Devour. FOOD & FROLICKS

A neat dollop of potently pink shrimp paste, glistening red chilli slivers, finely diced garlic and galangal, and a handful of cheeky shallots chopped with precision lit up the sterile silver bench, each perfectly portioned into tiny white ramekins. Immaculately peeled prawns lazed alongside satin white tubes of squid, accompanied by a lush bunch of sweet basil, a lone coriander stem and a naked, exceptionally yellow chunk of pumpkin. Evidently the kitchen hands that outnumbered the students had been diligent before class.
Taking a class at SITCA cooking school, Chaweng beach, is a fine way to spend an afternoon in Koh Samui, Thailand, where you are guaranteed to come away with much more than a recipe booklet, a Thai themed dinner party menu and a full belly. As a Thai cooking novice but general cooking enthusiast, I was astounded by the depth of knowledge that lay beyond the friendly greeting and chilled chrysanthemum tea. After flipping with anticipation through the recipes, my initial disappointment with the extent of preparation that had preceded the class was replaced with relief. The menu was ambitious with three main dishes, each of which was a meal in its own right. Forget gentrified pad thai, the draw card here was the less renowned yet deliciously complex “choo chee” seafood curry. Even the mild version (according to the heat barometer) of this spicy southern favorite will put an unaccustomed tourist’s pallet to a teary eyed test!
As I ground the choo chee into a fiery paste with all the strength I could muster, our teacher divulged the local origin of each ingredient, how and by whom it was harvested and its primary or periphery role in Thai cuisine. For an island whose economy once survived off coconut crops and fishing, its no wonder these two ingredients feature heavily in much of the local fare. After finishing our prep we zealously fired up the woks, ready to put this choo chee show on the road. The end result? Culinary success, tears and much joy.