Cooking in Chiang Mai

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February 5th 2007

Published: February 6th 2007

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enroutetooz

Tom Yam soup

We spent 6 days in Chiang Mai where I did a three day Thai cookery course, what a little chefette! It was really good, run by Thailand’s celebrity chef Sompon Nabnian (he does a programme for UKTV called Thai Way). I have to say the course was excellent, the one I did took place at the cooking school at Sompon’s house.

Every morning I was picked up from our hotel by Nid, a lovely girl who works there. Then we went to the office in Chiang Mai and on to the cooking school. It is really well equipped with a personal cooking station for everyone (with a monster gas burner - want one of those!). There is also a classroom where Sompon or one of his chef’s explain each dish before letting the amateurs loose!

Well I was totally amazed by the delicious food we made which was really good, everything from fish cakes to steamed banana pudding - yummy! We were all so excited to be able to make such great food. However everything we made we also ate, so by lunchtime on the first day I was totally full after eating Tom Yam soup (hot and spicy

The master chef!

Sompon cooks my fish cakes

prawn soup), Thai fish cakes, Pad Thai (noodles in a sweet sauce with vegetables and egg) and Green Curry and rice!!! Then we still made minced chicken salad and water chestnuts and coconut cream in the afternoon.

When I got back I felt really guilty because Sven said ‘Are you ready to go for dinner- I am starving’ but I couldn’t eat another thing. The second day I saved him loads of food to try including fried fish with chilli and basil sauce so he was well happy.

On the second day we made our own curry paste which was really good and on the third day Aan tok us to the market to explain all the ingredients. Everything was really fresh, especially the fish which were still swimming around in a tank!!

I also met some great people during the 3 days, especially Fiona from England and Chad and Anna from Oz! We had a really good time and are all now expert Thai cooks! (well nearly).

The highlight of the whole cooking experience for me was our visit to Jasmine Rice, a new resort that Sompon is building. Almost finished it is really beautiful,

Mmmmm...

Now I get to eat them

set in the rice fields several kilometres from Chiang Mai. It only has 14 rooms, which will be fantastic, including some villas set around the swimming pool. On our last night in Chiang Mai Sven and I went to the resort for a 5 course gourmet meal (on the recommendation of Chad and Anna who had been two nights earlier). It was a magical evening with only seven of us dining in the restaurant to an orchestra of frogs croaking away.

For each dish Sompon served it to our individual tables and explained the dish to us before we ate it. We had some fantastic food including the King’s curry containing quails eggs. For dessert Sompon made the classic mango and sticky rice with coconut milk, making the sticky rice in front of us on a giant gas stove. Whilst the rice was cooking we went outside and each couple sent up a lantern, the Thai people do this to get rid of bad luck. We watched the lanterns float up into the sky until they disappeared. A lovely evening; truly a once in a lifetime experience.

A big thank you to Sompon and a big hello to