Well, not sure if I will remember it once I get home, but still it was worth going to see and learn how to cook basic Thai meals. Instead of signing up the 1 day coking class in the city, I found a leaflet with Thai cooking class on the organic farm 16km from Chiang Mai and I signed for that one. There were only 4 of us and it was very relaxing and educational.
We went first to the open market for some freshly squeezed coconut milk and cream (ingredient for our curry and dessert) and fish sauce (for Phad Thai). The market was usual bustling Asian market with neatly presented fresh vegetables, dozens of rice variants, meat, fish, frogs, shells, already prepared food in plastic bags…
After the market we headed towards the organic farm. It was a small and well maintained farm with allot of open space area for cooking and small pond in which we saw few snakes swimming (after that walking around the farm was not so relaxed, with eyes wide open and fixed mostly to the ground).
We went to our working tables outside and started to chop the ingredients for our own freshly prepared curry paste. The knife was really professional, but my chopping wasn’t, so I cut my finger after the first minute of trying to chop like Oliver! It looks much easier then it actually is!
I was surprised by how easy and fast meals can be prepared. I was also surprised on how delicious it tastes, even though I prepared it for the first time. So, we were cooking Tofu curry (vegetarian version of chicken curry), stir-fried tofu with vegetables and cashew nuts, papaya salad, phad thai (traditional Thai noodles) and delicious desert sticky rice with coconut cream and Mango! MLJAC!
For those of you that are now drooling – I HAVE THE RECIPEE BOOK WITH ME!
Nevertheless, you will need to wait for some time...
Talking about food, the Thai cuisine is delicious, tasty, mostly light and easy to prepare. Steam, fried rice or rice noodles served in thousands of variations – stirred / fried veggies, tofu, chicken, beef, pork, sea food. Then chicken, pork, beef, tofu curries, variations of noodle soups (which are fast and light way to fill your stomach)… I usually like to eat on the numerous food stalls on the streets and open markets and rarely could I failed with having good and tasty meal.
The only difficulty is (as everywhere else in SI Asia) enormous amount of chilly they are consuming, and if you are not use to it... oh, well, you will have to. Until my stomach will start appreciating such hot and spicy food, I am everyday putting more spices in the meal, to gradually adjust my digestion and tong being burned! It is actually very good, but you need to be prepared with carrying with you wherever you go the essentials – water (although it is not really helping, but physiologically it does) and toilet paper!
