During our first week of the trip, which was spent in Phuket, we attended a cooking class at the next town over, Kata Beach. I had signed us up nice and early with it being high season, and the class having stellar reviews on Trip Advisor. Much to our surprise, when the driver showed up we were the only two attending class that day. Nice. Our instructor, Mimi, and driver transported us from our resort to The Kitchen, a Thai restaurant and cooking class venue, with one stop at a market along the way.
It was the type of day in Phuket that edged on unbearably hot, for a canuck like me… well over 30 degrees and disgustingly humid (and this was dry season). Mimi took us to a large nearby open-air market (thankfully with shade), to give us an example of how fresh produce and meat are sourced for the plethora of Thai restaurants in that area. We sauntered around while she gave us explanations on mostly vegetables, and meat, and we asked some questions. We could have easily walked around for an hour, just looking, but we were eager to get to the class, where the ingredients had already been purchased and prepped for us. We were treated to as much bottled water as we wanted, and after we arrived, had a few minutes to rest in the wind of a two large fans; I started to cool off.
Our setup was a humble folding table with a plastic tablecloth, single gas burners, plastic cutting boards and the necessary knives, utensils and pots and pans. We were learning four Thai dishes, which we picked in advance on the website: vegetable spring rolls, gang keaw waan tai (green chicken curry), traditional pad thai with prawns and tom yum goong (pictured at the very top). So, very recognizable Thai dishes that we thought would be fun to cook while in Thailand! The methods were a little less complicated than we were hoping for (especially for Geir), as in, we used some short cuts like pre-made green curry paste. But overall it was a great experience and Mimi was super fun and friendly.
All of the dishes turned out flavourful and tasty, with the curry and the pad thai having a very healthy amount of heat! We found the recipes used a surprising amount of sugar, and that a lot of Thai dishes include either white or brown sugar to balance out the spicy chiles. We got to take a copy of the recipes home. Check out the photo gallery for the market tour and cooking class, and below that — a recipe for green curry chicken!
- Fresh vegetables at the market.
- Here I was thinking baby corn came out of a can.
- Dill. Green beans.
- The meat section.
- An extensive seafood section.
- Fresh squid.
- Many types of prawns.
- Eggplants.
- Mimi didn’t know the English word for this herb/plant, but it smelled great.
- Chile sauces.
- Prepared food to buy.
- Noodles.
- Parking out front.
- The setup for our cooking class. Just the two of us in attendance!
- My spring rolls, ready to be deep fried.
- Mimi, our instructor.
- Cooking our spring rolls.
- A photo they might use on the website!
- Making green chicken curry.
- Mimi.
- About to make pad thai.
- Our curry, it was quite spicy.
- Our ingredients for pad thai.
- Finished pad thai, served with crushed peanuts, chiles and sugar as is customary here.
- Our fourth and last dish we learned — tom yum goong. A mild, sweet and sour type of soup.
- “I’m too sweaty to be in photos.” We cooked on a ridiculously hot day.
Below is the green curry chicken recipe we were sent home with, which is very fast and easy to make. The measurements are a bit different, and the yield is not listed, but I’d guess two servings. You can’t get the type of small eggplant that we used here, usually, so substitute for any vegetable you enjoy in your curries. Carrots, green beans and potatoes all work nicely (cook the potatoes a bit in advance).
Gaang Keaw Waan Gai (Chicken in Green Curry), from The Kitchen, Kata Beach
180 grams Sliced chicken breast
10 grams Crispy eggplant
10 grams Small eggplant
1 tbsp Green curry paste (I like Mae Ploy)
10 grams Thai (sweet) basil leaves (tear them up before throwing in)
2 pieces Sliced red chiles (or to taste)
2 cups Coconut milk
2 pieces Kaffir lime leaves (tear them up before throwing in)
1 tbsp Fish sauce
2 tbsp Palm sugar
1. Add the vegetable oil in the pan then heat to medium heat. Add the green curry paste and heat until it brings out a good aroma.
2. Add the sliced chicken (note: let it get a good sear before moving on), and add the coconut milk a little at a time. Add crispy eggplant and small eggplant.
3. Add the kaffir lime leaves, sweet basil leaves and sliced red chiles at the end. (Note: it’s ready when it’s reduced a bit to a thicker consistency, and smells amazing.)
4. Serve with steamed rice.