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Now We’re Cooking (+Photos)

Posted on July 18, 2007

One of the activities we’ve been most looking forward to on this trip is attending a cooking school in each of the countries or regions we visit. Today we started by doing a course at the Chiang Mai Thai Cookery School.

Our course began with a visit to the market to pick out (and learn about) ingredients. Then we traveled outside of town to the home of famous Thai chef Sompon Nabnian for the class itself. We saw an instructor prepare each of five dishes and then we tried our hand at them. The best part was eating the fruits of our labor as soon as we were finished. YUM!
The course has five menus depending on which day you attend. Our menu included Clear Soup With Minced Pork (delicious vegetable broth soup with pork balls, cilantro root, chinese celery and glass noodles - took about 5 min to prepare!), Spring Rolls (finally, I know how to make my own!), Red Curry with Duck (simply out of this world - included 3 different types of eggplant, grapes, and pineapple. Anyone who makes it to Edinburgh to stay with us is getting this dish one night!), Chicken With Ginger (v. easy stir fry that was fresh-tasting and healthy), Chicken in Pandanus Leaves (small parcels of breaded chicken wrapped in banana leaf type pouches - so good!), and finally Mango With Sticky Rice (special northern Thai/Laotian style rice meant to be eaten with hands [chewy and good!] with sweetened coconut milk and ripe mango & lightly dusted with sesame seeds). If anyone wants recipes, let me know and I will email you - they gave us a cookbook to take home that has substitutions for some of the more exotic ingredients.

I really had a ball (a sticky rice one) during the course and was surprised that everything was so quick and easy! Those of you who know my rep. in the kitchen might understand that I was a bit worried about being the dunce of the class, but it was really a breeze and so satisfying to eat what I made. I was thinking especially of Kerry, Jennifer, and Randy during class b/c I know you all would have LOVED it. Although all of you are probably at the “master class” level, which spans several days and basically furnishes you with enough knowledge to open a Thai restaurant back home!

We also met some really nice people on the course - Germans, Swiss, English, and the odd (v. odd) Scotsman. Based on this experience, I can’t wait for cooking class in other countries - especially Vietnam…

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