Relish

Relish

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Blue Elephant cooking school

I am not the world’s greatest cook, it’s a fact I’m not ashamed to admit... it’s not not that I don’t like cooking, it’s just that I haven’t got the same passion for it as I do for crafting.My daily dinners usually exist of quick and easy meals, which makes me a great fan of Jamie Oliver’s 20 minute meals.

So when I was in Bangkok last month I thought I’d take the opportunity to take a class at the Blue Elephant’s cooking school, something I’ve wanted to do for a long time...

I took a half day course and choose for the morning one as that particular class pays a visit to the local market. We all got on the skytrain and after arriving at the destination we received a guided tour around all the stalls. We were shown mangosteen, galangal as well as local fish and pretty much every spice used in the Thai kitchen.
















We finished off our market tour with an iced coffee, a Thai frappucino if you like and headed back to the skytrain station.

Once back in the school we were given a demonstration of all the dishes we were about to make before heading to the kitchen on our mission...

We made 4 different dishes of which my favourite was the Tom Yam Koong, a hot and sour soup with prawns.

For 1 person you’ll need:

                  a small pieces of bird’s eye chilli
                  1 stem of coriander root
                  4 slices of galangal, thinly sliced
                  1 stem of lemongrass, crushed
                  1 kaffir lime leaf
                  2 pieces of straw mushrooms, quartered
                    cut
                  3 prawns,unshelled deveined and headless
                     but keep the tail attached
                  250g of chicken stock


For the seasoning:

                  1,5 tablespoons of fish sauce
                  1 tablespoon of lime juice
                  0,5 teaspoon Thai roasted red chilli paste
                  0,25 teaspoon of sugar

Garnishing:

                  Coriander leaves


Method:

                 1.In a saucepan on medium heat: bring the       
                    stock to a boil
                 2.Add the sliced galangal, lemongrass, torn
                    kaffir leaves and crushed coriander.
                    Continue to a boil.
                 3.Add the mushrooms, prawns, fish sauce,
                    sugar, and Thai roasted chilli paste and
                    simmer a bit.
                 4.Turn off the heat and add the crushed
                    chillies and lime juice. remove the
                    Coriander root before serving in a soup
                    bowl.
                 5.Garnish with coriander leaves.













 

Most of the ingredients will be available from your local Asian supermarket however they can be replaced or even left out with an equally tasty result.


Our day at the Blue Elephant cooking school ended with our own menu in the restaurant.














 

I had a fantastic time and learned a thing or two about Thai cooking. I would definitely recommend this course to anyone whose seen enough temples in Bangkok and consider doing it over again as each day of the week different dishes are taught.

For more information on the Blue Elephant cooking school check out www.blueelephant.com

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