One of the highlights of our Hua Hin trip was the Thai Cooking Class that we did at Wora Bura with the Executive Chef Mr. Mongkol Raksakiettisak. As the resort wasn't very busy, we ended up being the only people in the class which made the experience even better. We met the Chef the day before and selected the four dishes that we would make with him. They were...(in English)...Green Curry with Chicken, Sarong Prawns, Beef Satay with Peanut Sauce and Pad Thai (as you can see we went for the classics!).
The next morning we met the Chef and then we went by motorized tuk tuk to the Tesco Lotus and we went around with him and he pointed out commonly used Thai ingredients and how to pick good ones (most importantly for us was just seeing what they were supposed to look like!). We looked at some fruits (kind of hairy things along with pink & green dragonfruit) and lemongrass and sea bass and talked about thick and thin coconut milk.
We went back to the resort and got ready and then it was time to cook! We cooked outside - amazing set up with all the ingredients ready and everything. The Chef and the two sous chefs were on hand to help out as the Chef would show us the key steps and then we would do them ourselves.
The green curry was interesting as the chicken is cooked in the coconut milk and I was surprised that the milk doesn't burn. It was our first time cooking with green curry paste as well - Big C made his hot (lots of paste) but mine was milder. I am not sure that we will find Kaffir lime leaves in Doha though!
Next up was the beef satay which we threaded on to the kebabs after we tossed them in spices. As there wasn't charcoal grill of BBQ around we had to pan fry them but that worked out better than I thought it would! The Chef then walked us through making our own peanut sauce and it was actually easier than I thought it would be! C's ended up being darker and spicier - but I am pretty sure I could have bottled and sold mine! :)
The Sarong Prawns were next and unfortunately I couldn't eat them as they are prawns wrapped in egg noodles and then deep fried. Deep frying in a pan was interesting (had about 3 inch sides). Other than the egg noodles (rice or glass noodles could have been used instead), everything was gluten free!
Finally we did the Pad Thai and it was very interesting - overall it is a simple dish except for the sauce. The kitchen had actually pre-made one for us to use as it takes a while with lots of ingredients and is best if the sauces/flavours mix for a while. However, they still showed us how to make the sauce and I am intrigued by the amount of palm sugar in everything! Unfortunately my pan got too hot so some of my noodles stuck to the bottom - but C made a delicious Pad Thai!
We finished by eating our creations with the Chef (who kindly didn't really comment other than that we had done a good job!). Then they gave us copies of the recipes, spice kits, and certificates to commemorate our success!
Enjoy the pictures!
The next morning we met the Chef and then we went by motorized tuk tuk to the Tesco Lotus and we went around with him and he pointed out commonly used Thai ingredients and how to pick good ones (most importantly for us was just seeing what they were supposed to look like!). We looked at some fruits (kind of hairy things along with pink & green dragonfruit) and lemongrass and sea bass and talked about thick and thin coconut milk.
We went back to the resort and got ready and then it was time to cook! We cooked outside - amazing set up with all the ingredients ready and everything. The Chef and the two sous chefs were on hand to help out as the Chef would show us the key steps and then we would do them ourselves.
The green curry was interesting as the chicken is cooked in the coconut milk and I was surprised that the milk doesn't burn. It was our first time cooking with green curry paste as well - Big C made his hot (lots of paste) but mine was milder. I am not sure that we will find Kaffir lime leaves in Doha though!
Next up was the beef satay which we threaded on to the kebabs after we tossed them in spices. As there wasn't charcoal grill of BBQ around we had to pan fry them but that worked out better than I thought it would! The Chef then walked us through making our own peanut sauce and it was actually easier than I thought it would be! C's ended up being darker and spicier - but I am pretty sure I could have bottled and sold mine! :)
The Sarong Prawns were next and unfortunately I couldn't eat them as they are prawns wrapped in egg noodles and then deep fried. Deep frying in a pan was interesting (had about 3 inch sides). Other than the egg noodles (rice or glass noodles could have been used instead), everything was gluten free!
Finally we did the Pad Thai and it was very interesting - overall it is a simple dish except for the sauce. The kitchen had actually pre-made one for us to use as it takes a while with lots of ingredients and is best if the sauces/flavours mix for a while. However, they still showed us how to make the sauce and I am intrigued by the amount of palm sugar in everything! Unfortunately my pan got too hot so some of my noodles stuck to the bottom - but C made a delicious Pad Thai!
We finished by eating our creations with the Chef (who kindly didn't really comment other than that we had done a good job!). Then they gave us copies of the recipes, spice kits, and certificates to commemorate our success!
Enjoy the pictures!
C and Chef on the way to the market
Iron Chef style!
Practically a natural!
Ready to cook!
Team work!
I think my face is priceless here...say what?
Making the satay
With the finished satay
Green curry
Action shot
Making the Pad Thai
With the finished Pad Thai
More action shots
Ta da!
Passed! Thanks Chef!
Did you have your own personal photographer for this? haha
ReplyDeletewow awesome experience
ReplyDelete