Thai Cooking School
By jeni | November 12, 2008
One thing Thailand is known for, and especially Chiang Mai, is cooking school. Of all of the cuisines I’ve tried while in Asia, Thai food is far and away my favorite. I love the ingredients – coconut milk, peanuts, papaya, hot chiles, curry, banana – I could go on and on. The great thing about Thai food, besides of course, it’s delicious taste, is that it’s relatively easy to make. So with hope in our hearts and hunger in our bellies, Amy and I hit Chiang Mai’s “first and most famous” Thai cooking school, aptly named the Chiang Mai Thai Cookery School.
We had an absolute blast. This was one of my favorite things I did while in Thailand, and if you go I absolutely recommend you try this out. So much fun. And informative too. 🙂
We started the morning with a trip to the local market, where our instructors showed off some local ingredients and explained how we would be using them in our dishes.
Behold the vegetables…
Here our instructor is explaining how they use every last bit of the coconut to get the water, the meat, coconut milk and coconut cream.
And the spices… so. many. spices.
A little kid driving a motor bike through the market (not really of course, but it looked like it)
After about an hour wandering around the market and learning all about galangal and other mysterious ingredients, we all climbed back into the bed of the truck (that was an experience in and of itself) and hit the road to cook some food.
First up, one of my favorite Thai dishes and my favorite of the day, chicken in coconut milk soup, or Tom Kha Gai. I was a little nervous at first, but soon realized I absolutely could not fail because pretty much all the prep work was done for me. It worked like this: our class of six sat in a little room and watched a demonstration of the dish being cooked, complete with upside-down mirror so we could see what was in the instructor’s pot, and then we went out to our own stations to try to recreate what we had just seen. For every dish our ingredients were provided for us, all we had to do was a tiny bit of measuring, chopping and then or course the actual cooking. No frantically flipping open cabinet doors because I forgot this or that, no running next door to the neighbors for an egg. Now I see why celebrity chefs make it look so easy. Because all of their assistants are doing the actual hard labor.
The demonstration:
So, once back at our respective stations after the first demonstration, we chopped a few veggies, got the pan (with oil already inside) hot, and then went at it. After each dish we sat and tried a bit, then went to watch another demonstration, and when we came back out, each cooking station had been miraculously cleaned and set up with new ingredients for the next dish. Amazing!
Here’s the Tom Kha Gai:
Next up was Raad Nah Muu, or fried, big noodles with thick sauce. This was my least favorite of the dishes, but still pretty good. It used tapioca flour as a thickening agent, like cornstarch. I guess neither Amy or I took a picture of this one, but it looked like mushy brown big noodles.
Next, Gaeng Phed Plaa (red curry with fish) and then Phad Hed Ruam Khao Pod Orn (fried mixed mushrooms with baby corn). We cooked these one after another and then enjoyed together for lunch.
The veggies:
And the curry:
You can see my cooking station there behind me to the left. See how proud I am? I made that!
After the lunch break, we got back to it, making a fantastic Khanom Kluay (steamed banana cake) first because it had to go in the steamer. It’s basically a banana, some sugar, flour, coconut and tapioca flour all mashed up together and steamed for thirty minutes. Delicious.
Finally we were ready for our last dish, which was a team effort. I would have rather had this earlier in the day as it was really nice and fresh, a good starter, but I guess they saved it for last so we could all make it together. Som Tam (papaya salad) is a really famous Thai dish that uses green papaya shreds and is super spicy (unless you tame it up, which they did for us, and it was still super spicy). You make it by pounding all the ingredients in this big bowl pounder thingy (sorry for the lame description). So one person chops, one person pounds, and one person carves pretty vegetables. I got to chop, Amy got to carve and dude next to me got to pound. I wanted to pound but I wasn’t really in the mood to fight him for it so I let him. I think he needed to get some aggression out anyway.
Here’s the finished product. Sorry for the blurry photo.
See that tomato flower? Amy carved that.
