A Thai Cooking Class

On June 29th, 2009, I met my cooking assistant, Mary Rondeau, at Cooking Studio AZ for a Thai cooking class. This time, I wasn’t teaching and she wasn’t prepping. We were attending a cooking class titled “Tottie’s Asian Tapas” led by Tottie Kaya, chef/owner of Tottie’s Asian Fusion Cuisine. So we sat on the other side of the counter.

The attraction
Mary and I had both eaten at Tottie’s and wanted to learn how to make some of her recipes. The menu included Calamari Poached in Coconut Broth with ginger and lemongrass, Marinated Grilled Chicken slathered in Peanut Sauce, and Grilled Pork Thai Salad wraps, plus one of Tottie’s signature dairy-free Asian ice creams. 

Round one
For the first dish, Tottie simmered the calamari in a little bit of water then made a sauce from red curry paste, coconut milk, Kaffir lime leaves, Thai fish sauce, a dash of sugar, and fresh Thai basil leaves. She simmered this separately then poured it over the calamari. Tottie suggested variations for this recipe using chicken, shrimp, or other seafood. 

The calamari in broth was ladled over individual bowls of rice vermicelli noodles and garnished with finely shredded carrots, red cabbage, and green onion. Garnishing hot soup or stew with finely shredded raw vegetables provides a crunchy contrast.

How to cook rice vermicelli
Tottie advises cooking rice vermicelli in boiling water for 15 minutes, then rinsing in hot water, draining, and covering the bowl with a plate or foil. It should look sticky. Don’t try to make these noodles look like Italian pasta. The strands won’t be all separate.

My picture of the rice vermicelli didn't come out well. You can see this uncooked picture from Wikipedia >>>

The verdict
Wow! Fabulous dish–– spicy, salty, pungent with a hint of sweetness. We practically licked our plates clean. Mary and I gave this dish a 9 ½. I stopped at an Asian market on the way home to pick up the ingredients to make this dish later in the week.

his picture on the right show's cooked rice vermicelli also from Wikipedia >>>

Dish number two
The second dish consisted of chicken marinated for 4 or more hours in a mixture of chopped lemongrass, ginger root, garlic, shallots, Thai fish sauce, cilantro, and coconut milk, with a little bit of sugar. The chicken was broiled (grilling works too) and served over cucumbers and onion with rice vinegar, garnished with shiso leaf, red cabbage, carrot, and bean sprouts and topped with peanut sauce. The marinade for this dish also works well for beef, pork, shrimp, or a rack of ribs. Tottie also recommended it for marinating eggplant, zucchini or other veggies destined for the grill.

We didn’t receive the details (read: recipe) for Tottie's Peanut Sauce, just a listing of some of the ingredients. I could tell the list was not complete at peanut butter, sake, and fish sauce with red pepper. I can understand why she wouldn’t want to give away her signature recipes, lest people stop buying them at her restaurant.

However, I would have preferred that she give us A RECIPE for the sauce with specific ingredients and amounts, even if it was a variation on or slightly different version of her restaurant recipe. I expect that in a cooking class whether I'm teaching or taking one. Never mind, I plan to look up different versions of peanut sauce in Thai cookbooks and on line and tinker with the ingredients. I’ve made peanut sauce before yet I find the differences from one restaurant to another make me curious about their make up.

Shiso leaves––sold in Asian markets––have a light peppery flavor and make a great addition to salad wraps, or minced and used as a garnish. I’d eaten them pickled with ginger root but hadn’t used the fresh leaves before.

Fishy sauce? Not!
Fish sauce is made from anchovies aged in barrels. The fermentation process removes most of the fishy flavor. Read labels carefully when shopping for everything, especially sauces. If you’re sensitive to gluten or MSG know that some brands of fish sauce contain both of these ingredients. Some brands even contain wheat! I did find a brand without wheat, gluten, or MSG at an Asian market near my house.

The third round
The next dish Tottie demonstrated was Grilled Pork in Thai Lettuce Wraps. The pork tenderloin was thinly sliced, then cut into ¼-inch strips and marinated in a mixture of Thai fish sauce, sugar, chopped Thai chilies, garlic, white pepper, and chopped roasted almonds and scallions, then stir fried and served with fresh lettuce leaves.

The verdict?
I thought the dish was good but would be great if the marinade contained more fat. I can imagine adding coconut milk or coconut or palm oil for additional moisture or using a fattier cut of pork. However, I know Tottie tends to go very light on fats and oils in her cooking, so I doubt she would change that.

