Thai Cooking class hosted by the Hotel & Tourism Thai Program
On 6 December, the Thai Hotel & Tourism department hosted a cooking lesson for the international exchange students of Siam University. They set up a 3 hour course to show how to prepare and cook some of Thailand’s delicious foods instructed by professors of the Hotel & Tourism Department.
For each meal, the teachers demonstrated to the students on how to prepare each meal and described all of the ingredients. Each dish has a particular flavor that is unique to the taste-buds. Following each dish demonstration, the students returned to their cooking stations in groups and prepared the dish under the guidance of some of the Hotel & Tourism students. Each member of the individual groups took turns perfecting their newly learned skills and a Thai cook.
The first dish they prepared the traditional Thai spicy papaya salad called Som Tum. Some of the ingredients include, papaya, carrots, lime, fish sauce, chili pepper, sugar, and peanuts, muddled together in a Crok. This is one of Thailand’s most popular dishes and is well known to tourists and we as being a local favorite.
The second dish was Tom Kha Gai, which is a coconut curry soup with chicken. The students boiled water and coconut milk and then added lemongrass, lime leaves, coriander, chicken, sugar, fish sauce, and a variety of vegetables to complete the full flavored taste of this popular soup.
Traditional Pad Thai was the third dish that they prepared. by using a touch of oil with garlic and white radish for a base flavor. After they added in the noodles with water to make them soft. When they reached the right texture, students added in brine shrimp, scallions, shrimp, fish sauce and a few other items to create the final product. Each group prepared a great looking dish and an almost perfect flavor. Soon each of them will become a professional Thai chef.
For dessert the students made a pumpkin and coconut milk that is served warm. This dish was a great ending to their 4 course meal lesson.
Once each dish was completed, the groups shared in the chance to taste the final product. The exchange students very much enjoyed themselves and the training provided to them by the professors of the Hotel & Tourism department.
A big thank you to all those that participated in learning a little about Thai cooking culture, and to the Hotel & Tourism Department for hosting this short course event.