And that, my friends, is Thai cooking school. See how fun it was? I would love to go back and learn more – Amy and I have even been discussing throwing a Thai dinner party when I get home to Colorado, provided of course we can find all the ingredients and remember what the heck we’re supposed to do. All I know is that we need fish sauce. Lots and lots of fish sauce.
P.S. Thanks to my sister Amy for providing some of the photos.
Topics: food, sightseeing, Thailand, traveling | No Comments »
City Life in Chiang Mai
By jeni | November 7, 2008
Thailand. Wow. I hardly know where to begin. We had such an amazing trip.
I guess I’ll start from the beginning. The beginning again that is, since I wrote this entire post already and completely lost it. I was really mad but then I went to yoga and now I’m zen again so it’s okay. Here goes.
We started in Chiang Mai, also known as the Rose of the North. Chiang Mai is nestled up against the mountains that separate Thailand from Burma (Myanmar). They look more like hills compared to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, but they are mountains nonetheless. And what do mountains offer?
That’s right, a cool breeze. John and I were so excited about the coolness of Chiang Mai after sweating in Singapore for the past four months we were practically ready to don our winter coats. The coolness brought with it rain, but we got some uber-cheap ponchos from 7-11 (or just 7, as the locals call it) and we were set.
We spent four days in Chiang Mai, some of it in the city, wandering around the Sunday market and the night bazaar, checking out the local handicrafts and going to Thai cooking school, and some of it out of the city, visiting the temple on the mountain, hiking up waterfalls and of course, riding the elephants. I’m going to get to all of that eventually, but I want to focus on the city first.
Oh the city. There are remnants of zillion year-old city walls still standing, but the city itself burst out of the walls a long time ago. I think Chiang Mai might look a bit like what Siem Reap, Cambodia will look like in five or maybe ten years. There are more cars than tuk tuks now, but the ever-present motorbikes, complete with three or four people on board still whiz around the streets. The city thrives on tourism, it’s clear by the shops boasting zipline tours, white-water rafting, and three-day treks into the jungle, the hundreds of massage parlors, bars and restaurants, shops and carts selling everything under the sun – handmade silk scarves, fried noodles, fake handbags, homemade soap and candles, beer logo t-shirts and coconut ice cream.
Apparently Thailand is the only country in the region that was never colonized, so the culture was really allowed to grow and blossom and you can really see that in Chiang Mai. That doesn’t mean modern life hasn’t trickled in though – we definitely stopped in the Apple store to compare prices against Singapore (you know John couldn’t help himself).
I loved Chiang Mai. I loved our hotel even though it had door handles shaped like dragons whose tails could rip your shirt and cut your arm if you weren’t careful. I loved the rain and the bar right down the street called John’s place where Amy and I sat and had a beer and eavesdropped on some middle-aged American guy trying to pick up a girl who was quite clearly 1. gay and 2. not interested in him. I loved the fact that coconut and bananas are everywere. I loved the way the Thai writing looks, even on the McDonald’s sign and the bag of Lay’s potato chips. I loved that the spring rolls, even at the “fancy” restaurant on the Ping River, were still only about $2. I loved sitting and laughing with my family and enjoying a taste of Thai life.
Since I’ve now rewritten this post twice, I’m going to give up and leave you with some photos of the city. The elephants, hiking up waterfalls and touring the temple on the mountain, along with our trip to Koh Samui, coming soon.
The chickens in the cornstalks.
These are the hot chili squid potato chips. And yes John actually ate them.
John modeling his awesome poncho.
Our tuk tuk driver was very entrepreneurial and had a nice sign advertising all the activities you can do in Chiang Mai. I mean who doesn’t want to go shooting while in Thailand right?
And of course, enjoying the free Chang beers at our hotel.
Topics: rain, sightseeing, Thailand, traveling | No Comments »
Election Day Mania
By jeni | November 5, 2008
Living abroad during a historic U.S. election has been an interesting and enlightening experience when it comes to understanding the world’s perceptions of the United States. I’m only speaking for my experiences, which have been confined of course to Singapore and some of the other countries I’ve traveled in around Southeast Asia, but I do think what I’ve experienced is probably fairly representative of other American experiences at least in Asia.
