29th January: Chiang Mai, Thailand
At 8:30 on the dot we were picked up from outside the hotel by a friendly driver in an empty red songthaew. Soon, we were joined by 3 others, chatting about our various trips. We were all dropped in the grounds of a temple on the southern edge of the old city and greeted by our fantastic host for the day, Jasmine. Time to learn how to properly cook Thai food!
After donning our fetching pink aprons, we were back in the songthaew and on our way to the market. It felt odd to be lead around a market after 5 months of wandering at our own pace, but we were glad of the introductions to a few fruits and vegetables that we’d yet to try or identify. We picked up a few essential ingredients for the day and tried a lovely little snack of ginger, sugar, and spices wrapped in green tea leaves.
Back at the cooking school, they had an amazing set up. Cooking stations were paired, although with everyone having their own equipment. First on the menu were the appetisers. Jasmine began by showing us how the fillings are made for spring rolls; and, while this was cooling, we made green papaya salad (one of our favourite dishes from SE Asia so far!). Then, it was back to the demonstration station to all make and roll our own spring rolls before deep frying them for just 15 seconds each until crispy. Breakfast was served!
It’s a good job we arrived hungry, as we went straight into making the next meal. Firstly, it was time for a sweet treat which Jasmine prepared for us by boiling pumpkin in coconut mile and palm sugar. So simple but tasty!
We’d each chosen a main curry to make for the day – mine was Thai red and Kaja’s was massaman. To begin we had to combine the spices in a mortar and grind with a pestle for 7 minutes (everything was 7 today – 7 glugs of sauce, 7 teaspoons of sugar. A long 7 or a short 7 but always 7!) until smooth. As ever, the dish seemed simple to make but the flavours were special. The curry made and left on our table with rice under a bamboo cover, we turned to Akha dishes.
The cooking school was set up by a woman from the Akha minority, a group living in northern Thailand and Burma. Therefore, three of the dishes on today’s menu were Akha specialities. Apparently, Akha cooking is much fresher and healthier than Thai and together they were a perfect balance. To go with our curry for lunch, we had some simple Akha salad of cucumbers, tomatoes, lime juice; and a delicate clear soup of winter melon, spring onions, coriander, and mushroom stock.
Just in case we weren’t full after our (early) lunch, Jasmine got us to try Akha Sapi Thong – a spicy, sour, peanutty dipping sauce – with batons of carrot and cucumber. No time to digest though. Time for more cooking! For the final two dishes, I’d chosen tofu with holy basil and tom yum soup; whilst Kaja had chosen pad Thai and a tofu and coconut milk soup. Mine were the two spiciest options and frying the required chillies had us all coughing from the spice in the air! Before we got too far along, Jasmine showed us how to prepare sticky rice and left that to cook whilst we got on with making the other two courses. My holy basil tofu (with one whole chilli for a tiny plate of food) was somehow not that spicy and deliciously salty and herby. The tom yum on the other hand packed a lovely punch. Kaja’s pad Thai was probably the most balanced dish of them all though. At least it was until Jasmine handed us mango sticky rice!
So much amazing food and it was still only 2 pm! This was one of the best experiences we’ve had on this trip and we’re looking forward to replicating some of these dishes when we get home. We got a cookbook each to take away, although sourcing some ingredients might be a challenge!
After the fantastic morning we’d had, I’d exhausted myself again and my body physically crashed for the rest of the day. I’m glad to have managed the cooking course but am finding it very difficult to re-adjust to life at my most ‘disabled’. I’ve been lucky that it’s been rare on this trip as, whilst we’ve been busy, we’ve also had enough time most days to mentally and physically switch off when we’ve needed to. I’m not sure what’s triggered this crash.
Needing energy (somehow after all of the food today!), we eventually popped out and found some Nutella rotees (crepes) around the corner and some food for the train journey tomorrow.