Adventures in Thai Cooking & Travel

Art of Thai Cooking Class – Series

Thai Cooking Classes with Kasma Loha-unchit

Kasma has been teaching Westerners to cook delectable Thai dishes since 1986. She teaches 4-session, 4-week beginning, intermediate and advanced series in her home near Piedmont Avenue in Oakland, California, right across the bay from San Francisco. You might enjoy reading an article by Kasma's husband on Learning to Cook Thai.

Thai Class schedule – Spring & Fall 2008

Please register early.

• All classes meet from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m.
• Cost for a series of 4 classes is $175.

If you live out of the area, consider taking one of Kasma's weeklong Thai cooking intensive classes.

Beginning Series of Thai Cooking Classes

Description  | Menus   | Details / Registration
No prerequisites. Open to all levels of cooking.

To be notified of future classes, see below.

Intermediate Series of Thai Cooking Classes

Description  |  Menus   | Details / Registration
Prerequisite: Kasma's Beginning Series. No exceptions. We're sorry, but there are no exceptions. There are two reasons for this policy. 1) Kasma teaches in a manner different than other teachers, particularly with her emphasis on balancing flavors to achieve authentic Thai taste. She also offers a great deal of information not found in other classes. She wants to make sure that everyone in these classes has been exposed to the same information. 2) In the past when she has made exceptions for someone who has seemed very well qualified or experience, it has not worked out.

To be notified of future classes, see below.

Advanced Series of Thai Cooking Classes

Description  |  Menus   | Details / Registration
Prerequisites.

• Prerequisite for Sets A, B & C: Kasma's Beginning & Intermediate Series, or the first weeklong Intensive Class. If possible, A or B first, or (best) take in order (A, B, C) for maximum benefit.
• Prerequisite for Sets D & E: Two Advanced Series from Sets A, B and C.
• Prerequisite for Sets F & G: Currently filled by invitation only to students who have taken multiple Advanced Series.

We ask that you take Set A or Set B first because they are a continuation of the material learned in the Beginning and Intermediate Series; they introduce new ingredients and techniques that will be used in the future series. Beginning with Set D, the classes consist mostly of dishes that will be unfamiliar to someone who has not traveled in Thailand and eaten the same food that Thai people eat. In addition, many of the recipes and classes are of a higher degree of difficulty and we have found that students who began with later sets (such as D or E) were so overwhelmed that they never returned. These policies have been set up based on past experience of what works to make the classes enjoyable for everyone.

Important note: Advanced classes usually run beyond 10:00 pm. An occasional class will go as late as 11:00. This is because you will be preparing 5 (rather than 4) recipes, because some of the recipes are more complicated and because some recipes require longer cooking times.

To be notified of future classes, see below.

Class Notification

Classes for Spring 2009 will be announced in Fall 2008. If you want to receive notice of these classes, when they are announced, there are two options:

• Join the Yahoo group "Kasma's Classes" by signing up at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kasmas_classes/. You will receive notification of both series and weeklong classes until you unsubscribe from the list. You can also join by sending an email to kasmas_classes-subscribe@yahoogroups.com . You must register with Yahoo in order to join this list.

• For a one-time only email notification of the next available schedule, email Kasma.

Options:  Class Descriptions are Below   |  Menus   |  Testimonials  |  Details / Registration   |  Gift certificates   |  Brochure in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format |  Contact Kasma |  Return to top  

Thai Class (Series) Details

Click for series descriptions.

Cost: $175 for each four-week, 4-session series – this includes the food fee for four full meals. (4 classes for $175.)

Location and size: Held in a private kitchen in Oakland with a limit of 13.

Hours: All classes are from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. Some of the advanced classes, particularly Set D, may last as late as 11:00, with clean-up.

Attendance: The series of four classes is intended for one participant – sorry, but if you have to miss a class during a series you may not send someone in your place.

Details / Registration: To register for any of the four-week courses:

1. Contact Kasma by email (*or phone) to make sure that there is a space available. Do not mail payment until you have confirmation that there is a place available!
   *Email is the best way to register for a class.
2. We do ask for payment in advance to hold your spot so that people ready to commit can insure that they have a guaranteed place. Upon acceptance you will have 14 days to send us payment. As we are quite busy we can not always get back to you if we don't receive your check within 14 days, so if you haven't heard back from us in 14 days you need to get in touch with us or risk losing your spot to someone else. We're sorry, but we do not accept any credit card.
3. Class fee applies to a specific series only.

Cancellation Policy: If you wish to withdraw from a class series, a refund of $150 (class price less a $25 handling fee, which applies to transfers as well) will be made if you notify us at least 2 weeks (14 days) prior to the first class in the series. After that time, no money is refundable.

