cooking Class are designed for all levels. No prior experience needed – our Akha instructors guide you step by step through 11 authentic dishes, from hand-pounding curry paste to plating mango sticky rice.
Explore all 6 Thai cooking ingredient categories: Fresh Vegetables · Fruits · Misc. Ingredients · Spices · Rice · Meats
🧺 Thai Cooking Ingredients:
Every ingredient guide below works the same way – a photo, the Thai name and the English phonetics for each item – so you can move from one category to the next and get to know the whole Thai pantry:
Fresh Vegetables · Fruits · Misc. Ingredients · Spices · Rice · Meats
Cooking vegan, vegetarian, or around an allergy? Our Dietary Style guide shows how Thai & Akha dishes adapt to different dietary needs without losing their flavour.
Discover more about Thai Akha Kitchen:
Morning Class · Evening Class · Local Market Tour · Online Class · Recipes · Reviews · Awards · Contact
Thai Cooking Ingredients on the Web
Further Reading
Trusted, independent references on Thai cooking ingredients – the herbs, spices, vegetables, and aromatics behind every dish – plus the Northern Thai and Akha food traditions of Chiang Mai, to help you understand the pantry before you cook with us:
🍜 Wikipedia – Thai Cuisine
A broad overview of Thai cuisine, history and ingredients.
🏔️ Wikipedia – Northern Thai Cuisine
Lanna food traditions of Chiang Mai and the north.
🌿 Wikipedia – Kaffir Lime
Aromatic citrus leaf, essential and irreplaceable in Thai cooking.
🪺 Wikipedia – Galangal
The rhizome behind tom kha and many curry pastes.
🌏 Tourism Authority of Thailand
The official guide to Thai food and culinary travel.
🛖 Wikipedia – Akha People
The hill-tribe heritage behind our family kitchen and flavours.
Excited to participate in a Cooking Class?
From your Home or in our kitchen in Chiang Mai
