Thailand: Cooking Class
I really like to cook and was excited to see tons of cooking schools all over Chiang Mai. We took an all day class where shopped at the market, learned to cook five courses, and ate everything we made. It was rather hectic with everyone given lots of choices and instruction at the same time, but was great fun!
Most of the class was lots of collecting, chopping, slicing, and dicing the right foods, mixing the sauces, etc.
The cooking itself was done on a super hot wok and went super quick!
Chicken with basil
Tom kha gai soup
Thai beef salad was so refreshing – lots of raw veggies, tiny slivers of beef, and lots of lime juice!
Thai Beef Salad (Yam Neua)
David made the curry paste for his Khao Soi
Cooking and eating all day can tire a boy out
I’ve made curries before, but never made my own curry paste from scratch… requires lots of arm strength to pound the chilies and spices with the mortar and pestle.
Pleased with my green curry!
You probably don’t want to know how much sugar and coconut milk goes into sticky rice!
Thai Beef Salad Recipe (from templeofthai.com)
1 lb. decent quality steak, sirloin or other
10 (or more) fresh hot Thai chili peppers (prik kee noo), sliced crosswise very thin
2 large cloves garlic, sliced crosswise very thin
1 tbsp sugar
5 tbsp Thai fish sauce (Golden Boy brand is recommended)
5 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice (1 medium size lime)
12 sprigs fresh mint (optional), remove the leaves and discard the stems
1 small cucumber (seeds removed), peeled and sliced thin
2 to 3 shallots, sliced crosswise very thin or 1 small red onion, sliced very thin
3 or 4 sprigs cilantro, stems removed
Preparation
1. Grill or broil the steak until medium-rare. Trim off any fat. Cool and slice thin, into pieces approx. 2 inches across and 1/8 inch thick.
2. Mix garlic, chiles, fish sauce, lime juice, and sugar in a small bowl. Add the sliced meat and toss with the cucumbers and shallots. Taste and add more fish sauce if desired.
3. Garnish with cilantro. Serves 2 to 3 as an appetizer or as part of a meal.
Khao Soi Recipe (from food.com)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
2 tablespoons red curry paste or 2 tablespoons panang curry paste
¾ lb boneless chicken, cut in big bite-sized chunks
2 cups unsweetened coconut milk
1 ¾ cups chicken broth
2 teaspoons ground turmeric or 2 teaspoons curry powder
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce or 2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 lb fresh Chinese noodles or ½ lb spaghetti
1⁄3 cup coarsely chopped shallot
1⁄3 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
1⁄3 cup thinly sliced green onion
Directions:
1 Heat the vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat, and then add the garlic. Toss well and add the red curry paste, mashing and stirring to soften it in the oil, about 1 minute. Add the chicken and cook 1 to 2 minutes, tossing now and then to brown it evenly and mix it with the curry paste.
2 Add the coconut milk, chicken broth, turmeric, soy sauce, sugar and salt and stir well. Bring to a gentle boil and adjust heat to maintain a lively simmer. Cook about 10 minutes until meat is cooked through.
3 Stir in lime juice, remove from heat and cover to keep curry warm while you prepare the noodles.
4 Cook the noodles in a large pot of rapidly boiling water until tender but still firm, as little as 2 minutes for fresh noodles and 7 minutes or more for dried. Drain, rinse well in cold water, drain again and divide the noodles among individual serving bowls. Ladle on hot curry, and sprinkle each serving with the shallots, cilantro and green onions. Serve hot and garnish with crunchy noodle nests as noted in description if using.