Make-up Policy: We do allow make-up of missed classes provided that you do give us two days notice before the class. All make-ups are on a space-available basis only. In other words, because the classes are usually full, we will contact someone on the make-up list when someone in a future session notifies us that he or she will miss a class.

We strongly recommend that you take all four classes of the series during the month in which you are enrolled. There is no guarantee if and/or when you will be able to make up a class. There are 10 people or more on the list to make up certain classes and some people still have not been able to make up a particular class after 2 years or more.

Hands-on: Classes are a combination of demonstration and hands-on. Class participants prepare all of the ingredients. In the beginning series, Kasma does much of the final assembly with students watching and, when possible, participating in the cooking. In the Intermediate and Advanced class, students do most of the cooking as well, with Kasma supervising.

Special Dietary Needs: In these Thai cooking classes, Kasma is unable to accommodate special dietary needs. Her classes present ways to make authentic Thai food, which includes all manner of dishes with all manner of ingredients, including shrimp, chicken, catfish, pork, beef and squid, to name a few. Fish sauce is used is nearly all the dishes. When teaching the classes, making substitutions or omissions is unfair to the majority of the students.

Clean-up: Because we keep the price of our classes below the going rate for hands-on classes and because the classes are held in a private home, all class members put in their share of kitchen clean-up during and after the class. With everyone helping it takes a surprisingly little amount of time!

Communication Note: It is your responsibility to make sure that we have a current email address and phone number for you. We do send class information and reminders about the class – if we are unable to reach you and you have not marked your calendar you may end up unnecessarily missing a class.

Class size is limited! register early!

Options:  Class schedules   |  Menus   |  Testimonials  |  Details / Registration   |  Brochure in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format |  Contact Kasma |  Return to top  

A Note on Food

Kasma believes strongly in the value of traditional and traditionally raised (organic) whole foods. Whenever possible, the produce used in our classes is organic – unfortunately, many Asian herbs and vegetables are not available as organically-raised produce.

With rare exceptions – for a few cuts of meat that are used in dishes in advanced classes, we need to use cuts unavailable in western markets – our pork is either organic from Canada or raised naturally by Niman Ranch. When possible we purchase grass-fed beef and when unavailable we purchase beef from either Niman Ranch or another provider who says they use no antibiotics or hormones. Kasma mostly either the organic Rosie hens for her chickens or Happy Dans (no antibiotics or hormones).

Kasma is a strong supporter of The Weston A. Price Foundation. We recommend a thorough perusal of the great information on their website as an antidote to the incredibly inaccurate information about food and health that we are normally given. You can read a summary of Price's Dietary Wisdom on our site.

A Note on Vegetarian Classes

We frequently receive requests asking if Kasma teaches vegetarian Thai classes. She does not. What she teaches is traditional, authentic Thai cooking and in Thailand there is not much of a vegetarian tradition, aside from a very small Buddhist sect, far outside of mainstream Thai cuisine. The most important food in Thailand, after rice, is seafood. (See Chapter 2, A Seafood Culture, from Kasma's book Dancing Shrimp.) There is an old Thai proverb that says: "To eat rice is to eat fish." Probably the most important single ingredient in Thai cooking is fish sauce.

If you are a vegetarian these classes may or may not be appropriate for you. If you eat fish and seafood of all kinds (particularly fin fish, shrimp and squid / cuttlefish) you should have no problem taking the classes, getting enough to eat and participating in many of the exercises in harmonizing flavors that lie at the heart of Kasma's teaching; there will be many dishes that you will not be able to eat or taste, however. If you are a vegan or do not eat fish and shellfish, these classes are not for you as you would be unable to taste any of the food or participate in any of the tasting exercises. Kasma does not provide information about "substitutes" that would allow a vegan to adapt her recipes because, to her, there are no substitutes if you want authentic Thai flavors and authentic Thai food.

Many people think that because Thailand is a Buddhist country that there is a strong vegetarian tradition. This is not the case. Just as among devout Tibetan Buddhists, Thai monks and religious lay Buddhists eat a wide variety of meats and seafoods. We invite you to read the story of Dancing Shrimp to understand some of the Thai attitude toward eating living food. The following quote is from page 165 of Kasma's book It Rains Fishes:

Most indigenous cultures of the world hold a deep respect for the spirit of the animal that is slaughtered for food. They observe that humans do not exist on their own accord without the existence of everything else, and because all living things must eat to live, something must die in order that life can be sustained. Life and death are inextricably intertwined and inseparable. Death, as such, is never final as the spirit of the food that has sacrificed its life continues to live on in the body of another form of life. The slaughtering of animals for food, therefore, becomes a ritualistic act, done with much reverence and a depth of understanding of the interrelationship between life and death.

