Thai cooking lessons

There is so much in these posts about Thai food that I'm drooling. Has anyone got a recommendation on a place to learn how to cook Thai in the Chicago area?

A place to begin: Chicago Tribune Cooking Schools 2004

Are you a proficient home cook?

Have you cooked much Thai food?

And, as far as Thai cookery instruction goes, what would you like to learn/gain from such an endeavour? I mean, what do you really want to learn to do?

Several times a year, or so it would seem, someone, somewhere, is offering a "spring rolls, satay, and pad thai" half-day-type of deal. And, if that would suffice, well, Cathy has provided you with plenty of leads. But, if you demand something more, I can probably get the job done.

I am not offering to instruct, mind you, but I can likely arrange for your instruction. And, I can very likely do so, if you are willing/able to find a few other folks to join you.

Regards,
Erik M.

ErikM wrote:And, if that would suffice, well, Cathy has provided you with plenty of leads. But, if you demand something more, I can probably get the job done.

Yeah, later I went back to look through that list and found almost nothing worthwhile for your purposes. I was hoping you might chime in.

Regards,

Siri Thai III on Rt. 14 in Crystal Lake has a sign in their window that mentions that they offer Thai cooking classes on Sunday afternoons.

Siri Thai III
230 N Virginia
Crystal Lake, IL 60014
(815) 444-0004

Hope that helps.

The Wooden Spoon in Andersonville offers Vietnamese cooking classes; I took one there and was very impressed by the woman who offered it. She also offers longer classes that include shopping at the markets on Argyle & Broadway.

It's not Thai, but it's close...

Rich4 wrote:It's not Thai, but it's close...

I am going to pretend that you didn't say that.

Erik M.

Erik M. wrote:

Rich4 wrote:It's not Thai, but it's close...

I am going to pretend that you didn't say that.

Erik M.

I actually felt a similar urge last year, and when my significant other moved to Hawaii for three months, I took it upon myself to teach myself more about Thai Cooking (I figured it was healthier then spending every night in the local dive bar). Instead of lessons, I bought a copy of David Thompsons 'Thai Food', started going to the Thai Grocery at Argyle and Broadway every week and basically went on from there. I'd love to say that I cooked my way through the book, but it wouldn't be true (it's a large volume). However, I learned a lot about the foundations of Thai Cooking (and also learned something about Thai history and culture) and I like to think I'm probably now a better home cook of Thai food then your average farang.

Still, I'm no Erik M - he might know of some Thai Cookbooks that are superior to Thompsons. Personally though, I'd recommend it - it'll be cheaper then lessons and will probably teach you more.

Thanks for the feedback. I've got Victor Sodsook's book "True Thai" and it's ok, but it has an emphasis on stir-fried dishes. I ate in a Thai restaurant which served me a sweet and sour chicken dish which was light and fresh. The waitress said that the chicken was steamed. I also love the Thai curry dishes in which the chicken is poached in coconut milk rather than stir-fried. I'm not against the stir-fry technique, but I'm guessing that in America we are hooked on stir-frying and not exploring other techniques of Asian cooking.

I'm not against the stir-fry technique, but I'm guessing that in America we are hooked on stir-frying and not exploring other techniques of Asian cooking.

May I suggest that is quite a broad generality and hardly true at least to those on this board. You might also want to look at other books.

David Thompson has two books, the earlier one is more recipe based and less cultural. The 'new' book is cultural as well as cooking, why not take it out of the library for a test drive?

Cathy2 wrote:David Thompson has two books, the earlier one is more recipe based and less cultural. The 'new' book is cultural as well as cooking, why not take it out of the library for a test drive?

Cathy, what is the 'new' book? Is that Thai Food, or is there a newer one still? If not, what is his older book? I can't find any info about it (the fact that there are several well-known writers with the same name is not helping much here).

Hi,

The newest book is Thai Food

The much earlier book is Classic Thai Cuisine and Top 100 Thai Dishes. This is the same book published in the USA and UK respectively with two different names.

I hope this helps!

Regards,

What I said in my previous post referred to the Asian cooking classes offered in Chicago and some of the cook books I've glanced at.

Certainly the people on this forum have a much more sophisticated approach to Asian cookery than I've seen elsewhere in Chicago.

I'm really excited about this forum. I plan to get a copy of Thompson's book and work my way through the recipes.

Thanks again for the feedback.

On a somewhat related note--I've been trying to improve my Thai cooking skills as well, and I do seem to be making some progress (so far I've stuck to attempting to replicate restaurant standards, like curries and noodle dishes).

