Amita Thai Cooking class - a wonderful Thai cooking experience in Bangkok

Stereotyped into a bowl of Green or Red Thai Curry, Thai Cuisine is actually much more. And as I found out last May it takes a trip to Thailand to discover this when I went on an epic family holiday to Thailand. Though family time was priority, my family were kind enough to indulge my food foibles and spare me time so I could avail of wonderful opportunities to cook with home cooks in both Phuket and Bangkok. 

In Phuket I learnt a lot about Thai home cooking from the team of cooks at the private villa we were staying at. More to come on that. But during the second leg of our trip, in Bangkok, the husband was kind enough to babysit while I went to a cooking class! Owning and runing a cooking studio myself I like to visit local cooking classes and studios wherever I travel to. So I was really excited about Amita Thai Cooking class. I truly believe that there is nothing like learning to cook a cuisine from a local cook. No matter how much research we do on the internet, the little nuances of how much shrimp paste to use or how much to pound a paste can only be learnt by watching and cooking with a cook who has grown up cooking a specific cuisine! 

Being picked up and transferred onto a river boat only added to my anticipation! We navigated the Chao Phraya river, a major river in Thailand, that flows through the very heart of Bangkok city past canals, river markets and temples, getting a fascinating look at riverside life and finally arrived at the Amita Thai Cooking Class located on the banks of the river itself. The name Amita Thai Cooking class actually does not do this culinary experience justice. Because it goes beyond a mere cooking class, offering insights into Thai history, culture and cuisine. Run by a petite dynamo, Tam Piyawadi Jantrupon aka Tam the Amita Cooking class operates out of Tam's ancestral home nestled in the heart of Bangkok surrounded with family who have lived there for more that 3 generations. And it is a showcase of traditional Thai culinary culture.  

Just like at my studio in Mumbai, the classes are completely hands-on, encouraging you to practice Thai cooking techniques and sit down to a delicious meal afterwards. But thats where the similarity ends. Everything else is unique, including the setting. The class takes place in an open air kitchen at one end of the garden with 10 individual cooking stations and a large training area where Tam instructs. The kitchen is surrounded by gardens, and Tam has woven in so many little details to accentuate the experience. Like reworking old pots and pans and even a sewing machine as sinks and table stands.

Guests are welcomed with cold towels, a lovely lemongrass refresher and delicate fritters of edible flowers and leaves from her garden. Once I was refreshed by these, I was introduced to Tam's team that included a resident very talkative mynah bird named Basil, a rooster called Soy Sauce and two hens named black sesame and white sesame. Then, we took bamboo baskets and walked through her garden, picking ingredients we needed as she pointed out plants like guinea pepper, holy basil, kaffir lime, purple chillies and Thai basil. I was lucky to have her sole attention that day. We made our way onto a little balcony overlooking the river that Tam's grandmother would preside over in the past to buy from the river vendors. Tam and I took a moment to got to know each other better as the river flowed by and the heat beat down. When she found out I ran a cooking studio back home, she was most excited. And then went out of her way to teach me little tips and tricks I could incorporate into my Thai cooking classes back home! 

As the day progressed Tam went on to demonstrate each dish we were cooking; Phad Kai Kapprao (Stir Fried Chicken with Basil & Chillies), Tom Yam Goong and Gai Hor Bai Toe. Then I was led to my own station. A rare instance when I was on the other side of the trainers station, as a student and oh so eager to learn! Just like at APB, my recipes mise en place was waiting, each ingredient arranged in tiny bowls, for me to pick, add smash and stir with Tam guiding me along. 

 

I already knew how to cook Thai cuisine, but cooking with Tam taught me the little things that recipe books and the internet don’t such as; the heat from chillies is directly proportionate to how much you pound them, that the secret to a good Tom Yum Goong (Clear hot and sour soup with fresh prawns) is shrimp paste stirred in at the very end, that coriander roots make all the difference to the flavour of Chicken Wrapped in Pandanus Leaves and Basil Fried Chicken with Chillies. She also taught me some traditional Thai tricks of the trade. Such as using banana leaves to wrap delicate herbs and spices to keep them fresh turning the stalk of a banana plant into a basting brush for meats, by fraying one end with a knife. And she also shared ways to present all the dishes that I learned, like dying rice different colors with crushed flowers and making lemongrass nests and straws. And it did not end there! 