In midday meal ceremonies held in some Thai monasteries, the meal is prefaced with a prayer, inviting the spirits of the life forms that have been sacrificed for food, to live on and bless the people who partake of them. The monks pray to be worthy of the food, to become healthy and strong and to use the vitality gained for the benefit of all sentient beings.

Options:  Class schedules   |  Menus   |  Testimonials  |  Details / Registration   |  Brochure in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format |  Contact Kasma |  Return to top  

Thai Class (Series) Description

Beginning Thai Cooking Class

Thai cooking is a creative process that is simple and a lot of fun. In this beginner's course, you will learn the basic techniques and become familiar with the fresh herbs, spices, and other ingredients which make Thai food delightfully tasty – as well as nutritious and cleansing. Over the four weeks we will explore different ways to blend and balance the varied flavors to create a stimulating array of unique tastes. Through demonstration and hands-on experience, we will prepare to dine together on an assortment of exquisite dishes, from hot and sour soup and curries to coconut desserts. Series also includes a comprehensive list of local Asian markets that carry all the Thai ingredients you need to make delicious, mouth-watering Thai food. Click here for the beginning class menus.

"Loha-Unchit offers four-session hands-on beginning and intermediate classes in Thai cooking which will demystify the process for any student. Price-wise probably the best bargain of them all, her classes teach students to feel comfortable with the ingredients and not be overly dependent on recipes."

– Formerly on a "Sally's Place" listing of Kasma's classes in her listing of "Cooking Schools: Continuing Education and Just Plain Fun Learning Experiences."

Options:  Class schedules   |  Beginning class menus   |  Testimonials  |  Details / Registration   |  Gift certificates   |  Brochure in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format |  Contact Kasma |  Return to top  

Intermediate Thai Cooking Class

For those who have completed the beginning class and have learned to appreciate the intricacies of the cuisine, this four-week series introduces additional techniques and ingredients and offers another set of favorite Thai dishes to add even more variety to your already interesting diet. The course covers in greater depth the creative processes of combining and blending flavors to achieve new balances. We will explore traditional methods of food preparation and their therapeutic value, particularly the use of the mortar and pestle to pound and grind herbs and spices to enhance their flavors and nutrition. A sampling of the menu: som tum (green papaya salad), gkaeng som(vegetable and seafood chowder), tod mon (spiced fish cakes), panaeng curry, grilled fish with chili-tamarind sauce, spicy mussels salad, satay with peanut sauce, coconut tapioca pudding, fried bananas . . . We'll make everything from scratch with the freshest possible ingredients. Click here for the intermediate class menus.

Options:  Class schedules   |  Intermediate class menus   |  Testimonials  |  Details /Registration   |  Gift certificates   |  Brochure in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format |  Contact Kasma |  Return to top  

Advanced Thai Cooking Class

Once you have completed the beginning and intermediate series, there are still exciting things to learn. Thai cuisine is really quite varied and there are many dishes popular in Thailand that are little known here. Kasma also offers several advanced series: at this time there are seven menu sets – Set A, B, C, D, E, F & G. It is recommended (but not necessary) that you take Set A first: we do require that your first two advanced classes be from among A, B, or C. In advanced classes you are exposed to the incredible array of Thai cuisine as you continue refining your techniques and learning delightful new dishes. Kasma's husband, Michael, helped pick these classes: they contain some of his favorite dishes. Click here for the advanced class menus.

Options:  Advanced class menus   |  Contact Kasma |  Return to top  

Gift Certificates

Gift certificates (good for one year) are available for any of the class series. Please Contact Kasma.

By the way, my wife told me that she really loved Kasma's class. And I can confirm that she really did learn some wonderful skills – she has already made about six of the dishes she learned in the class (entrees and desserts) and every one was fantastic! I think this is the best present I ever gave her since I get to enjoy it, too.

– Steve, in Albany, who gave his wife the beginning Series as a present.

Options:  Class schedules   |  Menus   |  Testimonials  |  Details / Registration   |  Brochure in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format |  Contact Kasma |  Return to top  

You might enjoy reading an article by Kasma's husband on Learning to Cook Thai.

About this site
Drawings Copyright © 1995 Margaret DeJong. All rights reserved.
Photograph #1 Copyright © 2005 Jim Block. All rights reserved. Visit www.jimblock.com
Photograph #2 Copyright © 2003 Bob Sogge. All rights reserved.
Photograph #3 (of Kasma) Copyright © 2000 Michael Babcock. All rights reserved.
All material on this website is Copyright © 1995 to 2008 Kasma Loha-unchit. All rights reserved.
For comments, feedback or questions, contact Kasma.
Last Updated 28 May 2008.