Cookinette: Cooking Class @ SITCA, Koh Samui

19.1.10

Cooking Class @ SITCA, Koh Samui

I think there are two basic kind of vacationers: the ones that are only interested in the pool, and the ones that are interested in everything BUT the pool. We are kinda "in-between" - I don´t mind a couple of days of leisure, but then my fingers start itching for something to do and discover. Good thing we met a nice couple from Frankfurt on our first day at the pool, and they told me about SITCA: the Samui Institute of Thai Culinary Arts.

At SITCA, they even train the cooks from Hilton and other big hotel chains on Thai cuisine. And they offer cooking classes for interested amateur chefs. No question I had to go there. So I hooked myself up for an afternoon class. Because you don´t only cook, you get to invite a person of your choice and eat all the stuff you´ve prepped. Love the concept.

Class started at 4 pm. We were 13, gathered all around one big table, everyone with his/her own chopping block and knife. The ingredients for the four dishes we were supposed to cook were pre-assembled on plates. Schedule: teacher explains the ingredients, you cut them up like you were told to, repeat for the other three dishes, and then go into the kitchen and cook.

Have a look at what I turned out (and these are actually really MY plates, I swear):

Yum Pla Tod (Deep Fried Fish Salad)

Pad Thai (Fried noodles with shrimps and tofu)

Green Curry with Tofu and Vegetables

Without picture, but on the later pictures, is the Coconut Chicken Soup. Actually, that was my favourite of the day, closely followed by the Pad Thai. Which you can clearly see on the next picture - my significant other caught me on that one, I guess.

The prepping of the ingredients actually took most of the time. For cooking, the prepped dishes were transferred to the kitchen. And for the cooking, you had to be quick like a chipmunk: no dish took longer than 4 minutes from start to finish. Amazing. I think I want a gas stove. NOW.

When we had cooked everything, we went upstairs into the dining room. Equipped with way more food than two people could ever handle. Next to us sat a nice couple - both had taken the class, and were stuck with food for at least 6 people. We tried really hard, but we couldn´t finish. Thankfully, the leftovers go straight to the crew of helpers, so we didn´t have to have a bad conscience after all.