Awards
Thai Akha Kitchen – ReviewWhere i can write my review?Thai Akha Kitchen – Awards 2026#1 Cooking School in Thailand
Thai Akha Kitchen – Awards 2025#1 Food Tours in Thailand
Thai Akha Kitchen – Awards 2024#1 Cooking School in Asia
Thai Akha Kitchen – Awards 2023#1 Cooking School Worldwide
Thai Akha Kitchen – Awards 2022#1 Cooking School Worldwide
Thai Akha Kitchen – Awards 2021#1 Cooking School in Thailand
Thai Akha Kitchen – Awards 2020#1 Cooking School in Asia
Thai Akha Kitchen – Awards 2019#1 Cooking School Worldwide
Thai Akha Kitchen – Awards 2018#1 Cooking School in Thailand
Thai Akha Kitchen – Awards 2017#1 Cooking School in Chiang Mai
Thai Akha Kitchen – Awards 2016#52 Cooking School in Chiang MaiThai Akha Kitchen – Awards 20152015 – Our Journey Began
EnglishFor every student attending our Cooking Class in Chiang Mai we offer an opportunity to learn and make 10 Dishes + 1 Curry Paste
Thai Akha Kitchen recipes are the heart of every cooking class in Chiang Mai. In each class you cook 10 authentic dishes from scratch – including appetizers, traditional Akha dishes, curries, stir-fries, soups, and desserts – using fresh ingredients sourced that same morning from Warorot Market.
All Thai Akha Kitchen recipes are adaptable for regular, vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, or meat-only diets, with ingredient substitutions available for all common food allergies. Whether you are a total beginner or an experienced home cook, our Thai Akha Kitchen recipes are designed to be reproducible at home anywhere in the world.
For background on Thai cuisine traditions, see the Wikipedia overview of Thai cuisine.
We kick off the class with two of our favourite Thai snacks as appetizers. We call this type of food “khong gin len”, which literally means “food to eat for fun”.
During our cooking class, you’ll learn how to make Papaya Salad the authentic way, using a mortar and pestle; it is the best method to really crush and mix all of the flavours together. You’ll also learn how to roll the perfect Fried Spring Roll and deep fry it to crispy perfection!
Green Papaya Salad (Som Tum) is the #1 most popular salad in Thailand, and is especially…
The best part of Thai Spring Rolls is crispy wrap and best for vegetarian with tofu…
Desserts are eaten throughout the day in Thailand. They are not reserved for eating after a meal, but are seen as a fun food to eat during your free time.
When it comes time to cook these sweets in class, you’ll learn how to make the perfect steamed sticky rice to be paired with your sweet, juicy mango – allowing you to go home and successfully make Mango Sticky Rice with authentic sticky rice, prepared the Thai way!
You’ll also learn the secret to making the best Pumpkin in Coconut Milk that you’ll soon begin to crave time and time again.
Pumpkin in Coconut Milk – This easy-to-make dish tastes great, especially when the weather becomes cooler. Imagine…
Mango Sticky Rice – This dessert may not have a fancy name, but the taste is…
Akha dishes are not easy to find. You won’t find any recipes online because Akha people are an ethnic minority and most people in the world don’t even know about them. This is why it is so important to us to keep our Thai-Akha heritage alive through cooking, and by sharing with you how to cook three of our favourite Akha dishes.
Akha food is totally different from Thai food, not to mention, much healthier and fresher. During the class, we’re certain that you’ll enjoy the refreshing flavours of these three simple and healthy Akha dishes and that you’ll go home wanting to make them for all of your friends and family.
Akha Salad – This fresh, healthy salad is made with cucumbers, tomatoes and lime juice. Roasted…
Akha Sapi Thong – This is a classic dipping sauce that Akha people eat almost every…
We will teach you how to make curry paste from scratch. No powders here!
A few of these curry pastes are made with the same base ingredients and are very similar to one another, allowing them to be made into another curry paste simply by adding or removing one ingredient – in Thailand, we call this “same same but different”. These similarities make it very easy to keep stock of the curry paste ingredients, allowing you to make various different curries each night of the week!
You will have the option to choose your level of spice for the dish, whether you want to stick to your comfort spice level or if you would like to make the dish full authentic Thai spicy. The choice is yours!
Use sundried red Anaheim pepper for people who don’t like spicy food. For the spicy version,…
Red curry is first and original Thai curry with red sundries chilies to make a paste.…
Panang curry paste is similar to red curry paste, using the same type of sundried red…
This curry has Indian and Malay influence and is made by mixing Indian curry powder (Garam…
You can make Massaman curry paste and turn it into red curry paste by adding cumin…
This curry is originally from the southern region of Thailand and comes originally from Malay cuisine.…
Making green curry paste requires fresh green chilies. The Green Anaheim pepper (Prik Noom or Green…
Enjoy the fresh flavor of the green pepper and coriander stems used to make the curry…
Thai Stir-Fries are classic street food in Thailand. We consider Stir-Fry as Thai fast food since most restaurants are prepared to cook up this type of food and have it ready in minutes.
During our cooking class, you will have the choice to make one of four of the most popular and delicious Thai Stir-Fries. Though you may have already attempted to make a few of these dishes on your own at home, we will share with you some tips and tricks from the Thai kitchen on how to get your flavouring for these dishes just right!
