I've now attended 3 Thai cooking lessons... so i'm basically a Pro!
When Jilly was here, we headed to the Silom Cooking School for an afternoon of Thai Cooking! I had so much fun the last few times, I simply had to introduce her to my new passion - Thai Cooking! After a manic shopping morning we arrived hungry and excited for what promised to be a fun and yummy afternoon!
Jilly made the menu that Kev and I did on our first lesson (Tom yum soup, Chicken pad thai, Thai green curry and mango with sticky rice) I was happy to do the same menu, but the lady at registration told me I was gonna cook something different and they had a special menu prepared just for me!
First up was Thai shrimp soup with butternut and mushrooms. This is a good dish for those who like the 'no spicy please' dishes. While still bursting with flavour, it doesn't take your breath away and have you grabbing the water bottle. The mortar, pestle and me mushed up shrimp and loads of black pepper into a paste, then added it to the wok with whole shrimp, coconut milk, chopped butternut, mushrooms and some green leafy thing that i forget and fish sauce. Flame on and voila... shrimp soup was served, very delicious...peppery...but delicious!
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| Shrimp Soup |
Next up was chicken and holy basil! (Holy basil - just love it...makes it seem as if the basil was grown by Angels! Holy!) I'd been dying to try this dish, so was super excited that i'd actually be making it from scratch! Minced chicken, onions, long beans, baby corns and of course the holiest of basils are tossed in the wok with fish sauce, garlic and oyster sauce! I added two chilies ( I was being brave and i'm starting to crave the spicy kick and upper lip sweat!) quick stir in the wok and there you have it...the 'holy' dish was ready to be served with a dolop of rice. It was yummy beyond yummy...maybe next time one chili thought! (I forget i'm still a beginner with the spicy side!)
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| Gai pad kra paw |
I've made green and red curry, next on the colour wheel was a yellow curry! We pounded the curry paste with chilis and tamarind paste, added it to the wok with chicken, potato and coconut milk. The smell was incredible and I couldn't wait to get it in my mouth...not as spicy as a green or red, sweeter too and super tasty....in fact this little yellow dish of yummy-ness takes the lead with the currys so far!
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| Kaeng ka ri gai |
Time for dessert - this was definitely the weirdest and most interesting dessert i have ever seen and made! We soaked yam (I had no clue what yam was!!! it's a plant thing... like a potato) in coloured syrup, then tossed it in flour, fried it up in boiling water then put it in iced water. Once chilled it was served in a bowl of coconut milk. It was certainly a colour fest for the eyes... very bright indeed! It tasted like jelly with a little piece of apple in the middle...i'm still undecided whether or not I liked it...but the coconut milk I loved and slurped that all up! Not sure i'll ever be whipping this dish up, but if ever I appear on Masterchef and i've gotta make it... i'll know what to do!
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Tub-Tim-Grob
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My tastebuds are alive and excited for the first time in my life! They have fallen in lust with Thai flavours and I can barely keep up with their demand! From someone who used to think pepper was too spicy... I am now indulging in crazy new flavours and awakening something inside my mouth (and stomach at times!) I never knew existed!!
We had so much fun and I can't recommend Silom Cooking School or Chef Jay highly enough (he was the cherry on top - just delightful!) We had a brilliant afternoon and I was super proud of Jilly - get ready Dad - she can now cook a mean Pad Thai and Green Curry!
