More Thai Cooking Classes

I attended two Thai Cooking Classes today.

The morning class included students from the USA,





South Africa and Singapore.









Our Chef for the AM class was Nam, which means water in Thai. On the right is her assistant Vicky. Nam was the Chef for my first class I took a few years ago. She is truly a gifted Chef with an infectious laugh that adds a tremendous amount of joy to the learning experience. She explains everything in detail and always takes time to give options for those of us who live outside Thailand and may not be able to obtain the ingredients year around - or not at all - and need substitutes.


The first dish was a dessert, Tab Tim Grobb (Crunchy Ruby). It is Water Chestnuts in Coconut Milk. Anyone who knows me knows I detest coconut meat as in candies, cakes or cookies. But this totally blew me away, as does other dishes where the milk and cream is cooked. I think even my daughter, who shares the same "I hate Coconut" Gene would agree, this stuff is great. The red colouring on the water chestnuts is from soaking them in Grenadine. After that they are floured with tapioca boiled in water, then immediately placed in cold (ice) water. This gives them a jelly like coating over crunchy texture of the chestnut itself. Add in small cubes of ice and enjoy! We prepared this dish first and set it aside to eat with our last course.

We also learned how to make fresh coconut milk & cream. We first used the hand grater, then we were shown how to use the "Rabbit". This is a wooden carving of a rabbit's body. It is made to form a small seat. At the front, coming out of the rabbit's mouth is a metal poll. The tip of the poll is formed into a loop with a sawtooth edge. One takes 1/2 a shell of coconut and rubs it against the sawtooth edge, flaking off the meat. Here is Tamika grating a coconut using "the Rabbit". The grated coconut was then hand mixed with water and strained thru cheese-cloth. If left to sit for a while, the cream floats to the top.






Next we prepared Tod Man Pla (Deep Fried Fish Cakes). Before frying the fish, Thai Basil is added in large quantities to the oil. This not only gives the oil a fragrance, it fries the basil making it crunchy and very delicious.




Next came one of my favorites Tom Kah Gai (Chicken in Galangal and Coconut Milk). Galangal is known as Thai Ginger. It is milder than regular ginger. Also the coconut milk cuts the heat from the peppers making this a smooth dish, even those who may not care for the typical spiciness of Thai food.




And for the last dish we prepared the well known Pad Thai (Thai Stir fry). This dish is one of the most well known if not the most requested by foreigners both in Thailand and outside Thailand.






Students for the afternoon class were 6 ladies. One (South Africa) remained from the morning sessions as I did. The others ranged from N. Carolina, Texas, Australia and Estonia.





Our first dish was incredibly fun to make. Gai Hor Bai Toey (Chicken wrapped in Pandanus Leaves). The chicken is marinated in oyster sauce and other spices, then wrapped in pandanus leaves, deep fried and served with a sweet soy sauce and roasted white sesame seeds. It is pictured on the upper right. Next we prepared one of my favorites Som Tam Ma-La-Kor (Papaya Salad). Both were served together during our break.



After the break we learned how to prepare Goong Nam Ma-Kam (Prawn in Tamarind Sauce).





And last but not least, Gang Pehd Ped Yang (Rosted Duck in Red Curry). Again, another one of my favorites.









At the end of the 2nd class I was exhausted and very full, even though I had only eaten small portions. It was rewarding to engage with new people from new places and learning new taste treats.