The one thing that I really wanted to do during our six-month sojourn around the world was a Thai cookery course. I love Thai food and I was dying to find out the secrets of what makes a Thai green curry so delicious. So, I signed up for a one-day course, hoping to get in touch with my inner Nigella! I left Rob in the bed (despite his promises to get up with me to see me off!), got a lift to the nearby town of Bo Sang and then hoped on a songthaew (a pickup truck with a makeshift roof on it) into Chiang Mai. I was greeted by Tu, a young Thai girl, who would be the tutor for the day. There were two other people taking the course for the day, a Danish girl and an American guy. We were all delighted that the group was small as it meant that we would receive more attention and guidance from Tu.
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| The Masterchefs |
Tu first took us to a traditional Thai market where she showed us and explained about various different fruits, vegetables, rice, noodles and tofu made in Thai cooking. Who knew that there were so many types of tofu - egg tofu, wet tofu, dry tofu, white tofu; different noodles - egg noodles, rice noodles; galangal is a type of ginger; aubergines can also look like peas and also be the size of mandarins; chillis come in many shapes and sizes; mushrooms can look like elephant ears. We spent an hour wandering around the market choosing the vegetables that we would be using in the cooking. It was then time to make our way to the cookery school where the real work was about to begin.
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| Locals hard at work |
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| A jolly customer |
Once we arrived we had to choose what we wanted to cook. After a lot of thought and mind changing, Claire's menu would be as follows:
Soup - Tofu & Vegetable soup
Starter - Banana Fritters
Stir Fry - Chicken and Cashew Nuts
Curry Paste - Red Curry
Main Course - Thai Red Curry
Dessert - Sticky Rice with Mango
...and off we went to work!
For each course we were shown what ingredients to use, how to prepare them and how to cook them properly. Tu couldn't have been any more the opposite of Gordon Ramsey if she wanted to; she was great!
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| The ingredients |
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| Tu with elephant ear mushroom |
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| Chopping... |
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| ...and pummelling... |
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| ...sizzling... |
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| ...and serving |
Then it was time to sample our creations and we shared the goodies so we could taste dishes that another person had cooked.
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| Tofu & Vegetables Soup |
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| Chicken & Cashew Nuts Stir Fry |
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| Banana Fritters & Spring Rolls |
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| Thai Red Curry with Chicken |
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| Sticky Rice with Mango |
Everything was delicious, no exaggeration. There were some leftovers, which were brought home to Rob, who gobbled them up (maybe he was being nice though!). I can't believe I cooked up these creations that are suitable for other people's safe consumption! Looking forward to throwing a couple of dinner parties (Thai food only); just bring the vino!
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