Shaking it up in the kitchen

  

We've decided to expand on our cooking skills. After a very serious request from a friend at UVic to cook Thai for him and his wife when I return go Canada, I decided to take some Thai cooking classes.

I've been eating a LOT of Thai food while here, but I don't actually know how to make most of it. Marian and I spent out Saturday afternoon at Silom Thai Cooking School. The cooking school is run by Nusi, a former scientist and chef with a great sense of humour. He now runs this cooking business out of him own home. Today 10 of us attended a four hour cooking session that focused just as much on eating as it did on cooking. We made 5 items and left with a cook book containing numerous recipes. Nusi also taught us that tamarind, which plays a part in various Thai dishes, is a laxative. Use this ingredient with care....

Our delightfully humorous teacher explaining a dish

The appetizer - Tom yum (spicy soup w/ shrimp)

Curry spices and the giant mortar and pestle used to make the curry paste

Our cooking stations

Course #2 - Pad Thai

Course #3 - Lab Gai (chicken salad) w/ sticky rice

Starting green curry

Course #4 - Green Curry

 Now to start practicing my new found cooking skills before my scheduled dinner party with friends.