Tam had a special treat to end with. She was going to show me the recipe for Ka Nom Krok (Coconut pancakes) in her family's antique Ka Nom Krok pan. Something she had planned just for me when she found out I was a food writer. 

Ka Nom Krok is a coconut pancake unique to Thailand. Available on the street side but also made in homes. Recipes vary from cook to cook but essentially they are always made with two separate batters, a thinner rice one that cooks to a crispy outer shell and a thicker coconut one that cooks into an inner soft custard layer. And they are always made in a "Ka Nom Krok pan" that was traditionally placed over a round clay oven but is now also used on gas burners. And what was interesting about making these with Tam that day is that she showed me the whole process. Her family had been grating coconut, extracting its milk and grinding soaked rice using traditional methods while we were walking the garden and cooking. So we brushed the pan using little bags of coconut meal (leftover after the milk was extracted), warmed them up and poured in the batters were in. A garnish of corn or green onions was scattered over each pancake (taro and  pumpkin are used as well) and the pan was covered and left to slowly cook to perfection (too hot and the bottom will burn).

Grinding the soaked rice

So delish

Extracting coconut milk

The antique coconut scraper. 

The Pan and the pancakes.

We cooked and talked and tasted and ate, laughed and shared. Tam and I exchanged lots of knowledge on food and cooking, Indian and Thai, similarities and differences through that day. And in the end, I think that is what is is all about. Learning, conversation, food and a wonderful host who was gracious till the last moment when she packed me off with doggie bags for my family, her recipes so I could cook the things she had taught me again at home and a most generous gift to remember her by - a large Thai style wooden curry stirrer and a box of seeds to plant in my garden. Our time had ended but my memories of Tam and the Amita Thai Cooking Class will stay with me forever. Coming alive every time I make her Tom yum soup or Basil chicken. 

I will leave you with my recipe for Phad Kai Kapprao (Stir Fried Chicken with Basil & Chillies). This is a classic recipe though I confess after my cooking class with Tam I do like adding some peppers, onions and green peppercorns to the mix. If you want to do that add the peppercorns (1 tsp) with the garlic and chillies and the peppers and onions (handfull ) with the basil leaves. 

Stir Fried Chicken with Basil & Chillies and Blue Rice 

Phad Kai Kapprao (Stir Fried Chicken with Basil & Chillies)

Ingredients:
450 g. boneless chicken breast cut into small thin pieves
3 tbsp. Oil  

4 cloves Garlic, crushed
2-4 Red Chillies deseeded & chopped
2-3 tbsp. Fish sauce  

1tbsp. Sugar      
Handful Thai Basil leaves + 1/2 for cooking and 1/2 deep fried for garnish.

Method:
Heat oil in a wok; add half the basil leaves and stir fry till crisp. Remove and keep aside.

In the same pan add a little oil and add the garlic and chillies, stir fry till golden brown. Add chicken, sirfry for 30 seconds until it changes colour.

Add Fish Sauce and sugar and continue stir frying for 3-4 mins.

Stir in the fresh Thai Basil Leaves and stir fry until wilted.

Transfer to a platter and garnish with fried Basil leaves and sliced chillies. Serve with steamed rice.

Disclosure:  I will be eternally thankful to Sethaphan Buddhani then Director, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Mumbai for organizing this idyllic afternoon with his friend Tam of Amita Cooking School. He recognized my obsession with learning to cook from locals the moment we met and arranged the class on finding out I was going to visit Thailand for my family holiday. Thanks to him I got an insight into Thai living traditions and cooking. And the generous hospitality of Thai people. 

Link to Amita Thai Cooking Class and Tam's recipes for Tom Yam Goong (Spicy Prawn Soup) and Gai Hor Bai Toey (Pandanus wrapped Chicken).

I'm such a showoff!

Red Zen review and the Thai Bhel it inspired

 

Please be informed I was bribed with copious amounts of Red Zen’s version of Prik Nam Pla redolent with coriander root, garlic and fish sauce to write this review! I still have some in my fridge!

My first visit to Red Zen was because it was close to where I live and because I their PR representative was a long time friend. I went in to check out the Zen Power Lunch at her invitation. That said I went in with reservations. You see I consider South East Asian food a forte as far as my personal cooking skills are concerned and consequently set very high standards for oriental food at restaurants. We were met and soon settled down to our meal.

