Thai Orchid Cooking School.
"A" and her brother Kong created a Thai cooking school located in the old part of Chiang Mai. Fluent in English they guide a daily class of ten pupils in the art of home-style Thai cooking.
During the hands on class each student learns to make four to six courses out of twenty four options. Deciding which ones you want to learn how to make is the hardest part. I learned how to make: Fried Spring Rolls, Coconut Vegetable Soup, Pai Tad, Papaya Salad, Green Chili Pepper Tofu and Sticky Rice with Mango.
To say I was a "Chubby Budda" is putting it mildly.
Thai food is a soft explosion of delicate and spicy flavors, a balance of oh and ah. Lemon grass, cardamon, Keffir leaf, coconut deliciousness.
"A" and Kong, picked up their students at the varied hotels, hostels, or wherever they were staying. As French Husband was suffering from a massive allergic reaction to the pollution he stayed home while I ventured out to Thai Orchid Cooking School.
Each student receives a cookbook with the twenty four Thai Orchid recipes, plus spends part of the course at the market learning how to select Thai ingredients with "A" as their generous and knowledgable guide.
Throughout the course I kept thinking what French Husband was missing. And hoped to God that I could recreate some of it for him. Every bite I took made me determine to find the same fresh ingredients in France.
Amongst the overwhelming amount that "A" shared with us, her kind spirit made her cooking talent accessible.
Besides cooking Thai classics we also learned basic Thai cooking facts like the difference between coconut cream and milk.
How to cook and tell the difference between sticky rice and Jasmine rice.
How to cut Keffir leaves and lemon grass.
How to make steamed cakes in banana leaves.
How to roll a spring roll.
and….
How to use fresh chili peppers, and how to calculate how spicy a Thai dish is by how many chili peppers one can eat per dish. "A" said she liked at least five chili peppers per dish.
Coconut
Chili
Shallot
Ginger
Tamarind
Lemon grass
Oyster sauce
Fish oil
Soybean oil
Corriander
Rice
Peanuts
Shrimp
Lime,
Keffir Leaf….
After class I walked home… in fear that my pants might not be able to pass my toe tomorrow morning.
Though when I got home French Husband was ready to go out and eat. "Oh my Chubby Budda is starting to take on deeper meaning!"
While at the restaurant I tested my Thai cooking knowledge by asking the waiter how many chili peppers he liked per plate. He said, "Oh I like it spicy…. at least fifteen or more."
I teased, "Slightly spicy is your style?"
He seemed shocked, as if my comment implied that I liked my plate spicier than his. He asked, "And you how many do you like per plate?"
"Oh, me… well a mildly indecent half of one." I laughed.
He shook his head, "No, no, no, you cannot say you like Thai food unless you can eat at least five per plate."
"Okay that might be true, but I know that when eating a fish, I should give the cheek meat to the one I love as a sign of love. That is a Thai custom right?" I beamed.
He waved the menu at me, and walked away. I thought that meant I was Thai in his book. French Husband said, "No I think that it meant you are a goof ball."
Okay so I am a Chubby Goof Ball Budda. I can live with that.
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