The food here in Thailand is incredible. Even the smallest hole in the wall noodle joint serves soups that are elegantly composed and rich with varied flavors that tease the tongue. (Hard to be a vegetarian here, however, also there are more tofu options than there were earlier, I guess.)
Last night five of us took a cooking class with a woman named Yui (who just recorded a show for the cooking network!). A great teacher, she learned her English by going to lots of English movies with English subtitles. Her English was very good.
She taught us how to make Panang Curry, Massuman Curry and Pad Pong Curry. She has a cooking school set up at her home with eight gas burners, woks and cooking stations outside under a veranda. First she cooked for us, walking through each step of the process and talking about the combinations of creamy, salty, spicy and sweet that are at the heart of all Thai cooking.
Then we each took our spots at our own woks and cooked an individual serving of the same dish. And then we got to EAT! Yum. We learned to cook Panang Curry, Massuman Curry and Pad Pong Curry. The last is my favorite. It's a northern Thai specialty, most often made with crab. They use soft-shelled crab and put the pieces in shell and all; we'd have to use shelled dungeness, which also would be declicious.
Before the class started she walked us through the vegetable market, the oldest in N. Thailand, and gave us an educational walk through all the varied vegetables and spices. I know that many of the things we saw aren't readily available in Bellingham, but some are and some can be found in Vancouver.
Very educational and LOTS of fun. She also gave each of us a cookcook, so once I get home I plan to host a Thai evening.
Last night five of us took a cooking class with a woman named Yui (who just recorded a show for the cooking network!). A great teacher, she learned her English by going to lots of English movies with English subtitles. Her English was very good.
She taught us how to make Panang Curry, Massuman Curry and Pad Pong Curry. She has a cooking school set up at her home with eight gas burners, woks and cooking stations outside under a veranda. First she cooked for us, walking through each step of the process and talking about the combinations of creamy, salty, spicy and sweet that are at the heart of all Thai cooking.
Then we each took our spots at our own woks and cooked an individual serving of the same dish. And then we got to EAT! Yum. We learned to cook Panang Curry, Massuman Curry and Pad Pong Curry. The last is my favorite. It's a northern Thai specialty, most often made with crab. They use soft-shelled crab and put the pieces in shell and all; we'd have to use shelled dungeness, which also would be declicious.
Before the class started she walked us through the vegetable market, the oldest in N. Thailand, and gave us an educational walk through all the varied vegetables and spices. I know that many of the things we saw aren't readily available in Bellingham, but some are and some can be found in Vancouver.
Very educational and LOTS of fun. She also gave each of us a cookcook, so once I get home I plan to host a Thai evening.
2 comments:
Thanks for keeping us up on your trip. I'm a Western Alumn and my g-son is with the Spring Street students. April
Oh golly, oh golly...ALG...food? Glad to read you're doing well! -Anni
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