In this classic dish, chicken and pineapple are seasoned with ketchup and cooked with carrots, fresh…
This dish is made with a special type of basil (hot basil or holy basil) that…
The best part of this dish is the sun dried chilies (Red Sun-dried Anaheim peppers) combined…
The most popular way to eat Thai soup is with rice alongside a main course, or paired with beer at a local bar!
During our cooking class, you will have the choice to make one of three Thai soups, choosing from one of our creamy favourites or a classic subtle soup. You’ll learn some tricks on how to get the most flavours out of your soup, the necessary spices and flavourings that contribute to each soup’s flavour, as well as some ingredient substitutions that can be done if you’re without one of the main ingredients.
“Tom Yum Goong” is Thailand’s best-known soup among foreign visitors. It’s famously both spicy and slightly…
This soup is the perfect comfort food when you’re not feeling well. It’s cooked with chicken…
This classic Thai soup with onions, mushrooms and tomatoes features the rich and creamy taste of…
11 Years Among the World’s Best Cooking Schools
🏆 2026 Award: Thai Akha Kitchen was once again voted the #1 Cooking School in Thailand – the most awarded cooking class Chiang Mai, and one of the top cooking schools in the world. Thank you to all our guests who made this possible!
Thai Akha Kitchen has been welcoming guests from over 80 countries to its open-air bamboo kitchen in Chiang Mai since 2015. Voted the #1 Cooking School Worldwide on TripAdvisor in 2019, 2022 and 2023, and the #1 Cooking School in Thailand in 2026, our approach is built on one principle: Your Wok, Your Rules. Every student cooks at their own individual station – no sharing, 5 spice levels, and full adaptation for all dietary needs including vegan, gluten-free, and severe allergies. Find the answer to every Thai Akha Kitchen recipes question in this guide.
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
Thai Akha Kitchen recipes include: two appetizers (Papaya Salad and Fried Spring Rolls), two desserts (Mango Sticky Rice and Pumpkin in Coconut Milk), three exclusive Akha dishes, one curry with homemade paste from scratch, one stir-fry, and one soup. That is 10 dishes plus 1 curry paste – all cooked hands-on in our Chiang Mai kitchen and based on authentic Akha hill-tribe traditions.
Yes – all Thai Akha Kitchen recipes are designed to be reproducible at home. Each student leaves class with a full recipe card for every dish cooked. The Thai ingredients guide on our website helps you source the right items at Asian supermarkets worldwide. Many key ingredients such as galangal, lemongrass, and kaffir lime leaves are available frozen outside Thailand.
Yes – all Thai Akha Kitchen recipes can be adapted for vegetarian, vegan, pescatarian, or regular diets. Ingredient substitutions are provided for every dish and our chef adjusts the class in real time. Spice levels can also be customised from mild to full authentic Thai heat. See our Dietary Style page for details on every option.
Akha recipes differ from central Thai cooking in their use of fermented pastes, bitter vegetables, and mountain-foraged herbs rarely found in Thai restaurants. The Akha hill-tribe community of Northern Thailand has preserved these dishes for generations – Thai Akha Kitchen is one of the few places in the world where you can learn to cook authentic Thai Akha Kitchen recipes in a hands-on setting. Our Morning Class dedicates extra time to the cultural story behind each Akha dish.
Book your class and cook these recipes in Chiang Mai: Morning Class · Evening Class · Market Tour · Online Class
Yes. Every student receives our free cookbook, available in 11 languages, so you can recreate each dish at home. Download it anytime from our Cookbook page.
Yes. Every dish is cooked at your own station, so you decide the heat – from mild to authentically fiery. Chili is always added to your own taste, never by default.
Both classes teach the same recipes. The Morning Class (1,400 THB, about six hours) includes a fresh-market visit before cooking, while the Evening Class (1,300 THB, about five hours) goes straight to the wok. Free hotel pickup from central Chiang Mai is included in both.
Every ingredient we cook with is documented in our Ingredients Guide – fresh vegetables, fruits, spices, rice, meats and pantry staples – with Thai names, photos and cooking notes.
Cook Thai Akha Kitchen recipes with us – book now: Morning Class · Evening Class · Local Market Tour · Online Class · Full FAQ · Awards · Contact Us
Trusted, independent sources on Chiang Mai, authentic Thai and indigenous Akha cuisine, and the international awards behind Thai Akha Kitchen – handpicked references to help you plan your trip, understand the ingredients, and discover the heritage behind Thai Akha Kitchen recipes before you cook with us:
⭐ TripAdvisor – Thai Akha Kitchen
Over 8,500 verified guest reviews behind our #1 ranking.
✈️ Lonely Planet – Chiang Mai
Recommending Thai Akha Kitchen every single year since 2019.
🌏 Tourism Authority of Thailand
The official guide to food and travel across Thailand.
📖 Wikipedia – Chiang Mai
Cultural capital of Northern Thailand, home of our kitchen.
🍜 Wikipedia – Thai Cuisine
History and traditions behind the 11 dishes we teach.
🛖 Wikipedia – Akha People
Hill-tribe heritage at the heart of Thai Akha Kitchen.
From your home or in our cooking class Chiang Mai