However, I can't seem to get Pad Thai down. I've tried a number of different recipes, and they've all produced something pretty good, but definitely not what you'd get in a restaurant (I'm not talking about great Pad Thai necessarily; I just want to know how to get that greasy, hangover-food quality that you can reliably find most anywhere).

My theory has been that I haven't been using enough oil, so I made something tonight with way more oil than I usually use, and it certainly left a restaurant-style residue on my plate when I was done. Has anyone had any luck trying to make a replica of restaurant pad thai? If so, what did you use for your sauce (the closest I've gotten so far is equal parts fish sauce, sugar, and rice vinegar. I'll be adding more oil next time).

Have you been including the tamarind?

See...this is something I've been arguing about with a friend of mine; he swears it's necessary, but most of the recipes I've read don't include it. How much do you use, and you think it makes a difference?

Well, I think of pad thai as a tamarind-ish dish. I highly recommend the David Thompson book(Arharn Thai) mentioned earlier. If you google "tamarind pad thai" you'll find links to pad thai kits containing tamarind paste(with which one makes tamarind water) AND recipes explaining the use of tamarind.

Cooks Illustrated did one of their obsessive look into pad thai in their July 2002 issue. It includes tamarind as well as Asian preserved radish (which I got on Argyle St.) It was tasty.

ndgbucktown wrote:My theory has been that I haven't been using enough oil, so I made something tonight with way more oil than I usually use, and it certainly left a restaurant-style residue on my plate when I was done. Has anyone had any luck trying to make a replica of restaurant pad thai? If so, what did you use for your sauce (the closest I've gotten so far is equal parts fish sauce, sugar, and rice vinegar. I'll be adding more oil next time).

Could it be the tempature of your pan? I've heard/read that the reason one cannot create Chinese food like restaurants is that one cannot get the really souped up woks at home with standard burners.

Just a guess.

Rob

ndgbucktown wrote:However, I can't seem to get Pad Thai down...

If memory serves...
I haven't had too much problem using a big wok, but a meal for four doesn't fit too well in a standard-sized wok. Do you pre-soak the noodles? The eggs usually end up getting cooked into my noodles carbonara style, since there just isn't enough space. I've never used tamarind, and I usually use about a 2:1:1 vinegar:fish sauce:sugar. The other secrets as far as I can tell is to use more garlic, and lots of sharp paprika. The fresh garnishes (cabbage or bean sprouts, lemon or lime wedges and cilantro) are what make it "real" for me.

Hi,

This evening I was reading the Stirring Things Up program organized by the Chicago Tourism Office. There was an organization offering Thai cooking classes who may be a resource:

Heat and Spice Cooking School (Closed)
925 West Cullom Avenue
Chicago
773/742-2331

Their cooking class on July 9th offers, "Learn about the ingredients and techniques used in Thai cuisine. Classic Thai dishes featured include Chicken Coconut Soup with Galanga; Wide Rice Noodles with Chilies and Holy Basil; and Long Bean Salad with Toasted Coconut. Cost: $65.

If you do contact them or use them, then let us know about the experience.

Regards,

Actually, Wooden Spoon has just such a class coming up….


My Thai (4 hour) Workshop (Hands-on class!)
Sunday (June 5)
12:30pm
$125 per person (limited class size, 8 participants)
Chef Rebecca Wheeler
This class is a unique opportunity for Thai food lovers to learn about Thai cooking in a hands-on, workshop setting. We’ll learn the cooking techniques fundamental to Thai cooking, as well as how to recognize and balance flavors that characterize Thai cuisine-hot, sour, salty and sweet.
We’ll discuss how to shop for, store and work with typical Thai ingredients including chilies and lemongrass as we prepare a feast to enjoy together at the end of class!

See the Wooden Spoon website for more details.

Wood Spoon's feast if you only learn that one meal will certainly impress your friends forever:

Hot and sour prawn soup

Home-made red curry paste (mortar and pestle method)

Panang Beef Curry in a Spicy Peanut-Coconut Sauce with Kaffir Lime Leaves and Basil

Minced chicken salad with galangal and roasted rice

Jasmine rice ... hmmm I'd rather they taught sticky rice.

Basil pork stir fry

Pad Thai with tofu

Sweet sticky rice with coconut sauce and mangoes

There is a cooking show that I just discovered on the American Life Network called Thai Food Tonight where they make some really great looking, authentic Thai food. It's on at odd times, mostly during the day, but thanks to TiVo, I've been getting every episode.

http://www.goodtv.com/program.php?programid=TH

On another note, does anyone know of any good Asian Markets that sell Galangal on the North Shore? If not, I'll make a trip down to the Thai Market on Broadway near Foster.

Rilke