Sunday, October 3, 2010

Thai Cooking Classes at May Kaidee's in Bangkok

Thai Som Tom Salad
  Tom and I spent one Saturday morning at May Kaidee's cooking school to get some tips on the finer points of cooking some of our favorite dishes. After four hours, we were so stuffed we had to start packing the food in a to-go bag instead of our stomachs. We made at least 12 dishes, alongside a British couple whose sons had arranged their visit to the cooking school. Our teacher was a vivacious Thai woman from northern Thailand (Issan) where the primary language is Laotian; she was very fluent in English and kept us on task as we moved from one dish to another. She gave us a compact May Kaidee cookbook, which we have now used many times. I have been able to recreate several of the dishes but may have to visit the cooking class again to gain the nuances of a few dishes.  One of our favorite recipes is one of the easiest: som tam salad pictured above. Green beans, tomatoes, chilies, garlic, peanuts and lime juice are pounded in a mortar; then shredded green papaya is added for a few more poundings of the pestle.
    We learned to make soup in 3 versions, all based on the same combination of ingredients. Here is my version at our wok (bought in 1975 on Prince Avenue in Athens Georgia):




Small moments of culture shock

    Having been in Bangkok now just shy of 2 months, there are still things that surprise me as we wander the city and settle in our apartment. I have to remember NOT to plug in any appliance we brought from the U.S. without first plugging it into a transformer we bought with us; I find myself walking down narrow streetways with no sidewalks, watching where I put my feet on the uneven roads, while also keeping an eye out for the motorcycle taxis that dart in and out among the cars and taxis. Somehow, everyone seems to be very aware of each other and there is almost a ballet of vehicles as one gives way to another and many columns of drivers gracefully merge into one or two lanes without so much as a honk of the horn, quite different than in India. At any cinema, the entire audience rises from incredibly plush seats and stands for the "King's Anthem" which is played before each movie.
     Visiting the open air markets to purchase fruits and vegetables is a sensory experience of colors, sounds and smells, some good, some bad. I don't know that I will ever get used to the overpowering odor of dried fish and shrimp products found at all of the markets. But the availability of a plethora of fruits and vegetables is worth learning to tolerate any discomfort. Today's visit to the market filled our arms with bag after bag of mini corn, pears, mangoes, green papaya for som tam salad (spicy, spicy!), mangosteens, baby corns, tiny sweet bananas, eggs, and peanuts, all for about the equivalent of $20.00.
     Entering a bathroom at the subway station and finding the sign below is today's "you're not in New Orleans anymore" moment. I don't think I will stand on any toilet seats no matter how long we live here!