The city of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand boasts many picturesque spots, beautiful Buddhist temples, and a rich cultural tradition. Though not as sophisticated as Bangkok, it is still a beautiful place, located far from the hustle and bustle of the capital. Many visitors come to Chiang Mai to visit its temples, such as the popular Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep, but a popular “must-do” activity when visiting this fine city is to take a traditional Thai cooking class.

Many places offer these classes around Thailand, but one of the most popular are the courses offered by at the Chiang Mai Thai Cookery School. The school’s founder, Chef Sompon Nabnian (host of UK TV’s “Thai Way”), started the very first cooking school in the area. The school offers 5 different courses, which can be taken individually or all together for a complete Thai cooking experience.

I took the course that was devoted to making curry. For our class that day, we made Panang Curry (Nam Prik Panaeng) from scratch.

The first part of the recipe was making the actual curry paste. Traditional Thai curry consists of several different spices and ingredients. Chef Sompon first showed the class the different tools and ingredients used to make curry.



The paste consists of the several ingredients: coriander seeds, cumin seeds, mace (the outer shell of the nutmeg seed), green peppers, ginza, lemograss, shrimp paste etc. The complete list of ingredients and recipe can be found here:

Basically, all the ingredients need to pounded together in a large mortar.


After about 20-30 minutes of pounding, the paste is ready!

But the we’re only halfway done! The curry is then cooked with coconut milk, pork, palm sugar, basil and kaffir leaves to make delicious Panang Curry Pork.

Labels: International Flair

A good friend of mine learned how to make these Spring Rolls from her Vietnamese roommate. I have always loved these spring rolls in restaurants, and am so excited to be able to make them at home for a fraction of the cost! Thank you Ellen!

There are two things that you will need to purchase from an Asian market: rice noodles and rice paper. The rice paper is what you see in the upper left. This is the best brand for the task. If you can't read it, it's Banh Trang Mekong brand of Mekong rice paper.

To begin, you'll need to gather all your ingredients:
*Peanut Sauce - this is my favorite part.
*Meat - cooked and cut into bite-sized pieces. You can use any kind of meat or tofu; we used both chicken and shrimp.
*Vegetables - raw and shredded. Again, almost any sort of vegetable will do. We used lettuce and carrots.
*Noodles - cooked according to package directions.
*Rice paper

Heat some water to very warm (but not warm enough to burn you) and pour it into a pan that is large enough to fit a piece of flat rice paper.

Submerge one piece of rice paper in the water for 5 seconds. Remove from water and carefully spread it out. Place vegetables, meat, and noodles in the center of the paper, about three inches long and two inches wide. Fold up one of the long sides, then the two short sides, then complete the roll. The paper should stick together to create a nice spring roll shape. It took me a few times to get the hang of it!

Serve with the peanut sauce and enjoy! Delicious!

Labels: International Flair

Noodles with Black Bean Sauce (click for recipe), or Cha Chang Myun (자장면), is a popular Korean food similar to Spaghetti, except that the sauce is based on black beans instead of tomatoes.

This dish is a favorite with my toddlers. (Though before giving it to little ones I rinse the sauce off - or cover the floor with plastic, remove all clothes, and plan to head straight from the high chair to the bath!)

There are only two ingredients that you might not be familiar with: black bean paste and udang (or udon) noodles. If you can't find the noodles, you can substitute regular spaghetti. The black bean paste is the most difficult; you'll probably have to visit a Korean store for this one. It's not the "Black Bean Garlic Sauce" you might see in your International aisle. The picture might help. If you're not sure, ask a clerk what to use for cha chang myun. I'm certain they will be happy to help.

The recipe makes a huge amount of food. I usually divide the pot into four sections. One I put on the table, and the other three I freeze in plastic bags for later. It stores very well and reheats easily. Just put the plastic bag in some warm water until liquid starts forming inside, then put everything in a pot for 20 minutes or so until it's hot.

Labels: International Flair