We’ve come to expect Global Awareness presentations in classrooms, Scouts, libraries and bookstores. But we had a Global Awareness presentation at a recent cluster meeting that lasted until almost midnight!! We had a Thai cooking class!
Sai, a Thai au pair, brought all the ingredients for spring roll, red curry with chicken and pad thai. She taught all present the steps involved to make the most delicious meal!
We gently rolled shrimp, enoki mushrooms, garlic, basil and bean sprouts that had been cooked with sugar and fish sauce into a spring roll pastry. There was no measuring involved, and Sai pointed out that EVERYTHING has garlic in it, and the Thai people LOVE sugar!!
We deep fried the rolls till they were brown and then dipped them in a sweet chili sauce. Sai informed us that this was our appetizer as we continued on in the kitchen making our Red Curry with Chicken and Veggies, Pad Thai noodles with veggies, and Jasmine rice. Every house in Thailand has a rice cooker, according to Sai so it’s very easy to get the rice soft and fluffy!
Do you know what Sai told us as she mixed the rice and water with her fingers? No one uses a spoon to mix the rice; everyone uses their hands and then the vitamins from the rice go into the skin on your hands!!
As a point of interest, in Thailand, rice is eaten with a spoon, not chopsticks. Chopsticks are saved for noodles! Oh, so much to learn and so much fun learning it.
After our feast (we had an American dessert of ice cream cake and fruit), we talked about Sai’s life in Thailand. It was an evening of cultural exchange for all!