A basket of prawn crackers accompanied by a selection of – House made ‘Yum’, Tamarind and hot garlic sauces and the signature Red Zen version of Nam Prik Pla were set before us to tide us through the hungry wait for our food. This is where most other oriental restaurants would serve you bad tomato sauce doused ‘Kimchi’ so I happily dipped through them. And then I tasted the Prik Nam Pla. Once I tasted it, the others became invisible! Prik Nam Pla is a traditional condiment of thinly chopped Thai bird (prik) chillies in fish sauce that is present at every Thai table to spice up rice-based dishes such as fried rice or white rice with sides.

At Red Zen, Chef Praiwan the resident Thai Chef does a more elaborate combination using coriander root, garlic and sugar in which the hot, salty, sweet balance is achieved perfectly. Of course it is very hot, a fact my mouth discovered after the sheer satisfaction and endorphin high of the chilli wore off and burning of the tongue ensued! Thankfully a lovely gingery drink (whose name I have lamentably forgotten) came just in time to assuage the flames. The savoury Egg Drop soup that arrived soon after also hit the spot, hot, salty and comforting as only a well made stock based soup can be. My bento style set lunch was set before me. Egg fried rice accompanied by black pepper chicken, sweet chilli fish and stir fried vegetables. All perfectly executed and served.

Truth be told I was sold on the Prik Nam Pla and prawn  crackers itself. My only complaint was that dessert was a disappointment! After the well made and matched food, serving three tiny scoops of commercially made ice-cream was a letdown. Of course, in true Rushina fashion I expresses my views and let them know. What I did not expect was that they would bring out some of their more innovative desserts in response! Soon, a bowl of an oriental Coconut milk dessert and decadant chocolate Springrolls (with a piquant pineapple salsa to cut through the chocolatyness and chocolate sauce in case you wanted to pile it on!) sat before me.  

I came away pleased enough to organise a bloggers meet there down the line. But just to be sure that I was not over reacting to the food, I recently went back for a taste of their Thai Street food festival. Again the food was very satisfying. Chef Praiwan their adorable Thai chef got our palates excited with a chicken and coconut milk soup which he quickly followed up with a steaming hot dish of fiery Basil Chicken stirfry with rice and a fried egg on top. Thankfully our sizzling mouths were cooled down with the chilled Thai dessert followed sweet coconut milk with water chestnuts and Jackfruit!  And just to be sure, I also sent my husband in to try it out anonymously (he is very much a food lover himself) and his verdict “I liked the food, particularly the Thai curry although the service was a little slow.” It takes a lot for him to like a Thai Curry so now I have to go back to see what its like!

But here is my verdict? If you are looking for flourishes of gourmet extravagance, go somewhere else. At Red Zen you will find well presented, tasty, Oriental food done well,with flashes of pure brilliance. They might have chosen to take a well trodden path in serving Oriental cuisine but they do it well. Every element is given attention. From the decor and tableware to interesting drinks and well made food. And it is this attention to detail that shines through. If you have not been to this lovely restaurant at the slightly more than 1 year old Courtyard by Marriott (not to be confused with the JW Marriott) I highly recommend you go.  Soon. Because their Thai street food festival will be over before you know it!

And now for the Thai Bhel

I have a secret. I have a collection of Template recipes. Template Recipe is a term I coined for recipes that I can do various avatars of. You see one of my favourite things to do is cook meals around a theme – Chinese, Italian, Thai, Mediteranean to name some successfully executed dinners. And over time I have evolved template recipes, that I tweak for use depending on the cuisine I am serving. For example I always have potatoes on my menu. Usually these are baby potatoes, parboiled in their skins, pierced all over and stir fried slowly in a little oil. I will finish them with a herb or spice combination to match the meal – parsley and lemon for a Mediterranean meal, chillies, garlic and schezwan sauce for a Chinese meal or thai chillies, basil, palm sugar and fish sauce for a thai meal.

This summer I rediscovered Chivda in Dehra Dun and as made it, I remember thinking of the many ways I could innovate with it. With its base of puffed rice it would go so well with so many cuisines.... Toasted Sesame oil, Toasted Sesame, Chillies, garlic and a flower of Star Anise for a Chinese version, perhaps? Or Basil, pine nuts and sundried tomato for an Italian theme with a dusting of parmiggiano just before I served it? And how delicious would a Thai version be with basil, lemongrass, thai chillies, garlic and shallots, peanuts and dried shrimp? The possibilities were endless....  

