Since we've been busy for a month volunteering at Chiang Mai International School on a regular work schedule and since we have finished our commitment, Monday of this week was our first real "vacation" day since our arrival in Chiang Mai. I had plans!! Weeks ago I had registered us to take a day-long cooking class at one of the many, many cooking schools in Chiang Mai. Lonely Planet, our veritable guide to all things Thai, calls Chiang Mai the "undisputed cooking course capital" of Thailand. We had collected lots of cooking school brochures and finally chose one, The Thai Kitchen Cookery Centre.
At 10 am, the school's sorng-taa-ou (which means 2 rows because of the 2 rows of benches inside the back of the truck) came to pick us up and take us to the food market. There we met the other 6 students signed up for the class. They were all young and friendly, and from such places as Finland, Holland, and Australia. All spoke English flawlessly.
At the market, we first were asked to select the dishes that we each wanted to prepare, followed by a quick tutorial in the fresh ingredients that would be needed. They included such things as 3 types of basil, 3 types of ginger, regular limes and bumpy, deep green Kaffir limes, as well as Thai eggplant, lemongrass, garlic, scallions, Chinese kale, long green beans, crispy bean sprout blossoms, and chili peppers (the smaller, the hotter!). We also watched a one-woman operation as she prepared fresh fish for grilling, first pulling a live fish from a tub of water beside her, clubbing it to death, then gutting and scaling it, before flopping it onto her hot grill.
Lots of wonderful fresh ingredients at the market.
From water to stove to plate - all in one spot!
Soon we were back in the sorng-taa-ou and on our way to the school, amidst introductions all around. The school classroom consisted of a large space, open on the sides to the fresh air, and filled with two rows of gas burners and woks, as well as big work tables - and a couple of hand-washing sinks, I was pleased to note. We were all given aprons and were grouped according what we had chosen to cook. Naturally Bruce and I had chosen different dishes so that we'd learn more. For a full-day - and full-belly!! - we could select 5 dishes to prepare and eat.
On your mark, get set, COOK!
My dishes included Thick Fried Noodles, Masaman Curry with Chicken, Fried Cashew Nuts with Chicken, Green Papaya Salad, and finally, last but surely not least, Sticky Rice with Mango for dessert. Ooh - la - la! What a delicious line-up! For each dish, a tray of ingredients was brought to each student, some all ready for the wok, such as cut-up chicken, while some required a bit of chopping and slicing from us. For some dishes, such as the curries and the papaya salad, we used mortar and pestles to mash spices and chilies, etc. Surprisingly, the small garlic cloves were minced with the skin on and cooked like that.
My tray of ingredients for thick fried noodles.
Mashing the masaman curry paste.
We would then move to the woks to cook our dish, after which we'd take it to a low table where we ate the fruits of our labor, together with our classmates. It was all amazingly well orchestrated to have us finish our dishes at about the same time so that we could eat together. Of course, lots of sharing took place, not only of food, but also stories and travel tips. It was a delightful day! When we finally finished at 3pm, we waddled out of the class, carrying cook books and certificates verifying our new status as cooks of Thai cuisine. Cooking group, get ready!
Now for the really fun part!
My new favorite dish: green papaya salad. It's crunchy and sweet and sour and salty - amazing!
I never would have guessed that this dish (mango and sticky rice with coconut cream sauce) could be so yummy!
At 10 am, the school's sorng-taa-ou (which means 2 rows because of the 2 rows of benches inside the back of the truck) came to pick us up and take us to the food market. There we met the other 6 students signed up for the class. They were all young and friendly, and from such places as Finland, Holland, and Australia. All spoke English flawlessly.
At the market, we first were asked to select the dishes that we each wanted to prepare, followed by a quick tutorial in the fresh ingredients that would be needed. They included such things as 3 types of basil, 3 types of ginger, regular limes and bumpy, deep green Kaffir limes, as well as Thai eggplant, lemongrass, garlic, scallions, Chinese kale, long green beans, crispy bean sprout blossoms, and chili peppers (the smaller, the hotter!). We also watched a one-woman operation as she prepared fresh fish for grilling, first pulling a live fish from a tub of water beside her, clubbing it to death, then gutting and scaling it, before flopping it onto her hot grill.
Lots of wonderful fresh ingredients at the market.
From water to stove to plate - all in one spot!
Soon we were back in the sorng-taa-ou and on our way to the school, amidst introductions all around. The school classroom consisted of a large space, open on the sides to the fresh air, and filled with two rows of gas burners and woks, as well as big work tables - and a couple of hand-washing sinks, I was pleased to note. We were all given aprons and were grouped according what we had chosen to cook. Naturally Bruce and I had chosen different dishes so that we'd learn more. For a full-day - and full-belly!! - we could select 5 dishes to prepare and eat.
On your mark, get set, COOK!
My dishes included Thick Fried Noodles, Masaman Curry with Chicken, Fried Cashew Nuts with Chicken, Green Papaya Salad, and finally, last but surely not least, Sticky Rice with Mango for dessert. Ooh - la - la! What a delicious line-up! For each dish, a tray of ingredients was brought to each student, some all ready for the wok, such as cut-up chicken, while some required a bit of chopping and slicing from us. For some dishes, such as the curries and the papaya salad, we used mortar and pestles to mash spices and chilies, etc. Surprisingly, the small garlic cloves were minced with the skin on and cooked like that.
My tray of ingredients for thick fried noodles.
Mashing the masaman curry paste.
We would then move to the woks to cook our dish, after which we'd take it to a low table where we ate the fruits of our labor, together with our classmates. It was all amazingly well orchestrated to have us finish our dishes at about the same time so that we could eat together. Of course, lots of sharing took place, not only of food, but also stories and travel tips. It was a delightful day! When we finally finished at 3pm, we waddled out of the class, carrying cook books and certificates verifying our new status as cooks of Thai cuisine. Cooking group, get ready!
Now for the really fun part!
My new favorite dish: green papaya salad. It's crunchy and sweet and sour and salty - amazing!
I never would have guessed that this dish (mango and sticky rice with coconut cream sauce) could be so yummy!
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