Wok envy

What else is there to Thai cuisine??

High powered heat!!

I have WOK ENVY!!!!!!!!  It is really difficult to screw up Thai dishes when you have a constant source of heat to cook with.  I was in heaven with my giant gas burner.  This was not everyone's experience; many of the students found the extreme heat to be the most difficult aspect of the cooking proceedure.  Yes, arms and curry pastes were burned!!

Fresh, local ingredients

For those who want more information on: Ingredients used in Thai food

All the ingredients were exquisitely fresh from Sompon's vast garden or the local market.   

The work stations were perfect for preparing Thai food.

Each student had a 'volcano' wok, cutting board, razor knife and plenty of workspace .

There were 4 Thai assistant chefs for every 10 students!!!  Imagine how much that would cost in N. America!!

I have to admit that the chef is important in the cooking process, but in Thai cuisine the condiments are as equally vital!  I have eaten dishes prepared by cooks in restaurants in N. America that have used copied sauce brands (oyster sauce, fish sauce, light soy sauce).  To me these taste like they are missing something.  It is worth spending the money for the higher quality brand.

Prep your ingredients before you start cooking anything!!

All of the ingredients need to be prepared before you start any dish.  This is an easy task when you have 5 THai assistnats running around cutting, slicing, soaking, grating etc.  I felt utterly spoiled!

Creating the right consistency for a delectable stirfry is not as easy as it seems.  The vegetables need to be cut into similar shapes to ensure that they will cook at the same speed.  The meat, if using any, needs to be fried first with the garlic.  And the the heat should remain high to allow for the vegetable's moisture to evaporate before it develops into a steaming soup.  It is all about timing and preparation!!!

I discovered that when you are stirfrying meats it is better to marinate the meat (pork, chicken, shrimp, beef) before you start frying in the garlic and oil.  For my chicken with ginger I mixed oyster sauce, fish sauce and pepper with the meat and let it stand for 5 mins before I fried it with the veg and ginger. 

**For a crispy texture add a pinch of cornstarch to your marinade.

What is that ? Do I smell a large ego in the kitchen?

I found Sompon to be like many other trained chefs.  He took himself quite seriously and had a very high opinion of his approach to food.  He occasionally broke up his monotonous teaching approach with some dry humor, but in general I have to say that I preferred learning from his sous-chefs.  I noticed that Sompon played good cop- bad cop with his employees.  When he left the room they would make fun of his monotonous tone and rigid stance, but when he returned to the room their smiles would return and they dutifully followed his orders.  I am not sure if this was all an act, but it added some character to the cooking lessons.  Although Sompon carried out his demonstrations in a dictatorial manner he did provide a lot of insight into professional Thai cuisine.  The girls added the balance by making it their priority to be aware of the variations in their students abilities. Sompon's hiring strategy had been wise.  His staff were crucial in helping to create a learning environment that allowed all of the students to feel comfortable.

Wing or 'big momma' got her whole body into the cooking proceedure. 

Bonne used her sprightly energy to add some zest to the various recipes.  She kept reminding several of the male students to stop taking themselves so seriously!!

I made one major observation after the first day of lessons.  Teaching adults how to cook is not that different from teaching children.  Although children tend to ask more questions.  Adults mostly keep their inquiries to themselves and then get frustrated with the instructors when something goes wrong.  I wonder if this is an issue of ego or just our conditioning? 

I managed to spend my lunch breaks eating with the Thai staff and therefore got a earful, in Thai, about how it 'really' was teaching a group of foreigners to cook.  The sweet Thai smiles, that were present in the classroom, turned into some mocking sneers when the assistant chefs discussed how boring the falang were and how they could not believe how many times they had to repeat themselves when giving instructions.

Put some love into your food and enjoy yourself!!

From start to finish I could tell that Sompon had put his heart into this cooking school.  He was an incredibly hard working man who had devoted all of his energy into building a successful business.  On the last day he looked up from chopping a spring onion and smiled.  His grin spread from his dimples to his eyes.  The class was quietly watching he skilled actions.    I sighed to myself.  Hmmm, I realized that I may have been too hard on him.  Hey, Hopey give this guy a break.  He teaches these classes all day everyday and has been doing so for over 10 yrs.  It was obvious that he felt a deep connection to food.  And like me he wanted to share that passion with as many people as possible.

His parting comment was perfect.  "THai food, like any cuisine, does not taste sensational- no matter how skilled you are UNLESS you add some love to the dish."    This is true.  I too have been astounded by how dull, or off balance, my food tastes when my mood is dampened by something.

Comments

[Kelly]

Thanks for this Hopey, it was very interesting to read about your cooking classes. I hereby volunteer my tastebuds when you are home this spring, to try out your new repetoire of Thai cuisine! Take care.

[Robert Paterson]

Can't wait to see you next week dear Hopey
Your devoted da

[liebe]

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