For the love of lemon grass: Learning to cook Thai food in Bangkok

Published: Wednesday, January 03, 2007


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Associated Press Galangal, right, is in the same family as ginger, left, but if it can't be found, skip it. Don't substitute ginger, which is sharper and more overpowering.

But it shouldn't, Rungsan Mulijan told a classroom of foodies during a recent day of hard-core cooking in Bangkok. Thailand's richly flavored dishes are easy to make - or at least not as difficult as you think, the Thai chef explained.

"I couldn't believe that I actually cooked it!" said 73-year-old Canadian Norman Crossley, sharing the sentiment of a dozen students attending a class on classic Thai cuisine at Bangkok's Blue Elephant cooking school.

Associated Press

Foreign cooking students pay attention to a Thai cooking instructor Chang Mulijan, partly seen, using an instrument called "krok" to make green curry paste at the Blue Elephant cooking school in Bangkok, Thailand.

The school is one of many that have sprouted across the country in response to the growing popularity of Thai food worldwide.

From Chiang Mai up north to the beaches down south, cooking courses are available for every budget. Backpacker districts offer classes for about $20, while top hotels offer a range of day courses and multi-class packages with luxury lodgings.

Associated Press

Lemongrass, top, is pounded or sliced to release its spicy, lemony flavors that seasonThai dishes. Kaffir Lime, a knobby golf-ball shaped fruit, and its leaves have a distinctive vanilla-lime fragrance that is deeply aromatic. Standard limes can be used in place of the fruit but not for the leaves.

Bangkok's famed Oriental Hotel offers short and longer term classes in a lovely Thai-style dwelling along the breezy Chao Praya river. One day classes cost $120; a four-day package including five nights lodging and a one-hour massage starts at $1,800.

The Blue Elephant, one of Bangkok's top restaurants, is located in a century-old home. Today, its teak-paneled rooms are filled with orchids and recall a more tranquil time before the invasion of skyscrapers and traffic. Day classes, held in a student kitchen on the restaurant's third and top floor, cost $85.

Associated Press

Chilies, left, come in a startling array of colors and sizes, with just two types pictured here. The smallest ones are the spiciest; to cut back on spice, remove the seeds, Thai eggplants, right, come in two sizes and are used in curries, stir-frys and soups. The larger, round type can be substituted with purple eggplants, which take less time to cook.

A recent four-hour class began with a morning tour through the outdoor Bang Rak market, an excursion the instructor billed as a foray into "the real Thailand."

The tour provided an entry to the world of spices, pastes and produce - the kaffir limes, galangal, lemon grass, tamarind, curry pastes, freshly grated coconut and chilies - that flavor Thailand's delicate soups and stir-frys.

"Now I have a better understanding of all the ingredients," said Californian Rhydonia Ring, who runs a private cooking school near San Francisco and spent a week in Bangkok attending Blue Elephant's chef's course.

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During the tour, Rungsan also suggested substitutes for ingredients that might be difficult to find back home. Cilantro root - which contributes a pungent lemon-peppery flavor - can be replaced by the stems from a bunch of fresh cilantro, minus the leaves, he explained.

Back in the classroom, lead students through four of Thai cuisine's greatest hits: green curry with chicken, sour and spicy prawn soup (tom yam goong), phad thai (Thai-style stir-fried rice noodles) and green papaya salad (som tam).

"I suggest you buy it, not make it," Rungsan half-joked while using a stone mortar and pestle to pound out a paste of lemon grass, chilies, coriander root, kaffir lime zest, galangal, garlic, shallots and shrimp paste.

His grandmother advised that it takes 45 minutes of pounding to make the real thing, he said. But most Thais will tell you they stop at 20 minutes, and a few minutes in a food processor does just fine.

At the end of the class, students ate what they cooked. Filip Ernest, 33, from the Netherlands, who squeezed in two half-day classes during a business trip to Bangkok, said his new skills would be put to good use.

"I came here without my wife, and she's upset she's not with me. So this is payback," he said. "She gets a month of Thai cooking."

PAD THAI (Thai-style stir-fried rice noodles)

(Start to finish: 40 minutes, 20 minutes active)

2 1/2 ounces of flat, thin rice noodles

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon chopped shallots

1/4 cup firm tofu, cut into thin, bite-sized rectangles

1/2 tablespoon sweet pickled turnip, minced or finely chopped (if unavailable, skip it)

1 tablespoon small dried shrimp

1/4 cup water

1 1/2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce

1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 tablespoon lime or lemon juice

2 shrimp, shelled and deveined

1 egg

1 tablespoon ground roasted peanuts, plus 1 teaspoon for garnish

1 scallion, cut into 1-inch pieces

1/4 cup bean sprouts

1 lime or lemon wedge, to garnish

Fresh cilantro leaves, to garnish

1. In a small bowl of cold water, soak the rice noodles 20 minutes, or until they can be easily bent in half without snapping. Drain.

2. Once the noodles are tender, drizzle the oil in wok (over the sides and center) set over medium-high heat. A large skillet can be substituted. Once the oil is hot, add the shallots and saute until aroma is released, about 30 seconds.

3. Add the tofu and saute another 30 seconds. Add the pickled turnip, dried shrimp and noodles, stirring quickly to separate the noodles. Add the water and simmer, covered, for about 5 minutes, or until the water has almost evaporated.

4. Add the fish sauce, sugar and lime or lemon juice. Stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the liquid mostly evaporates and caramelizes around the noodles. Add the shrimp and stir-fry another 15 seconds.

5. Push noodle mixture to one side of pan and add the egg to other side. Scramble egg with a spatula so it breaks into small pieces, then mix together with noodles. Add 1 tablespoon of the peanuts and stir-fry another 15 seconds.

6. Add the scallion and bean sprouts, stir-fry quickly for about 30 seconds, or until the scallion just begins to wilt. Remove the pan from the heat. To serve, garnish with lime or lemon wedge, ground peanuts and cilantro leaves.

Makes 1 serving.