Nested in the Himalaya foothills, just an hours’ flight from Bangkok, lies the beautiful city of Chiang Mai, where we found ourselves this morning. A pleasant change from the chaos and exhaust fumes of the south, for sure, Chiang Mai offers a nice, pleasant climate and an interesting moated old town.
One of the mainstays of the local tourism scene are the various cooking classes offered here. I was here four years ago, and I’ve always regretted not taking one of the classes. Well I’m proud to say that thanks to Gap’s School of Cooking, we are now graduates of Thai Culinary Art. In our one-day course, we made five courses, all adherent to the Thai cooking style where a palette of flavors are balanced against each other to create a fantastic meal. My favorite? The Tom Yum soup. Here’s how to make it at home:
Ingredients:
Four-five good sized tiger prawns
2 stems of Lemon grass (cut them in 2 inch pieces, and crush them)
2 Kaffir lime leaves (I could never find that back home, the Teach suggested to use a piece of lemon rind instead)
2 tbsp Galangal (sometimes called Laos powder in the US)
3-5 mushrooms (any kind)
1-2 tbsp fish sauce
1-2 tbsp Lemon Juice
1 coriander root (use the bottom part of a cilantro stem)
1 tbsp chopped spring onion
4 cups of Chicken broth
5 Bird’s eye chilies, smashed
1 tbsp. Roasted chili paste
a handful of cherry tomatoes
How to cook:
1 – Bring the stock to boil. Add galangal, cilantro stems, lime leaves (or lemon rind) and lemon grass. Boil for several minutes. Turn heat to low.
2 – Add mushrooms and tomatoes. Cook for another couple of minutes, then add prawns and cook till they are done (about a minute, depending on size).
3 – Season with fish sauce, lemon juice, smashed chilies, cilantro leaves, spring onion and roasted chili paste. Pour into serving bowls and enjoy while the soup is hot!
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
You know the saying, “to fly by the seat of your pants?” Well, that's been our philosophy for most of our adult lives – before and after meeting, falling in love and marrying. We're now taking that idea on an extended round-the-world trip. Follow us as we share the good, the bad and the downright nasty of life on the road.
