After a breakfast (again) of rice porridge I am collected for the start of my five day cookery course held at the Chiang Mai Cookery School.
There are lots of people on the course but they split us up and half of us are driven out to the school owner's house in the equivalent of millionaire's row of Chiang Mai. It is a beautiful house with two large kitchen sections, two air conditioned class rooms and a communal eating area surrounded by a wonderful vegetable garden. Each student has their own gas burner and work station. First we see a demo on how to cook the dish and then we each attempt it. We have 6 dishes to cook each day and we get to eat them all! Each day also has a theme. Today the theme is Vegetable Carving.
Vegetable Carving
We are shown how to make a rose (out of a tomato), a lotus flower (out of a tomato) and a leaf (out of a carrot slice). After each demo we all have a go and are given tiny carving knives to use. I find it all very fiddly and don't really have the patience for it. As a result my creations are less than fit for purpose! I've included a photo of what the rose should look like (mine did NOT look like this!) however I have included a photo of my lotus flower and leaf. From a distance they look ok, however a lot more practice is needed.
Question is - do I buy a carving knife? I need the practice but will I really ever do this back home? Comments welcomed!
We then head to the classroom for our first demo. I've listed the dishes we made below with some comments. Photos are included for dishes that I remembered to photograph (the spring rolls were not mine).
Today's dishes
1. Clear soup with minced pork balls (Tom Jued)
Delicious, light and flavoursome - one of my favourites
2. Spring Rolls (Paw Pia Tord)
ok but a bit greasy for me. I need more practice at rolling them too.
3. Roast Duck Red Curry (Gaeng Phed Ped Yang)
Nice but a bit sweet for me (it has pineapple and grapes in it)
4. Chicken with Ginger (Gai Phad King)
Delicious and light but almost Chinese rather than Thai
5. Chicken in Pandanus Leaves (Gai Hor Bai Toey)
a yummy starter but quite fiddly to make the parcels. Would like to make again if my Thai grocer can import the leaves for me. The leaves impart a wonderful aroma to the marinated chicken inside the parcel.
6. Mango with Sticky Coconut Rice (Khao Neow Mamuang)
This is very moreish!
After the lesson, feeling very full, I go to a local hotel to use their lovely outdoor pool and swim a lot of lengths. In the walk there I discover that lots of food stalls set up in front of the nearby school at home time to offer kids snacks. The choice is very diverse (and very tempting). Even though I'm super full I still buy 3 pieces of fresh sushi because at 10p each, how could I refuse?
Later that evening on my walk home I'm still not hungry but I do pass a street vendor selling pork dim sum and I can't resist 20 baht worth, just to try them. I get a bag of about 10 which I munch on my walk. I justify it as at least I haven't had a full dinner.
Buy it!!!
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