Cooking Thai food
Wesna Engelhart • February 16, 2019
Last year I received a cooking course for my birthday. I always wanted to learn how to cook Thai food, so I figured now would be a great time to collect. The Thai Kitchen Cookery Centre was established in 1995 en was the first to offer cooking courses to foreigners.
The market
The workshop started with an early visit to the market. Here our cooking class got to see and smell different vegetables and herbs that are used in the Thai kitchen. Our teacher explained the variety in ingredients that depict typical thai food. I saw various products I hadn't seen before and it was fantastic to learn what was actually in the different dishes I'd tasted already.
The dishes
Next it was time to start cooking. The first dish was a springroll. This was a group effort, we had to chop all the ingredients into tiny cubes for our filling. This specific springroll contained carrots, cabbage, tofu and bean sprouts.
After this, we individually made a Thai soup of our own choosing. I made a spicy Tom Yam Goong soup. I've tasted this soup before and always wanted to know how to make this myself, but the number of ingredients always made me think it was a complicated dish. However, it isn't at all. Preparation will take you about 10 minutes at most, as the ingredients don't need to be chopped very finely. The cooking time was also about 10 to 15 minutes. Here's my plate of ingredients (coconut milk and coconut cream were added to make a broth):
And this is the end result, a fragrant dish with the smell of coconut, lime, lemongrass and a hint of coriander, with fried spingrolls on the side:
Next it was on the our main dishes. I decided to make a red curry with tofu and Pad Thai, Thailand's national dish. The red curry was also a team effort. Everyone helped in chopping the ingredients for the curry paste as fine as possible. After that, it was time to create an even finer paste using the pestle and mortar. As most of us had European roots, there weren't a lot of chili's in the paste, but our teacher promised me some extra chili paste to spike up my dish if I wanted to:
Now it was time to start cooking. Using a wok I added first heated the curry paste in hot oil. As the smell got stronger I added the ingredients. And from this:
I created this, a red curry with tofu and Thai eggplant and Pad Thai:
It was the best Thai food ever, if I do say so myself. This experience was amazing. If you are ever in Chiang Mai and want to learn how to make authentic Thai dishes, make sure to find the Thai Kitchen Cookery Centre. These professionals will have even the most unexperienced cooks create magic in the kitchen, while having a lot of fun in the process (do not be tempted to crack an egg using your forehead, you will fail!). If you'd like the recipes, send me a message and I will gladly share them with you.
Every place in town is in walking distance, with the highest point in town, the That Chomsi stupa on mount Phousi, visible as a landmark from every point in town. Make sure you're in good shape before climbing the 300 steps up and be amazed by beautiful views of Luang Prabang.
The center of this town, in the north of Laos, is quiet and small. There is one main street, which you can easily walk in under 10 minutes. This is the street were you'll see most guesthouses, some combined with a restaurant. Though eco tourism is on the uprise in this area, you will not see mega hotels in this area, there is no party scene. Luang Namtha is for nature lovers that love to explore and come back to town to relax with a cold Beerlao (Lao beer).
From Chiang Mai a mini van will take you to Pai within 3 hours. Be prepared, these might feel like the 3 longest hours of your life as the bus will drive up a mountain containing a mere 762 curves. Motion sickness pills may help you survive the ride. If you’re feeling adventurous, there are several companies that rent out scooters for your ride from Chiang Mai to Pai and deliver your luggage for you for a reasonable price. This however is at your own risk. Along the way we encountered a transport van that lost some mattresses along the way and our own driver almost hit some tourists driving on the wrong side of the road. But the view up to Pai is beautiful. Along the way you will see deep valleys, large trees and blue skies. Like everything outside the major cities, it is quiet and picture perfect.
I took the nighttrain from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. The nighttrain is a great way to travel and buy time at the same time. If you have to sleep anyway, why not travel comfortably at the same time. After 12 hours I arrived in Chiang Mai. Outside of the trainstation there are a lot of small red firewagon looking buses. These buses are typical Chiang Mai taxis, that will take you anywhere in the city for a reasonable price. After settling in my hostel (private room with private bathroom, I am a bit of a glampacker) in the old city center I took an exploratory walk. As the old city center is just ..., it is perfect to get around on foot, though the main method of transportation used by tourists that have a longer stay in the city is a scooter. I prefer walking, because I believe it's the best way to observe and well, I have the time. But, as in any major city, you will have no trouble finding a taxi(bus) or a tuktuk that will get you wherever you want to go.
