Thai can cook!

When I was a kid there was a show I remember on TV called Yan Can Cook. It was all about Asian and Chinese cooking. I thought the chef was a kick, and I remember my mom watching it as well. That didn't mean she made any more Chinese type dishes in our home, but she did like Chinese. She just preferred the Chinese that the New Peking Restaurant in Great Falls would make.

I love Chinese and Asian fare as well. I have especially developed a fondness for Thai food of late, so when my friend Raquel invited me to go to a Thai cooking class with her at Malee's Thai Bistro in Scottsdale, I was all over it. I didn't care that it was a bit pricey. It meant I would get to learn some of their recipes and have lunch there. Yum! Plus I got to spend some fabulous time with two absolutely wonderful people--Raquel and Angela.

We learned about a number of key ingredients in Thai cooking and where to find them at the Asian groceries in the Valley. I took pics so I could remember labels. ;) (sometimes you don't know what you are looking at when you go to an Asian market):

Galangal root. This is essential for my favorite soup--tom ka gai. Interestingly this restaurant does not use ginger, but galangal instead.

lemon grass

kaffir leaf and kaffir lime. They use the leaves for seasoning rather than lime juice. I have found it is easiest to buy the kaffir leaf online and then freeze what comes because I couldn't find it at the Asian market

Oyster sauce. They also use a lot of fish sauce. These add to richness of the dishes as well as flavor.

Of course, coconut milk! Coconut milk for the record is much cheaper to buy at an Asian market as opposed to a regular grocery store.

 After watching them make several dishes such as tom ka gai, crispy pla, pad thai and evil jungle princess, we got to go eat a full lunch with all of those dishes. It was delicious! And so exciting to have my own pack of all of their recipes. We three girls stopped at the Asian market on the way home in order to stock up on the necessary ingredients so we could make the recipes sometime soon. The next day I made pad thai and tom ka gai for my family, and they enjoyed it--Enoch especially.

I hope to be able to go back and do another class a different month. They change the recipes so that you can come back again and again if you would like. So fun!

a bowl of tom ka gai

I look forward to making this for guests who will appreciate it. Come on by and let me know if you'd like some!