So what do people in Asia think of the American election? I think they are like the rest of the world – they are fascinated with the United States and our process. Most of the time they wonder what the heck we are thinking, but they rely so heavily upon us in terms of both our economic and cultural impact they can’t help but watch what we do with baited breath.
One thing Singaporeans don’t worry about is keeping political beliefs private. I’ve had plenty of people ask me outright – who are you voting for? In the U.S. this is sort of a taboo subject – maybe less so with everyone getting behind their candidates, but in most circles it’s generally accepted that we don’t talk about politics or religion. Well in Singapore, that just doesn’t apply. People have absolutely no qualms about asking you who you voted for and why. And they don’t mind prying either. It’s just a cultural difference, but it can be pretty disarming at first.
It’s also interesting to watch world news sites and how they are reporting the election. We get CNN, Channel News Asia, and BBC World and I’m sitting here this morning flipping through the news sites watching the results roll in.
CNN is being very cautious about calling the states at this point, I think they’ve called seven states or so (9:20 a.m. Singapore time, 8:20 ET in the U.S.) while BBC world is already calling Obama as the winner. And Channel News Asia is currently telling me why the donkey is the symbol of the democrats. So maybe they don’t care as much as I thought. I think CNN is worrying about getting burned like they’ve done in the past, while BBC World just wants it to be over with. And Channel News Asia is just trying to make it interesting, so good for them.
Anyway, I’m bummed that I can’t be in Colorado with everyone waiting on the results, but at least I got my vote in a few weeks ago (THAT was a process, and I’m appalled that the Colorado absentee ballot for Americans abroad had the WRONG email address on one of it’s pages).
So if you’re in the U.S., enjoy the race! I know I’ll be glued to my laptop and the TV for the next few hours. Go Obama!
Edited to Add: Today we witnessed history! Yes we can and yes we did!
Topics: culture clash, tv | No Comments »
Thailand Preview
By jeni | November 3, 2008
Hey everyone! Sorry for the lack of posts, we’ve been in Thailand for the past week. I’m still sorting though a ton of pictures, but let me just tell you we had an amazing time. I’ll be back this week with more detailed posts and pictures, but here’s a preview:
- Riding elephants bareback and developing subsequent disgusting itchy elephant rash
- Going to Thai cooking school and learning all about the many uses of fish sauce
- Renting motorbikes and getting lost in Koh Samui
- Kayaking through Thailand’s national Marine Park
- Sawasdee ka and Korp Kun Ka (Spelling on those to be determined)
Be back soon with more!
Topics: sightseeing, Thailand, traveling | No Comments »
Quiet please
By jeni | October 23, 2008
Patience is a virtue.
Unfortunately it’s not my virtue.
Oh, I can be patient, when I’m waiting in a queue (yes I’m still saying queue) or when I’ve asked a server for a check or when I’m doing something boring like waiting for my laundry to dry.
What I don’t have much patience for is people. I’m the first to say it, I’m easily annoyed. If you know me at all, you know this is true. I want to be all zen-like and not be bothered and have the little things just roll right off my back, but unfortunately, I tend to get irrationally upset about really stupid things.
What am I talking about? My biggest pet peeve. It’s incredibly stupid, most people don’t understand it, but it annoys the crap out of me.
Public whistling.
Walking down the street, enjoying your day? The sun is out, it’s Saturday, life is good. So you decide to whistle a little tune? Don’t do it. It drives me crazy. I don’t know why, but it provokes some kind of indescribable rage. I guess it’s something about other people imposing their happiness on me. I don’t know. I can’t explain it, but I hate it.
In all honesty, I just plain can’t stand whistling in general. Even in private. Sometimes John starts just to bug me. But it usually doesn’t last long because he feels my wrath.
