A Thai Cooking Class

One of the great pleasures of living in Chiang Mai is the quality of the food to be found in literally hundreds of little spots around the city. Sarah and I want to make sure that we are able to continue eating this kind of delicious food even after we leave so, with that in mind, we took a full day Thai cooking class last week. It is called Grandma’s Thai Recipes and is run by a lovely woman named Jib (most Thais have nicknames which are nothing like their real names but are much easier for farangs to pronounce). Jib and her family own a restaurant which operates at the Lanna Golf Course just north of Chiang Mai and it was there that we spent the day cooking. Jib only does private lessons so we were the only students that day. She even came to our building to pick us up.

Jib allowed us to choose up to 8 dishes to cook (and afterward eat) so we chose the following: kau tang ta Tang (rice cakes in peanut sauce), som tam (papaya salad), gai pad met mamuang (cashew chicken), kau pad (fried rice), pad preeawan (sweet and sour stir fry), kao soi (yellow curry), tom yum (lemongrass soup) and sticky rice. Some of the other cooking classes are done in a classroom type setting where each student would have his/her own station. However, our lessons took place right in the kitchen of the restaurant on a busy Friday. There were positives and negatives to this arrangement. It was interesting to see the real chefs preparing food for customers but I felt constantly like we were in their way. Nobody seemed to mind our presence though and, like most people we’ve met here, made us feel extremely welcome.

At the risk of hyperbolizing and sounding boastful, I believe that the food we cooked was better than any food that has ever been cooked in history. Of course Jib played a small part in our success by showing us exactly what to do every second of the day. Seriously though, she was a wonderful host and we had a great day. There’s no way we would be able to remember everything she taught us but a detailed recipe book comes as part of the course. The process itself was often fascinating and they even still use an oversized mortar and pestle (I haven’t seen those since grade 10 science class) to grind the various ingredients into paste. Jib was thoughtful enough to tell us we could use a food processor for this procedure back in Canada. She also told us that a Thai kitchen should be noisy so the pounding of the pestle and the smashing of the garlic are just normal noises. 

Six hours is usually a little longer than I like to spend in the kitchen, but on this day it was definitely worth it. 

Until next time…….. 

 Click here to see all the photos from our cooking day.
 Click here for the link to Jib's Cooking Class 

A VISIT TO JEN’S HOUSE - January 5, 2014

Sarah and I made a very special trip today to Jen’s House, located approximately one hour’s drive outside of Chiang Mai. Who is Jen and why was this trip so special? Let me back up a bit to explain.

In December we met Coleen Scott and her husband Bob while visiting with some other farangs (foreigners) on our little laneway in Chiang Mai. Coleen and Bob are from Ottawa and come to Chiang Mai each winter, but their purpose here is much greater and more noble than to simply escape the frigid temperatures of Canada’s capital. It is as much a personal mission as it is an annual holiday. Coleen first came to Thailand in 2001 with her daughter Jenny, and while trekking through the mountains became acquainted with the Karen hill tribe people, an ethnic group living in the mountains of both Myanmar and Thailand. Coleen and Jenny were instantly captivated by the simplicity of their lifestyle and the kindness and love they displayed. They also saw first-hand the challenges faced, in particular the lack of education. Jenny immediately decided she wanted to work with the Karen (this is the Anglicized spelling and the emphasis is on the second syllable).

In 2003 Jenny died tragically, but Coleen somehow summoned the strength to overcome her grief and find a way to capture her daughter’s spirit in the form of Jen’s House. It is a home for 24 girls and boys from the Karen hill tribes who live there while attending school in the local community. The kids are aged 12 to 17 and we were lucky enough to meet many of the students as well as several who have graduated and have gone on to university.  Coleen and Bob received generous donations but also used their personal funds to build the house.

The paragraphs above do not do justice to the entire story but I’m hoping it has provided enough of a history for you to appreciate the compelling reasons for our visit. For much more information please check out this website: www.kleosupportgroup.org

On to our visit. Jen’s House is about as basic a structure as you will find. It is by no means a North American style dormitory with private rooms, comfortable furniture and well-equipped kitchen.  No, the girls all sleep together in one room on simple bunk beds. Actually, the girls mainly use the beds for storage and sleep on the floor. The bathrooms are outside and contain squat toilets and the students must shower using a bucket. The house recently received a donated couch but it’s doubtful that any of us would permit it in our homes given its dilapidated state. While these conditions may sound somewhat primitive, it was all by design. Coleen believed strongly that the students should feel at home and the emphasis is on community and opportunity as opposed to luxury and materialism. Coleen makes it very clear that her goal is not to “save” kids or “improve” their lives. She and the KLEO organization offer the opportunity for these kids to achieve a higher education than they would be able to do within their villages. The hope is that these students will use their education to help preserve and improve the Karen culture.

Sarah and I both felt an incredibly positive energy throughout the day. The kids, although shy, were welcoming and respectful, with the most incredible smiles. They performed their chores, completed their schoolwork, and prepared our lunch (Coleen insists on the kids accepting responsibility), all the while giggling like the most contented children in the world. Once again I am amazed at how happy people can be while having, from a westerner’s materialistic view, so little.

A truly inspiring day.

Click here to see all the photos in the facebook album.

Until next time...

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!