Thai Curry

I took a basic Thai Cooking class yesterday with my mother-in-law at the UWSP. Our class was held in the culinary kitchen at the university. I loved the work stations! Little mini kitchens each with its own stove (gas and electric burners), ovens and cupboards full of pots and pans, dishes, baking supplies, knives and utensils. The stations for four were set up with the ingredients needed to make  3  Thai dishes and we shared our workspace with Maud and Simone a mother and daughter. 

Our teacher, Sasithorn, was born in Thailand and loves to cook traditional Thai food and share her passion for cooking with her students. She taught us how to choose a fresh lime (choose one that "gives" when you squeeze it and has a thin skin, thicker skin means less juice inside), the best way to hard boil eggs (this tip from "America's Test Kitchen" on NPR),  how to cook rice without a rice cooker and the importance of tasting over measuring when you are cooking a dish. In her country they do not talk in terms of tablespoons or cups nor do they pass down recipes with measurements, rather it is a bit of this and a dash of that and you continue to taste as you add each new ingredient to determine if you need more or less of the basic flavors. 

There are four basic flavors; sour, sweet, salty and spicy. Thai cooks always combine two of these tastes. The sour taste can come from the lime or tamarind. The sweet from sugar or coconut sugar. Salty from fish sauce and spicy from chilies. 

We made Panang Moo (Panang Curry with Pork), Yum Kai Tom (Boiled Egg Salad), Jasmine Rice and Fried Sugar dessert that looked a bit like Indian Fry Bread.

The food was really tasty and it was fun being in a culinary classroom cooking with others (a first for me!). Turns out Maud, one of our cooking partners teaches knitting at the Wisconsin Wool Exchange! She was so much fun that I think I'll have to check it out.