Cooking Class!!!

If you're wondering why I keep talking about food, that's because next to Indonesian and Malay food, I love Thai food most. Plus if I'm sitting in a studio watching the friends rehearse for their various upcoming plays, there really isn't anything much to tell you about till the performances begin and the reviews come out. Besides, what else do Singaporeans talk about? :P

The man loves Thai food too. He has never stepped into a cooking class in Thailand. Neither have I, for obvious reasons. I signed us up at Amita for a basic introduction to Thai cooking. YES. YOU HEARD ME. Cooking class. Boo. Where we cooked our own lunch.

Amita and its owner Khun Tam Piyawadi Jantrupon came highly recommended by the friends who know our preferences. Importantly, Amita is happy to provide a private class for us, and also include a tom yam kung naam saay (ต้มยำกุ้งน้ำใส, the clear version) on a day when it wasn't on the schedule. The friends knew we would enjoy the experience of checking out Thai food in the lovely childhood home of Khun Tam that's situated next to the canal in Old Bangkok. Loved that cosy feeling the moment we stepped in. There's a herb garden that caters to all kitchen needs, and we were taken through to see the plants of the ingredients we would use for the day. The open-air patio was lovely, cooled by ceiling and standing fans. Conducive weather. 

This is just an awesome cooking class for me. ME. Not for real chefs or superb home cooks. We didn't have to go to the market to buy the ingredients. That's fine. The man and I have wandered through Bangkok's wet markets and talaat naam. Best of all, we didn't have to slice or dice or chop anything. Every ingredient had been prepared and portioned out by the Amita team. We literally just dumped them into the pot and stir, watched over by Amita's team. Wheeeee. There's no way one could screw up. Not when the only factor that might do it was the cooking time. But I was reminded to turn off the fire several times. Hahahah. A huge relief. I was so stressed out by the idea of actually sitting in a class to have to cook my own portions that I had a nightmare of mutilated limbs and woke up in cold sweat. Ugh.

It was such an enjoyable session. We liked Khun Tam's approach, even the part on watching the demonstration of cooking the dishes. She made it look so simple. The man was pleased as punch too. He was just curious to see how Thais approach their cooking. At least he knew that for tom yam soup, we turn off the fire before adding in the lime and fish sauce, just so it doesn't make the soup bitter. He was happy that Khun Tam pointed that out. He said these were the sort of tips that separated real chefs (willing to share) from the shitty ones. Would I be attempting these recipes at home? No way. But the man will.