So yeah, stupid pet peeve, but it’s my pet peeve I guess. I know it’s completely ridiculous, but it’s mine all the same. So I hate public whistling. What do other people hate? This site, Peeve Pile, has some pretty entertaining pet peeves.
What are yours?
Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Fall fashion
By jeni | October 22, 2008
One of the things I’m really missing about living in Colorado this October is the beautiful fall weather. Fall is my favorite season – I love the crispness in the air, the changing leaves, the jeans and sweaters and boots. But of course, living in a tropical climate, I don’t get to experience my favorite season. Which is okay, because I get to experience a new season here in Singapore.
It’s called the rainy season. And it’s pretty much the same as the so-called “dry” season, because it rains quite a bit year-round here, except for that during the rainy season, you’re pretty much guaranteed a good soaker EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
I don’t mind the rain, because frankly it cools the city down to a bearable temperature and it usually doesn’t last all that long. Yes, the days where it rains nonstop can get monotonous, but sometimes I’d rather have rain than sunshine. I’m dark like that.
Anyway, so yesterday, I was in Zara, which is an awesome Spanish clothing store, shopping around and admiring all of the beautiful fall clothes and I decided to try on a coat, just for the fun of it. Well I was twirling about in front of the mirror, wishing I could just walk outside in this coat, but knowing I would probably melt on the spot if I attempted it, when the sales woman stopped behind me and said “Oh, just get it, no one will say anything if you’re wearing it.”
I laughed because honestly, she was right. I could walk down Orchard Road in that coat and no one would bat an eye. Except maybe a few tourists. Because even though it seems crazy, people do that here. They don’t care about the heat, they care about fashion. Women, men, children. And fall clothes are in season right now, so fall clothes are what we’re going to wear.
Don’t get me wrong, not everyone does this. Most people stick to a strict uniform of light, cool, warm-weather clothing. But you’d be surprised at how many people are rocking jeans, sweaters, and boots on a daily basis here in Singapore.
I didn’t buy the coat. Because even during the rainy season, I just couldn’t warrant it. But I just might go back and get it anyway, because it’s getting cooler in Colorado, and I’ll be back there soon enough.
Topics: hot, shopping | 1 Comment »
Bali
By jeni | October 19, 2008
So…I went to Bali. Got back the week before last and I still haven’t written about it. Sue me. I’m writing abou tit now.
My mom came to visit and we went to Bali and it was fantastic. Bali is pretty much everything you think it’s going to be. It’s a beautiful island in Indonesia. The beaches are beautiful, the hotels are beautiful, the women are beautiful, everything is beautiful.
But it’s not all sunshine and chi chi’s no no. There are some bad parts. Only a few tiny bad parts, but there are some.
First, the airport in Denpasar. The flight from Singapore is only about 2.5 hours, and we flew Singapore Airlines, which is always great. Once we arrived however, things weren’t great. We got off the plane and proceeded through the blast of heat and humidity and a virtual free-for-all of everyone else coming off the plane to get our visas. Well, buying our visas went smoothly, which doesn’t always happen in Indonesia, but then came the wait to get through immigration. Wait wait wait.
It took forever. Then some German people cut in line and a woman next to us almost lost her mind. I thought there were going to be fisticuffs. Luckily we all remained calm and got through immigration, picked up our bags and caught a taxi to the hotel.
Driving through Denpasar and over to our hotel, which was in Nusa Dua and kind of the “resort-y” area of Bali, was an adventure. My mom was amazed at all of the scooters, and the lack of any sort of traffic rules whatsoever. This wasn’t new to me as I had seen it all over Cambodia. In fact, I’ve spent several weeks now repeatedly forbidding my husband from buying a scooter here in Singapore.
Once we arrived at our hotel, we were treated to a serious security check. Bomb-sniffing dogs and sweeping of the vehicle and everything. It was hardcore. I guess since the bombings in 2002, security like this is par for the course. Later we saw the bomb-sniffing dog playing fetch with his master next to the hotel chapel. It was sweet.
