It is the third Day....at School

Tuesday, August 10, 2010
I awoke this morning had breakfast at the beautiful restaurant the group is to meet at 0700 a.m. When we arrived at the above ground. The menu for the day consisted of Crispy Golden Bags stuffed with Green Curry Prawn and Chicken or in Thai it is called Toong Tong Keaw Waan. Our instructor for the day is actually own of the owners of the School/Restaurant. And Naam Jim Sub Pa Rod (Dipping Sweet Pineapple Sauce) for the Bags of shrimp and chicken. The next dishes is Salmon Yang-Nam Plaa Waan (Grilled Salmon with Sweet Tamarind Sauce), Tom Kha Kai Sai Mapraow Orn (Coconut Milk with Chicken and Young Coconut Flesh), Kai Phad Prik Tua Fak Yao (Stir fried Chicken with Red Curry & Long Bean).
After the initial recipes were completed the instructors demonstrated different techniques for fruits and vegetables. I carved Papaya in the shape of leaves, cucumbers in the shape of a type of tulip, carrots in the shape of leaves as well and large white radishes.
Bags of Shrimp and Chicken


The above delicious packages are tied with blanched green onion skins
In the next recipe you will see that the salmon is cover with a wonderful sauce that would disguise
Any overdone salmon. This recipe is very forgiving.
One of the most interesting things about this dish is that it is wrapped in banana leaves for moisture retention and added flavor.

Next I have prepared for you a coconut milk soup:

This soup is so rich it is a velvety experience on the mouth. One thing for sure if one eats this they will enjoy the smooth silky texture and the great layers of flavor the experience on the thong.
The last meal that I prepared to day is called: Stir fried Chicken with Red Curry and Long Beans (Kai Phad tua Fak Yao)
It is a spicy dish that includes Kaffir leaves with is a common flavoring in Thailand and it has sweet basil added just before serving. I like things really hot so I added extra red chillies to this dish as if it needed additional help:

After this session we started carving fruit and vegetables: Here is what mine ended up looking like: LOL The joke is really on me I wish I could develop a flower out of fruits and vegetable which closely resembled this dish. However mine fell somewhat short in this department and actually I was so mesmerized by the procedure I forgot to take a photo of mine. I would like you to think and imagine how closely mine decorated fruit looked. The chef who demonstrated these techniques told us that normally it takes him mere seconds to create beautiful presentations as this I am in the learning stages and I will achieve this in the end.
Well as far as I am concerned it is back on the subway and to the room to do laundry. Tomorrow we travel most of the day so it will be a boring log entry, but maybe I will manage to cook a hot dog or burger in the window of the bus, you never know... I will tell you more when it happens.


All in all this is the best thing. i love the Thai way of cooking it doesn't get too spicey for me. I really love their presentation and decoration techniques. I am sure we are merely scracthing the surface. I wish i could stay here for a very long time. Every country has its main ingredients it seems; except america we are a combination of different ingredients. I think I can clarify by saying the French cook with butter and cream. the greek cook with olive oil, lemon, and feta cheese. The Italians cook with olive oile, garlic and tomatoes. It seems that the Thai cook with fish sauce, oyster sauce, birds eye chilies, curry and coconout milk. I really value this culinary experience it is all relative.