Asian- Week 6

This week we were in Thailand. As my husband was helping me write out my recipes by reading the ingredients to me, he commented, “None of this stuff sounds good.” Wow. He was SO wrong!! This week went amazingly smoothly and the food tasted and looked fantastic. I think part of the calmness of the week was that so many people were absent. This isn’t good for them, but it definitely gave the class a different feel this week.

I made the Sticky Mango Rice. This was such a warm, comforting dish. I could imagine eating a huge bowlful of this when it is pouring snow outside and being all snuggled up in a huge sweatshirt and fuzzy socks. On my first seasoning of the dish, I made it not quite sweet enough, according to Chef. If I made it again for myself, I would keep it that way. I enjoyed the mild sweetness and the subtle coconut flavor, as well as the creamy texture. I adore coconut- the flavor and the smell- so this dish was a hit with me. I think my girls would like this, too, although I’m really not sure that the “health benefits” are worth me sharing it with them at this point.


I made Fried Sweet Potatoes with Peanut Sauce. I used a mandolin to slice to potatoes into even slices and thinned out the batter a little from the original recipe. I dipped them in flour and then in the batter before frying them and draining them on paper towels and sprinkling them with a little salt. I had never made peanut sauce before but everyone commented that it was delicious. I really am enjoying the development of my palette and the ability to really discern the layers of flavors in things now.


I also fried up the rice cakes. I wasn’t a huge fan of these. Basically, it is just Jasmine rice that is cooked and baked on a sheet pan and then fried in chunks. SOOO unhealthy and not that tasty.


Thai Bubble Tea was also prepared. This is a very strong tea that is then lightened with plenty of cream and sweetened with lots of sugar. Then tapioca pearls are put in the bottom and it is served over ice with a fat straw so the tapioca pearls can get sucked up the straw. The tea was fantastic and tasted kind of like Chai tea, but the tapioca pearls were not. They had a fun texture, but I did not enjoy the after taste.






Last but not least, I made a fresh fruit plate. I love it when we do this because I get a healthy lunch! I ate the whole thing except for the grapes for lunch that day. Yum!





I enjoyed the flavors of the Thai dishes. I had never eaten Thai cuisine before so this was a treat. I think my favorite actual DISH was the Ma Hor (Galloping Horses.) I enjoyed the flavors and it reminded me of tacos, in a sense, that used lettuce leaves instead of tortillas. I think it was the tangerines that gave it the extra flavor that was so appealing.




Apparently, Vietnam food is even more delicious than Thai food. We will see next week!