Thetraveljunkie.org – The other day I attended a “Thailand Cooking Class” courtesy of Sampran Riverside, Nakhon Pathom – Thailand.
I am not a great cook. I love art and I love food, so I am the perfect travel junkie.
The class was at 10.30am, followed by lunch. I arrived, just in time, at a gorgeous little garden, with an outdoor kitchen at the back. It was completely fitted out as a professional cooking school.
There were 12 people, split into 3 groups.
I took a seat, and the first thing our chef said to the class was, “This is a hand’s on class! And You’re going to be cooking a 3 course meal today!”
I looked on the cooking benches and I saw piles of raw ingredients (all still packaged separately), chicken meat, shrimps, mushrooms, bags of different vegetables, herbs, bits of ginger, chilli, garlic, bottles of oil, sauces, plates, dishes…
Vegetables that needed to be washed, seafood that needed to be sliced, meat that needed to be marinated, herbs that needed to be chopped.
My heart sank. I closed my eyes and thought. OH. YES.
I looked around the room and saw that EVERYONE was happy, smiling and excited. They were keen, helpful, friendly, and I had a pang of guilt or inspiration.
Anyway, our team was making Kanom Paang Naa Kai (fried minced chicken on toast), Som Tam, Gai Yang (green papaya salad, grilled chicken), and Tom Yam Gong (spicy lemongrass soup with shrimps).
Each team followed a recipe, and many times the chef stopped everyone and gave us demonstrations and lots of tips.
I was actually blown away by how much I learnt! I picked up so many cooking tips!
Our chef and presenter was absolutely fabulous. He had such a great character, he was charming, funny and lively. He really brought the class to life and kept me interested and completely engaged the whole time he was talking and demonstrating.
There was a fantastic buzz in the air.
Actually, everyone was watching each other and talking to each other about cooking. But sometimes while you were doing something, the chef would turn everyone’s attention to you and what you were doing, and use you as part of the demonstration.
I am a control freak my own kitchen. I am relaxed and super confident in mostly everything I cook. I’m still certain it’ll be delicious.
So these were our final dishes.
Som Tam, Gai Yang – OK this one was probably my favourite, it was absolutely marvelous to eat. And I loved it.
Kanom Paang Naa Kai – These smelt incredible. My mouth was watering to get my teeth stuck into these. And they did not disappoint.
It was FREAKING AMAZING!! That Tom Yam Gong was soooooooo delicious.
We walked away with full bellies and all 3 recipes in hand.
I had such a great time!
It was a really wonderful way. The only way it could have been better was if I went with a friend, or a small group of friends.
A big thanks to the matters of taste team! You’ll be seeing me again!
xxx
Happy Sustainable Travels!
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