So after I cam home with some of the Prik nam PlaI I was inspired to make a Thai version of Chivda, that I tossed with it into a piquant spicy bhel. Try it out, and see how you go!

For the Thai Chivda

250g beaten rice, puffed rice or a combination of both (you can even use other puffed grains such as corn, millets)

1 cup of raw peanuts, skinned

½ cup toasted sesame

1 cup of dried papaya (this is optional, I had some to hand) or raisins or both

1 cup of coconut flakes (optional)

5-6 finely chopped thai chilies (adjust according to your preference of heat)

4-5 sprigs Makrut / kafir line leaves

1-2 tbsp Toasted Sesame oil

½ tsp sugar

Salt to taste

Heat a large wok (here in India we use a Kadai which is shaped like a wok but much heavier) that can hold all of the ingredients on a medium flame. Add the oil and allow to heat up. Add the chilies and Makrut / kafir line leaves and saute until the chillies and leaves are crisp. Be careful, this stage is crucial, if the spices scorch you will have to start over. Once done fish out the Kafir lime leaves and reserve. Add the chickpeas and the raisins and fry lightly for about a minute. Add in the nuts and combine well. Lower flame and add the ground turmeric, chillies, sugar and salt, and give everything a quick stir. Quickly add the beaten/puffed rice – you do not want the spice powders burning. Sprinkle salt and sugar and mix well until all the ingredients are combined well. Leave heat all the way down to low and let the mixture heat through, for about 5 minutes, stirring all the time so nothing overcooks. Take off heat and allow to cool completely before transferring to air tight container to store.

Red Zen Sinature Prik Nam Pla

This is also great with khichdi and papad! NO I am not kidding, I SWEAR!

100 ml Light soya sauce
100 ml Fish sauce
100 g Lime juice
100 g Coriander with roots
100 g Fresh thai red chillies
30 g Garlic (little)

100 g Sugar (little) -
Pound the chillies, garlic and coriander and combine with all the other ingredient. Mix well and store in an airtight bottle in your refrigerator.

For Thai Bhel

1.5 cups Thai Bhel mix

2-3 tbsp Red Zen Sinature Prik Nam Pla

2-3 tbsp tamarind chutney

½ cup onion chopped fine

½ cup tomato chopped fine

½ cup green papaya, grated

1/3 c green mango grated

1 cup boiled potato diced fine

1/3 cup coriander chopped fine

2-3 handfulls of sprouts

Combine everything except the Thai bhel mix in a bwl and toss well. Add the bhel toss again and serve immediately.

GYAN and information.

Red Zen is Located on Level M at the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel. Zen Power lunch available between  12.30– 3.00pm priced at Rs. 399 + taxes.

The Prawn crackers and THE sauce!

The Drink!

Egg drop soup!

Our lunches arrive giving new meaning to the term 'boxed lunch'

And viola!

Sweet Chilli fish

Egg Fried Rice

Stir fried vegetables

Black pepper Chicken and yum sauce

The chocolate springroles with Chocolate sauce and pineapple salsa

DROOLWORTHY stuff this!

A Tryst with Thai – Part 1 (plus details on my first Thai cuisine masterclass!)

 

When I first changed from career woman to stay at home mom I went through a period in which I came to hate cooking. Cooking RDBS (roti-dal-bhat-subzi) became routine, the monthly budget was tighter with a single income that could not stretch to accommodate exotic ingredients.  But I had to cater three meals daily, and I wanted variety! One afternoon frustrated with another dinner waiting to be cooked, I postponed making the Rajma-Chaval I had planned and took my son down to the park, hoping to clear my head.

I arrived to find a furious debate underway amongst other mothers - about Mexican Tacos of all things!  While one insisted the bean stuffing in Tacos was made with baked beans another said it was made with Rajma. Recalling the delicious Tacos my sister in law made, I quickly rang her to clarify. It turned out that the stuffing could be either; Rajma when one had the time or baked beans as a quick alternative. It was a Eureka moment for me! Realizing I had Rajma all ready at home, I asked her the recipe and rushed home via the local grocery store (to pick up taco shells). Dinner that night was a resounding success. Tacos with the works brought a welcome change, did not put me out of pocket (not too much anyway) and most importantly, my son loved it. Watching him down THREE taco shells full of beans and salad was the highlight of the evening.  

