One of the “must do” activities that Helen wanted to do in Thailand was to do a Thai cookery class because she had always been a big fan of Thai cuisine as it always tasted so clean and fresh. So together with a girl called Masha from the Ukraine and Lesleigh from Australia, she and Lewis the Lion enrolled on a course in a Thai cookery school called “My Wok and Me” in Thong Sala on Koh Phangan.
The first thing that she had to do was to decide on three dishes: one starter and two mains. So she opted for:
* A coconut milk soup with chicken (Tom kha)
* A Thai red chicken curry with mixed vegetables (Kaeng phet) and
* A king prawn Thai style fried noodles (Phad Thai)
But first of all, these want-to-be chefs had to visit the local market with their teacher, Oi, so that they could buy their ingredients.
Lewis the Lion couldn’t believe how much fun he had there! His eyes nearly burst out of their sockets to see such a vast variety of fresh foods, many of which he’d never seen in his life! He was only glad that Oi was on hand to tell them what they all were.
Later back at the cookery school, she did a special tasting session before they started to cook where Lewis the Lion got to try some exotic fruits and foods, some for the first time:
* Mangosteens
* Langsats
* Rambutans
* Dragon fruit
* Rose apple
He also got to try some sticky sweet rice that was parceled up in bamboo leaves.
Lewis the Lion then sat back and enjoyed watching the chefs at work as they chopped the vegetables and prepared the fish and meats ready for cooking, with Oi guiding them along the way.
When they had everything ready, only then did they move next to the stoves to start cooking and Lewis the Lion was surprised at how quickly they then managed to rustle up this amazing smelling and tasting food. (Helen also told Lewis the Lion that one of the best things about this experience was that they didn’t even have to clean up: the staff at the cookery school did that for them. What a rare treat!).
Before long, the three chefs sat down to enjoy a true Thai feast. Helen told Lewis that she didn’t think she’d cooked more delicious food in her whole life: the ingredients were so fresh and flavoursome! She only hoped that she’d be able to recreate some of those dishes when she got back to the UK.
Here is a photo gallery of Lewis the Lion and Helen’s Thai cookery experience:
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- Lewis the Lion at the ‘My Wok and Me Thai Cookery School’
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- Lewis the Lion helps Helen to decide the Thai dishes she will cook
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- Lewis the Lion stands at the cookery preparation table
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- A key Thai ingredient: lemongrass
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- The teacher chooses some baby aubergines
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- Lewis the Lion inspects the wide variety of chillies
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- Lewis the Lion loves the colourful variety of vegetables on the market stall
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- Lewis sees that peas also form part of Thai cuisine
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- The cookery teacher selects some mangoes
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- Lewis the Lion learns about different types of noodles
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- Lewis the Lion sees a range of local fish
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- Lewis the Lion sees some different coloured eggs
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- Lewis the Lion sees some dried, cured fish in the market
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- Sweet rice parcels
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- Lewis the Lion sees some live eels in this Thai market
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- Cockroaches are used to flavour food!
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- Lewis the Lion loves the look of these dragon fruit and pineapples
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- Brightly coloured chickens together with fish
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- Banana and mango fritters
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- Lewis eyeballs a huge fish!
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- Lewis the Lion learns about Thai spices
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- Thai exotic fruit tasting: langsats, mangosteens and rose apples
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- Lewis the Lion is surprised by the inside of the dragon fruit
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- Lewis tries some rambutans, sweet rice and banana fritters
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- Lewis sees that Helen is ready to start cooking
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- Lewis the Lion and his fantastic Thai cookery teacher, Oi
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- The ingredients are prepared for the Chicken Red Thai Curry
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- Lewis sees the ingredients for the Prawn Pad-Thai
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- The Pad-Thai is now ready to be cooked
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- Lewis checks out some more Thai ingredients
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- Lewis the Lion watches on as the food is prepared
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- The chefs move into the kitchen
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- Lewis smells the flavours of the Thai Red Curry as it cooks
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- Lewis the Lion’s mouth waters at his Thai starter and main course: Chicken and coconut soup and Thai Red Curry
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- The chefs are excited to share their dishes
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- Lewis the Lion and Helen enjoy a real Thai feast
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- The chefs are proud of their Thai cooking achievements
Helen told Lewis the Lion that Thai food is one of her favourite international cuisines.
Do you have a favourite international cuisine? If so, what is it and why?
