Cooking courses and enjoyment around the world – Asian delicacies part II
We cook our way around the world. Peering into foreign cooking pots and trying our hand at fancy ingredients and spices. Always with us: A good portion of curiosity and the hunger for inspiration.
I regularly cook my way around the world. I learn not only about the culinary highlights of some regions, but also a lot about the culture of the country.
In the first part already reported , and about their culinary escapades.
The enthusiasm to cook in foreign kitchens is also shared by my blogger colleagues. With it Thomas of , Tini of and Gina & Marcus of .
So get ready, for a good portion of wanderlust.
Cooking classes and enjoyment around the world – Asian delicacies part II
Cooking course in Chengdu in China
Chengdu is not only famous for its pandas, but also for its excellent Sichuan cuisine. Sichuan cuisine is very spicy. Spicy in my eyes and hot as hell in the eyes of others.
Chinese cuisine is divided into five cuisines. One of these cuisines is the Sichuan cuisine. Sichuan cuisine uses plenty of chili and pepper. This is the reason for the special spiciness. The cuisine has the reputation of offering "one dish with one taste and a hundred dishes with a hundred tastes".
During my visit to Chengdu I have the opportunity to take part in a cooking class. In a guesthouse I am expected for this in the kitchen and I receive a private cooking course. Communication with the Chinese cook is in English, Chinese and with hands.
First I get a briefing about the kitchen and all the utensils. The cook explains to me that we will prepare and eat four dishes from Sichuan cuisine together.
I learn four dishes at the cooking course, which we eat together afterwards. The cook shows me the individual steps and I try to follow her example-
Deep fried pork sweet and sour
The dish is quickly prepared. Cut pork into strips and deep-fry them briefly in a wok. Garlic and ginger. The dish is already prepared.
Gong Bao Chicken
The dish is an absolute classic of Sichuan cuisine and dates back to the Qing Dynasty. Besides chicken, the dish consists of peppers, chili peppers, fresh bamboo and chili.
Mapo Tofu
This dish is also typical for Sichuan cuisine. It consists of tofu in cubes and in addition minced meat is mixed with garlic and onions. The dish is made spicy by a chili sauce.
Jiaozi
Jiaozi are Chinese dumplings and are known in many parts of China. The dumplings can be prepared with different fillings. Jiaozi are especially popular with the family during Chinese New Year.
During my travels in Sichuan province, I also come across the fire pot again and again. Often the fire pot is associated with Mongolia. But the origin of the Huguo is in Sichuan. The fire pot is a kind of fondue and in Sichuan consists of a very spicy broth in which the various ingredients can be dipped.
There is a lot to discover in Chinese cuisine. One option is in restaurants. The more intensive variant is at a cooking course.
Thomas from Travel and Food:
Traveling the world for over 30 years. I love individual travel and also the comfort and luxury in the meantime. From backpacker to flashpacker. My preferred travel direction is Asia. In my blog I report about it and would like to inspire.
More can be found here:
Homemade curry paste and a lot of passion in Thailand
Thailand is not only known for dream beaches and friendly people, but also for very good food. We want to know not only how the dishes taste, but also how they are prepared. So what could be more natural than to attend a cooking class?
In Chiang Mai numerous cooking courses are offered. We decide for the Siam Rice Thai Cookery School because of the good rating. In the afternoon we are picked up from the hotel by a Songthaew of the cooking school and soon get to know our cooking teacher Nancy and our classmates, who come from all over the world.
Before the knives are sharpened in the kitchen, we have to go to the market to buy the ingredients. Without Nancy, this would be a hopeless undertaking, since there are so many ingredients that we don't know here in Germany. We scurry in a big ball over the market and come back a little later packed with thick bags to the cooking school.
Finally it starts. Each of us will prepare and eat a four-course meal: a soup, a dish of fried noodles, a curry with homemade curry paste, and a dessert.
With a lot of verve we go to work
With lots of chatter and laughter we chop, mince and stir our respective ingredients. Quite exhausting, especially the preparation of the curry paste in the mortar. After a short time my arm already hurts from stamping. The chili peppers do not and will not get small. How do the others do it?
And Nancy does it at a speed that makes me almost dizzy watching it. Then I also get ready and throw the ingredients into the wok. A short time later, a fine fragrance wafts through the kitchen. Under Nancy's expert guidance, the lovingly decorated and filled plates are soon on the table. Whether little or brutally hot, all tastes great.
As a crowning conclusion we have "Sticky Rice with Mango" for dessert. We were particularly taken with this one. With the recipe booklet in hand we start our way home in the evening satisfied.
Gina & Marcus from 2onthego:
Gina and Marcus, have been infected by the travel virus for some time now. However, they missed the classic times to go on a big trip in their biography.So the two of them started to conquer the world step by step – a world trip in installments, so to speak.
More can be found here:
Cooking course in Myanmar for a good cause
A cooking class in Asia must be, always and also in Myanmar. It is especially nice when the cooking class also serves a good purpose. When we were at Inle Lake in Myanmar, we discovered the small Bamboo Cooking School and booked two places for the evening.
We were the only cooking students that evening and so had the full attention of the whole kitchen crew. The ambience of the open outdoor kitchen is very cozy. The many plants and flowers make it a beautiful oasis in the middle of the city.
Sue, her husband and also all the other staff were very helpful and nice. We divided the total of six dishes between us, so I was allowed to prepare three dishes under the guidance of Sue. On the menu were: Beef curry with masala spices, Fish curry, Beans in peanut sauce, Baked eggplant salad, Rice dumplings with spring onions and Salad of tea leaves.
Even if I have already attended many cooking classes in Asia, there is always a new tip, a new way of preparing food or a new spice. You never stop learning. We could ask many questions and Sue explained a lot of the traditional Burmese cuisine to us.
The cooking class has approx. Cost 20 euros and was definitely worth it. Part of the amount goes to Sue's foundation to support education and upbringing in her village. She also gets involved with her little school in the garden: here, volunteer teachers give English lessons and can sleep and eat with her in return.
The recipes, a small cotton bag with a few spices used and the story about Sue's project you get handed out at the end. It was a great evening!
More photos and info about the
Tini from Choices of life – Travelblog:
Tini comes from Cologne and writes since February 2015 on her travelblog Choices of life. She loves to travel. Whether far away or near, whether a few days or a few weeks, but preferably individually and varied with the backpack.
When it's cold here in Germany, she loves to travel to faraway countries, and when it gets warmer again, she drifts through Europe. Always on the lookout for remote locations and special encounters with locals.