"Everything bang bang!" Mrs. Ya cried. So we pounded roots and vegetables with what looked like a heavy wooden fish whacker to break the pieces open and let the flavours out. In my case, it was letting the food out, onto the floor or shooting cloves at the student across from me.
"In Laos, crab still walking," Mrs. Ya continues as her students work. "Put in bowl and pound, pound, pound. Lime peel! Chop, chop!"
We learned the four Thai curries -- red, yellow, green, and panang -- and made them each from scratch, even grinding coriander and cumin seeds with a mortar and pestle. "Pound, pound!"
The joy of cooking
Everyone completed a separate dish with the woks at the gas stoves so that we were able to see a variety of dishes from soups to stir fries and the classic fried noodles, Pad Thai. The recipes were already written out so no one had to stop to take notes; it was all hands-on cooking from beginning to end. We learned many secrets as well, including using coconut milk as an oil substitute in many of Mrs. Ya's dishes.
As if the joy of cooking wasn't enough, you also have the pleasure of having one of Mrs. Ya's assistants following you around, picking up dishes, cleaning up spills, and finally, setting the table with the afternoon's efforts. Graduation involves sitting down to a massive homemade buffet of Thai dishes.
But as Mrs. Ya reassured us, "Thai cooking no make you fat. I'm fat because I eat one day, 54 times!"
Yellow Curry Pineapple and Shrimp -- Recipe
The following recipe is just a sample from Mrs. Ya's repertoire. If you want more (and a diploma), get that ticket to Bangkok!
Yellow Curry Pineapple and Shrimp
300g prawns (shelled and deveined)
2.5 cups coconut milk
1 tbsp yellow curry paste
300g shallots
200g pineapple
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp palm sugar
1 pinch salt
4 or 5 Kaffir lime leaves
Fry curry paste in coconut milk until fragrant. Reduce heat and add pineapple, shallots, fish sauce, sugar, salt and lime leaves.
Then add shrimp, stir for two minutes and add 2 tbsp of coconut cream at the end of cooking. Serve with rice.
For more information on Mrs. Ya's Thai cooking classes, visit www.thaicookeryschool.net
E-mail: Krabicookeryschool@hotmail.com
Telephone: 668-1979-0677
Address: 269 Moo. 2
Aonang, Krabi 81000
Thailand
Note: It's best to make a reservation before your trip but Mrs. Ya admits she doesn't answer e-mail much. Most travellers book just one or two days before the class. Same-day classes are possible, but if you don't want to be heading home and ordering out, plan ahead. Morning, afternoon and all-day courses are available, and the minimum class size is two people.
See Kevin's Thai cooking school photos.
Page 2 of 2
|
more articles