Buy banana leaves
Tottie suggested wrapping this and other marinated pork pieces (or beef or chicken) in banana leaves (sold in Asian markets), tying it with kitchen twine, then baking or grilling to seal in flavor and keep the marinade and surface of the meat from drying out or burning. Candy Lesher, The woman who runs Cooking Studio AZ, mentioned cooking a rack of lamb ribs wrapped in banana leaves. Sounds like something to experiment with.

The finale
For our final tasting Tottie served one of her popular 100% dairy-free coconut milk ice creams. Whereas many Thai restaurants use a combination of coconut milk and cow’s milk or cream to make their coconut ice cream, Tottie uses only coconut milk then adds sugar and herbs, spices, fruits, or vegetable purées.

We sampled Lychee Coconut Milk Ice Cream, made with a fragrant, sweet tropical fruit fruit that grows well in China, India, Madagascar, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, southern and central Taiwan, northern Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Southern Africa and Mexico.

I found the dessert light (I think it was made from lite rather than full fat coconut milk), tangy, and pleasantly sweet without being cloying. I could have eaten another scoop if it had been offered. Although we didn't receive the recipe for this dish, I created an entire book (The Ice Dream Cookbook) filled with dozens and dozens of low-sugar, naturally sweetened, dairy free coconut milk-based ice cream alternatives sweetened with honey and stevia, so I have do doubt that I could replicate something like what she made, maybe even better! If I decide to make that dessert I’ll use one of my Ice Dream recipes as a stepping off point. I have no doubt that I could find the fruit for it at the 99 Ranch Market in Phoenix or the Lee Lee Market in Chandler.

My overall impression
I thought the class was fun and the portions for the three entrées were generous. I learned how to use some unfamiliar ingredients. I went home armed with fun food facts, ideas for using familiar ingredients in new ways, and recipes to play with.

Fun facts
Chilies are indigenous to America.  Originally Asian cuisines used black pepper. Thai chili is not as hot as Habanero pepper. It’s similar in heat to Serrano chili.

Did you know––you can make a relaxing, nourishing, and moistening non-dairy milk bath by pouring a few cans of coconut milk into a hot bath and taking a soak? Sounds great with a generous sprinkle of oil of lavender added or maybe a sprinkle of cocoa powder.

Cooking Studio AZ
The set up for the class was spacious room. We sat at round tables with black table clothes. We had room to spread out with our notes, printed recipes, water, and plates of food. Although we didn't receive recipes for two of the dishes we sampled, I enjoyed the food, the information, and the experience.After taking the class, I received a coupon for $10 off on the next class I take. I plan to go back for another class to expand my repertoire and see how other instructors teach. 

You can check out the classes I'm teaching at Cooking Studio AZ by clicking here

From presentation to practice
I made the Calamari Poached in Coconut Broth infused with ginger and lemongrass at home a few days after the class. To keep the carbs down I replaced the rice vermicelli with Konjac root pasta (Miracle Noodle), a grain-free, gluten-free, zero carb pasta made from a traditional Japanese vegetable.

I made one mistake in shopping for ingredients. I bought large rather than small calamari, which I’ll be careful not to do next time. I preferred the look and taste of the smaller calamari and the way they spread throughout the soup.

Calamari Poached in Coconut Milk
(Serves 4)

Recipe from Tottie’s Asian Tapas class with Chef Tottie Kaya held at Cooking Studio AZ on June 29, 2009.

Ingredients:
8 ounces of small prepared (trimmed, cleaned) calamari
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (I used coconut oil; I don’t buy vegetable oil)
1 ¾ cups unsweetened full fat coconut milk
4 kaffir lime leaves
2 tablespoon Thai fish sauce (I bought a wheat free, MSG free brand)
1 tablespoon sugar (I used palm sugar; 2 teaspoons honey would also work)
2 tablespoon fresh Thai basil, torn or thinly slices into strips
2 tablespoon Red Curry Paste (she used Mae Ploy brand)

1. Rinse the calamari and pat dry on a paper towel. Add calamari to a pre-heated wok and stir-fry without oil (using water) for about 4 minutes. Remove the calamari from the wok and set aside. 

Note: Mix a little water or fish sauce with the dry lumps of red curry paste before adding it to this or any other sauce.

2. Add the remaining ingredients (except calamari) to the wok and mix ingredients well. 
Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the calamari and cook for about 2 minutes, taking care not to overcook the calamari to ensure that it remains tender (overcooking makes it tough and leathery!).

3. Just prior to serving adjust the flavor to taste by adding a bit more Thai basil or fresh lime juice if you like. Ladle into bowls, garnish with finely shredded vegetables (carrot, scallion, cabbage) if desired and serve.

Note: You can store the curry paste in the original container or transfer it to a jar; refridgerate it either way.

Comments

[Norris Hall]

Try this Thai cooking website.
www.thaifoodtonight.com
It's got about 30 recipes each one with a cooking video to go along.