TASTE of THAILAND
The Sarojin, on the white-sand beaches of Khao Lak, north of Phuket, is one of many Thai hotels offering cookery courses for guests. But its courses come with a twist – the lessons take place in the middle of a national park, beside a waterfall.
Our day started with a trip to the market in the village of Bang Niang with chef Dang – a world of fish and fowl, exotic fruits and veg, many often unknown to my partner and me. Even those we thought we knew came in different guises, such as a variety of aubergine no bigger than a pea and the five types of basil, each exuding a distinctly different whiff.
Our next stop was Pakweep, or Rainbow Waterfalls, where the cooking station was set up. A table with a white tablecloth had been elegantly laid just yards from the cascade.
Dang gave us each a set of recipes to make three courses, talked us through the ingredients, and then monitored our every move. First course was deepfried prawns wrapped in crispy noodles, a dish we’d had on our first evening at the Sarojin. Could we compete with the pros? Sort of, although in our version, each prawn wore a bad-hair-day of noodles rather than a tight perm. But they were still delicious.
The second course was a coconut, vegetable and chicken soup. Again, super tasty and mildly spicy (we used one of the less potent chillies). The third course was pad thai, a familiar dish in UK restaurants, but ours was, dare I say it, superior.
Our time as chefs – complete with big hats and Sarojin-branded aprons, while standing just yards from the waterfall – was in full view of tourists, who targeted us with their cameras! And just as we thought the feasting had come to an end, Dang quietly produced a super-spicy prawn in a rich satay sauce, which was truly delicious, though I swore if I were to eat any more prawns, I’d arrive home wearing a bright pink shell. DETAILS: A cookery class for two at the Sarojin (sarojin.com) costs £135pp. Holidays to Thailand can be booked through Kuoni (kuoni.co.uk).