A homestay means that you will be staying on the property of a local Thai person. There are different variations, ranging from booking a room in a familyhouse to different rooms with bathrooms on one property. In some cases it is possible to eat with the family. In my case I'd booked a separate room with private bathroom and optional breakfast. Booking a homestay is a way of supporting local entrepeneurs. Besides that, it really feels like you're on a holiday when you're trying to communicate with locals that only speak basic English. It has it's charms. If you're ever in the Ban Krachao area, I do recommend 88 Homestay . It looks exactly as pictured and the people there are really friendly. After settling in the room, I took a short biking trip. Biking is the best way to get around in this area as there is so much to see. It is also relatively safe, there aren't a lot of cars and people drive cautiously. The area is a mixture of modern villas, which are quickly being build all around the area, and the wooden, more traditional, pavillions. The contrast between wealthy and poor is also visible in this part of Bangkok. Between uprising villas there are also homes, made out of cheap materials, where whole families (including grandparents) live in a small amount of space. Different from Bangkok though is that people aren't living on the street. You might encounter some stray dogs though. Even though Ban Krachao is still part of Bangkok, it has a different and much more relaxed atmosphere. It reminds me of a caribean island, with multicoloured houses and concrete highways, intertwining with nature. People grow a variety of fruit trees including mango, coconut, durian and bananas. Gardens are well taken care of, with a variety of flowers and plants. Inbetween homes you might find some small banana and coconut orchards. It is a village within a city, where everyone seems to know each other and every person, native or foreign, is greeted. People are polite, a bit shy, but wiling to help and answer any questions you may have. As tourism is still up and coming in this area (it isn't even mentioned in my Lonely Planet!), there aren't a lot of tourists. You might have to rely on your hands and feet to get around, but people are willing to help, sometimes even supported by Google translate. The second day I got up early and took a walk to Sri Nakhon Kuenkhan Park. This park is accesible by bike or on foot. In between the concrete paths you will find a reconstruction of the biodiversity that used to exist within the area. The swamp-like lakes make for picture perfect views. As it is yet to be discovered by foreign visitors, it is a very quiet place to observe the animals that live here. You might see some squirls, a variety of birds, fish, butterflies and if you're lucky even a water monitor (giant lizard). On my way back I found a local restaurant serving Thai food. For only 50 Baht (about €1,50) I had my first pad thai of the trip. This typical thai dish is made with rice noodles, vegetables and any type of protein stir fried in a fish sauce and with ground peanuts. Why go? If you like a relaxed athmosphere and you don't mind not having everything at arms reach (restaurants and supermarkets are scarce and you will not find a Starbucks or any other foodchain here), this is a perfect place to relax. Rent a bike, take your time, enjoy some peace and quiet. Perfect when you've just come of the plane and want to adjust to the change in climate, without the noise of the city (though at night you might hear some dogs barking). The first pictures have been uploaded to the photo gallery.
The last couple of weeks I've been meeting up with a lot of friends and family, wanting to meet up with me before my journey. Unfortunately I couldn't see everyone, but I received a lot of phone calls, messages and even practical gifts that I can use along the way (you know who you are and I will be writing one line a day ;-)). A lot of people asked me which places I will be visiting. I will start in Bangkok, where I will be staying near Ban Krachao, which is also known as the green lung of Bangkok because of it's green character. After that, I will be travelling up north to Chiang Mai to see it's beautiful temples and hopefully learn how to cook proper Thai food. After that I will travel to Chiang Rai and, among other things, visit the golden triangle. This is where the borders of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet. After this I will cross the border over to Laos. After Laos I will visit Vietnam and Cambodia, and return to Thailand for my flight back to Amsterdam. As you might have noticed, my itinerary is a little vague after I leave Thailand. The reason for this is that I simply do not know how I will be travelling trough these countries. I have a couple of months and will be taking my time getting from one place to another. Hopefully I will receive some tips along the way to safely deviate from the beaten track and experience some truelly amazing things. During this journey I will be using trains and buses as much as I can. This has different reasons. It leads to places you might have missed when flying and I do have time to make unplanned stops. It is a great way to meet people making a similar journey and share travel tips. Taking a night train saves time, as you need to sleep anyway. Last but not least, it is very affordable. In a couple of hours I will be boarding and my journey will begin. I will be arriving in Bangkok on the morning of 5 February. As you might have heared, there is a lot of smog covering this city at the moment. Though action has been taken to lower the smog levels this is a continuing issue, caused by extreme traffic pollution. As I will be staying near Ban Krachao, 'the green lung' of Bangkok, I hope the air quality will be better. I will keep you updated in the next couple of days.
The last couple of months I found myself in a job I was good at, but didn't particularly like. I wasn't my best person and felt I could do better. However not knowing what it is that I did want to do kept me stuck in a a place I didn't want to be in. It was time to make some changes. I didn't want to change me, I was quite happy with myself. I couldn't change the work environment I was in. The only option that was left was to change the thing I had an actual influence in. And thus I made the decision to quit my job. It was a shock to many. Did I have another job? Did I know what I was going to do? How was I going to pay my bills? These are some of the questions I got asked. People didn't understand how I could make such a crazy decision at my age. But what I found alarming was people telling me that they understood. That it was daring, brave even. That they would if they could. These were people of my generation, struggling with life. Struggling to find a balance between careers, social life, family. Not doing the things they want to do. Keeping up appearances, pretending to be fine. People being overworked and unhappy. I can not even put in writing the relieve I felt when I made a decision to choose for my own happines and health. I felt as if an enormous weight was lifted of my shoulders. Starting 2019 I was free to do whatever I wanted to do with my time, no obligations whatsoever. And to make the most of this free time, I decided to go travelling. Not to 'find myself', I have a good enough idea of who I am. But to enjoy the time I have,and make fantastic memories. So it's a fact. on 4 February I will starting my journey trough southeast Asia, starting with Bangkok, Thailand. If you're interested, check out my travel logs in the coming months, where I'll be sharing travel updates.