The experience turned out to be epiphanic in the long run as well. I realised that thinking out of the box with ingredients I had to hand, made daily cooking more fun. And I found I didn’t need to break the bank catering unusual food. Cuisines around the world, have many ingredients in common, we’ve just never thought of it. And Thai cuisine, unlike what restaurants have us believe, needn’t be made with mushrooms, baby corn and other relatively more expensive ingredients. Thai cuisine is based on using what is fresh and in season and has a lot of ingredients in common with Indian cuisine so getting most things is easy and inexpensive.

 

I make my version of green curry with whatever vegetables I can find (white gourd, ridge gourd, French beans, turnip, cauliflower, carrots). Most exotic vegetables are greenhouse bred in any case. Local seasonal produce is far more delicious to cook and eat. And the fact that you will also ascribe to traditional food Indian food values that advise eating what is in season to keep the body healthy through the annual weather cycle in addition to getting quality at the best prices is an added bonus.  And Just like my Thai curry, other dishes like Soups, salads, stir fries and side dishes needn’t be composed of expensive lettuce and exotic vegetables - try a coconut milk soup or Grapefruit salad for example.

I feel like cooking from world cuisine is like being somewhere else, cooking something exciting and new, but from the comfort of your own kitchen. I still make my Mexican Tacos but have added a few delicious stuffings to my repertoire. And just after that I went through what my husband fondly calls a Thai High after I discovered Thai curry my friend Priya brought over a few years ago. I cooked Thai for a year, endlessly, researching from books and over the internet, until I had a full Thai spread down pat. And every year since I choose a cuisine and practice it through the year, culminating with a full meal on my birthday for friends and family. I can also now make a mean Italian spread, (because of which my husband refuses to go out to eat Italian), lay a delicious Mezze and am experimenting with Vietnamese now.

The key to cooking a good dish or meal from another cuisine is in truly understanding the elements of that cuisine. Once you have that ingrained, you will be able to cook just about anything. And once I began to think out of the box, I found I did not have to limit myself to my vegetable basket, my options were immediately multiplied by the number of ingredients I had in my spice rack, store cboard and refrigerator as well. I did not always get the exact ingredient I needed for a recipe. Using a substitute did sometimes mean a loss of authentic flavor. But I am not a puritan, I believe we’d still be grilling meat on a fire if we hadn’t used what we had to hand – Cuisine would simply never have evolved! 

Stereotyped as spicy, Thai Cuisine actually strives to achieve harmony between of the four basic flavours of hot, sour, salty and sweet and an occasional fifth, bitter. Evolving through the melding of Chinese, Indian, Malay, Portuguese and Dutch cuisines, contemporary Thai cuisine is a complex, vibrant showcase of an intricate medley of taste, texture and seasoning and is a colourful, aromatic, flavourful whirl of the senses. Thai cuisine is a rare example of fusion cuisine going right!

Thai took over as the new Chinese very early on in the culinary landscape of Mumbai and it is a love affair that is still raging. The latest fine dining restaurant KOH opening its doors to business a few months ago being testament to this fact (although I am still undecided on the restaurant, itself). Mumbai's taste buds have shown their natural affinity for the chilli, coconut, coriander and other ingredients that form the basis of Thai cooking but access to such exotica as Kaffir Lime, Thai brinjals and Pomelo at fine foods stores such as Nature’s Basket is evidence that the aromatic flavours of Thai cuisine have conquered Mumbai's palate and entered the home kitchen as well. And personally I LOVE that lemongrass has finally come into its own and has more interesting uses than simply in tea!

Watch for part 2 and 3 of my tryst with Thai cuisine, in the coming weeks, in which I will share the secrets of how to lay a delectable Thai table. 

THAI CUISINE MASTERCLASS

I am excited to share that I am conducting a Thai cuisine Master class at Nature’s Basket Lokhandwalla at 3 on Thursday the 30^th of Sept. This will comprise a whole meal of signature dishes she I have developed over years of cooking Thai food. On the menu is Pomelo salad and Pickled cucumber crackers, Thai inspired noodle soup, Green Thai green Curry w Lemongrass Fried rice, Thai chilli sauce and Kaffir lime scented coconut milk fruit salad plus oodles of cooking tips and insights on Thai ingredients, delicious samplings and discounts on select Thai products on offer. Be there if you love Thai food because I promise this will be delicious! 


Images courtesy Bharat Bhirangi and Mrigank Sharma.