Growing Herbs And Spices For Cooking In Chiangmai

[muchogra]

Recently, I have developed an interest in cooking. In the past few weeks, I have cooked many different kinds of food - Western and Asian. Everyday, my wife consumes the food I cook and says Numero Uno (?). Now, I cook for her and myself and she takes care of other chores. The food I cook and experiment, which obviously can't be consumed by just the two of us, she gives to her sister and family. I then get praised from them how delicious the foods are....Hmmm, must be a trick my wife plays on me? For me, it's immaterial since I enjoy it. When I owned eatery places in the States while going to school, it was just a job to make money. Now, it's for pleasure.

I want to grow some herbs and spices when I move up to our CM home. I know nothing on this subject. In fact, I don't know most of what they are called in any languages. Perhaps you can help?

[Nobelcat]

Last time I was in CM I emailed the folks at Funky Monkey (www.funkymonkeyhouse.com) and he provided a lot of advice about anything in CM. I didn't end up staying at their place (stayed at a recommendation of theirs though) but I did end up taking a cooking class they recommended (every hotel will give you a suggestion, but I liked these guys). The place I went to brought us to the local fresh market and showed us where to buy all the ingredients we would be cooking with. So long story short, I'd recommend you do the same and you can ask about how to grow them. I don't think it will be super difficult and I plan to do the same when I'm in CM next month.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Hurry up; going to be cool season which is the prime time to grow European herbs; like regular basil, rosemary, parsley, etc, etc. Seeds are easy to order online, also from abroad as they're so cheap to send by mail, and exempt from customs duty.

There are a billion forums out there exclusively about growing stuff. Or start with the things you want to grow and then google that; most info you find is for a North American climate, but if it says it'll grow in Florida then it'll grow here too, especially in the cool season, and/or under some shade cloth

[Nobelcat]

Isn't there one of the King's Gardens in Chiang Mai or reasonably close? I don't actually know what it's called, but I talked to a Thai and she was saying that the King supports agriculture in the north and that you should be able to buy specially bread seeds directly from them. The benefit is that these are adapted to grow well in Thailand (or I guess Florida). Anyone know if you can actually buy seeds or plants directly from them?

[kaptainrob]

Royal produce shop is on Suthep Road 30m west of Canal Road, inside CMU grounds. They sell loads of fresh herbs and organic produce although we now buy from Mae Hia market lady who also sources organic produce from the Royal project. She speaks excellent English too.

For planting/growing your own, I'd suggest a visit to Kamthieng plant market* to buy seedlings rather than starting from seed.

* Behind big Tesco on the Super Highway (north).

[MrBrad]

This might be helpful. Thanks to Wikipedia, here is a listing of Thai cooking ingredients: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Thai_ingredients

[muchogra]

This might be helpful. Thanks to Wikipedia, here is a listing of Thai cooking ingredients: http://en.wikipedia....hai_ingredients

Thanks for the excellent link, MrBrad. I have now learned many names, both in Thai and English, of different ingredients, vegetables, fruits, cuisines, etc. I'll use the link as a reference source.

Noblecat, welcome to CM and thanks for the heads up. You will probably find the link provided by MrBrad useful also. It helps learning more Thai words as long as we have chosen to live in this country. Happy living in CM, Noblecat!

[muchogra]

Hurry up; going to be cool season which is the prime time to grow European herbs; like regular basil, rosemary, parsley, etc, etc. Seeds are easy to order online, also from abroad as they're so cheap to send by mail, and exempt from customs duty.

There are a billion forums out there exclusively about growing stuff. Or start with the things you want to grow and then google that; most info you find is for a North American climate, but if it says it'll grow in Florida then it'll grow here too, especially in the cool season, and/or under some shade cloth

Winnie, that's exactly the type of information I'm looking for - what seasons to grow what in CM. I know there are heaps of information on the internet but I'm looking to grow simple stuff and am taking the easy route of asking in the forum in the hope that some CM expats may already be growing at their residences. It looks like most expats prefer eating out and not fond of cooking. Why are most great cooks male instead of female? Seems kind of strange since more females cook than males do. Gender discrimination when 5-, 6-star hotels hiring?

I'm going to the States for 2 weeks next month and I'll perhaps bring some good seeds back that are suitable for the CM weather. Any you can recomment?...not restricted to just food stuff, but also flowers and plants?

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kaptainrob, thanks for pointing me to the Kamtieng market. I will surely visit there. Like you've said, buying locally has the advantage of asking questions and seeking advices. I guess there might also be simple gardening tools available there?