“Healthy Thai Eats”
Time, place and cost: Held at Expat Kitchen’s studio in Little India (#02-01, 9 Norris Road), this three-hour class costs $165 per person. What’s cooking: Pad Thai noodles with tofu, green chicken curry, tom yam soup, green mango salad and chicken with basil leaves.
Admittedly, I was a little apprehensive about attending a three-hour cooking class, but it ended up being a completely pleasant surprise. I’d always assumed that Thai cooking would be overwhelming, with long lists of ingredients ( not to mention all the cutting!), but I really enjoyed making the dishes; they’re ideal for someone like me who craves easy, healthy meals.
The mango salad was a simple way to start, particularly with the special mango peeler that we used – this gadget is a great investment if you love this kind of salad! Aside from the quick prep time, I also liked that the teacher allowed us to choose our own levels of heat; usually mango salad comes with lots of chilli, so it was nice to be able to tone things down! The dressing for the salad was relatively easy, too, though it was a little tricky trying to find the balance between salty, sweet and sour; I got there in the end.
Two other dishes that I enjoyed as much for their simplicity as for their flavour were tom yam soup – I was surprised that only the inside of the lemongrass is used, not the outside! – and green chicken curry; we popped all the ingredients for the curry paste into a blender, and added coconut cream.
The verdict: I would definitely be able to recreate these dishes for a Thai-style dinner party. I’ll also make them for my two girls, since they’re healthy and tasty.
I loved that the class was very relaxed with a friendly vibe; everyone seemed pleased to be there and learning something new. I personally asked a lot of questions that the teacher was happy to answer in great detail. She was easy to talk to, and you could see that she loves what she does – teaching and sharing her knowledge of cooking. I would love to go back and do a couple more classes.
Expat Kitchen offers a variety of cooking courses each week for beginners and seasoned cooks alike. It also offers corporate classes, private parties and special sessions for kids.
The next “Healthy Thai Eats” class will be held on 29 June. Other upcoming highlights include “Cooking with Quinoa”, to be held this month, and “Saigon Street Food”, “Italian Feast” and “Chicken’licious” in July.