Our hotel, the Conrad, was fabulous. We spent the entire time we were there, four days, lounging about by the pool and watching the Balinese dancers at dinner and going to the little gym and spying on the people getting married there (our room overlooked the chapel and there was a wedding every single day we were there). We did venture out a little, to walk along the beach, do a little shopping and check out some of the surrounding hotels, but for the most part this was a full-on mother-daughter relaxation vacation. And it was great. (When we didn’t watch Fox News together, because our differing political views turned out to be a little much for pleasant discussion. LOL)
I’d love to go to Bali and see Ubud and Seminyak and pretend I’m Liz from Eat Pray Love, but I think that’s another trip for another time. And honestly, I’m not sure anything could top the trip I had with my mom, so I probably won’t even try it. I’ll leave you with a few pictures.
A view of the pool and the ocean in the distance:
Pool and lounge chairs:
Lovely beach:
The giant chess board.
Enjoying a giant chi chi after a ridiculously hot walk on the beach.
The wedding chapel. Can someone get married here and invite me so I can come back?
Topics: Bali, culture clash, flying, hot, Indonesia, sightseeing | 3 Comments »
October 14
By jeni | October 14, 2008
Happy Anniversary to a man I’m honored to be able to travel the world and spend my life with. Here we are eight years ago, in September of 2000, in the house in Boulder I lived in my Junior year of college. Love you more every day.
Topics: Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Walking on the tops of trees
By John | October 13, 2008
Lately I’ve really been missing the Colorado wilderness. I realized that we’re extremely fortunate to have such amazing forest and mountains so near to Denver. Not wanting to simply look forward to hiking when I get back to Colorado, I decided to look up a hike that I could do while still in Singapore.
I decided on a hike in MacRitchie Reservoir National Park. I hiked all day last Saturday and it was great. I saw the HSBC Treetop Walk (funny that it’s sponsored by a bank, no?), lizards, dragonflies and even monkeys. Jeni would’ve come with me but she was too busy relaxing with her mom in Bali. Boo.
Anyway, the Photos page has been updated with pics from the hike. My camera died early on in the hike so most of them are from my mobile phone. Sorry about that. Oh, but before you go see the pictures, check out these two videos first (yay monkeys!):
Topics: hot, sightseeing | No Comments »
Wait until I’m in my 30’s
By jeni | October 11, 2008
I got ding-dong-ditched today. It made me feel old. Really old. Mostly because of the way I responded.
Picture this: It’s Sicily, 1944. Oh wait that’s the Golden Girls. Okay picture this: I’m home in my jammies, cozying up for a night in front of the TV since John is in Hong Kong and my social calendar isn’t exactly jammin at this point. I’m drinking some tea and wondering how early I can get in bed without being pathetic.
The doorbell rings, I open up the door and no one is there. But as I look both ways down the hall, I hear some snickering. And as I stand there, it gets louder and louder. Two little boys, probably nine or ten, and these kids can hardly keep from cracking up, standing in the doorway of the next apartment Who doesn’t love a good ding-dong-ditch?
But they know I’m out in the hallway so they try to stifle the giggles. I stand there and try to think of what to say. Something like: “I know you kids are over there” seems just a little too miserly. But I don’t want to just say nothing, because honestly, I don’t want to be bothered again. And by just thinking that, I’m already miserly.
So, since I’m obviously already perceived as an old witch down the hall if I’m worthy of the ding-dong-ditch, I might as well just embrace it. So I say, in my meanest old lady voice, ” Don’t do that again.”
Crickets.
The snickering stopped. They were scared.
But they said nothing.
So I said, “don’t do that again, okay?”
And one of the little boys squeaked out a tiny “yeah.”
And then I had to suppress a laugh – in fact I was almost the one cracking up at that point, at myself and at the entire random situation. So I went inside, thought about how I’d acted, and decided well, those boys won’t be coming around here anymore. Not with the old witch that lives inside #36.
On the other hand, I could have set myself up for attack. But I won the first battle, I think I can win the war too.
Damn kids.
Topics: culture clash, facetious | 1 Comment »