on air on Byron Bay’s bayfm 99.9 on July 25, 2011

This is the charming smiling face of Tor Klinyu, the owner and teacher at Isan House Restaurant and Cooking School in Bankok.  If you have ever wondered why there is a cliche’ about Thailand being the land of smiles, look no further!

A cooking class in Thailand is a great way to see a bit of real Thai life, as well as to learn about one of the world’s great cuisines.  You can do it even on a short stopover, as most of the classes just go for half a day, morning or afternoon.  Many classes include a market visit, especially if you book in the morning.  There seems to be a boom in cooking classes at the moment, and there is something for all tastes.  The glamour option, which has been around for years, is the Oriental Hotel.  You can also do classes while floating serenely on the Chao Praya river, or go to vegetarian classes at a Khao San road institution in the middle of backpacker land.  I have tried three places, all very different and all very enjoyable in their own way.  In all of them you do most of your own cooking, ingredients are explained thoroughly, and you finish by eating far too much delicious food.  Do take the warnings to go to class hungry seriously!  At current rates of exchange, most classes will cost you between $30 and $100 for half a day.

I have tried :  The Blue Elephant, a more upmarket option attached to a large Thai restaurant in a lovely old house, which must have been gorgeous before the gardens were sold to build high rises.  A charming, rotund chef teaches finely balanced proper recipes.  A score of assistants helps you cook up your creations – if only you could take a dozen or so home to do all the chopping and grating.  But you can buy the ready made Blue Elephant pastes instead.  I am still cooking their jasmine cake regularly.

Silom Thai Cooking school, where you cook in a medium rise, typical (I think) central Bangkok flat.  You wash ingredients in little domestic sinks, you chop and grate ingredients sitting on the floor, and you cook in woks lined up along the building’s connecting outdoor corridor.  The recipes are kept simple, the instructor is another very charming Thai man.  Proof you don’t need a fancy kitchen to make a banquet.

And Tor’s place, Isan House.  You walk past a whole heap of girly bars, turn a few corners and find her family’s charming restaurant, with an outdoor deck for cooking and about a million ingredients lined up inside.

I was lucky enough to be in Bangkok when the streets were a bit too lively with political unrest, and tourists were staying away, so I was the only one at Tor’s lesson and she allowed me to record it.  Today on belly I played a bit of her story.  She starts classes with descriptions of Thai ingredients, and talks about the dishes in which they are used.  In today’s belly she described sweet, holy and lemon basil, saw tooth (perennial) coriander and kaffir lime leaf and skin.  More ingredients soon.  As you can see there are quite a few.  You can find a good list of Thai ingredients, with pictures, on wikipedia.

* I have found lemon basil locally as seedlings, called “lime basil”.  It has a really gorgeous intense lemon zest smell and taste.  Thais also use the seeds in desserts.

* Tor recommends you use the zest/skin of kaffir limes, not the leaf, in curry pastes if you can find it.  My kaffir lime fruits about every 3 years, the grated zest keeps really well in the freezer.  Use leaves whole in curries, soups and stir fries.  Tor also deep fries the leaves as a snack.

TOR’S MUSHROOM BREAD

A very easy recipe, which reminds me of that Australian country Chinese classic, sesame prawn toasts, but is taken straight to Thailand by the little sharp side salad.  One of the 100 dishes on the Isan House menu.

bread, sliced and cut into triangles
beaten egg
sesame seeds
mushrooms, sliced and seasoned with a little pepper and salt or soy sauce
flour
finely chopped garlic
finely chopped coriander

Toss mushrooms in flour.
Mix sesame seeds, coriander, garlic and pepper
Squash mushrooms into toast.  Top with sesame mix.
Dip in egg.
Deep fry 2 or 3 at a time in a wok until golden brown.  Use any mild oil.

Cucumber salad

Make the dressing by bringing to the boil a little white vinegar, water, salt and sugar, combined to your own taste.  Allow to cool.
Slice cucumber and shallots (or substitute mild red onions).   Top with dressing and “1 or 10 chillies” as Tor says.

THE SEARCH FOR LEMON MYRTLE SLICE – a.k.a. my homework for Joy.

The very charming Joy and David Johnson were on belly recently talking about working, cooking, and falling in love on the trains in the 50s.  They are also neighbours.  The last time we ran into each other (this always happens on the way to the beach, what a tough life we live),  she asked me ever so nicely to put out a call for lemon myrtle slice recipes.  Well I did and you lot did not get in touch with any, but I found a gorgeous recipe that I will have to try soon, a variation on a no cook cheesecake.  This type of cheesecake is a great beginner’s dish by the way, you just need to be a little careful with the gelatin.

You will find the full recipe and pictures here.  It is an Australian blog called “Not Quite Nigella” – great name.

Lemon myrtle is a lovely local native, a eucalypt with lemon scented leaves used in cooking and toiletries, but there is a lot more than lemon going on in the scent.  You can easily grow it, but watch out for a new fungal disease, myrtle rust, unfortunately taking hold in Australia.

* For a stronger lemon myrtle taste (or instead of the dry leaf), try making a strong lemon myrtle tea with fresh or dry leaves and the 1/4 cup of water in the recipe.

* To make your own powdered leaf, first hang branches to dry in a dark place.

BELLY BULLETIN

It’s something we’ve all suspected – there is a hunger gene.  There are about 60 gene variations that can influence our weight, but one gene can have a big effect all on its own. It is a defect of gene MC4R and it stops the brain from getting the message that we have had enough to eat.  Fortunately it only affects a minority of people because it is a serious problem.  It has probably always been around, but it is much easier in our world to get access to very high calorie food and do no exercise.  You only need one parent with the faulty gene to inherit it. About 3 to 6 per cent of people who become very obese have this gene.  Scientists are trying to raise its profile  so that suitable lifestyle changes can begin early.  At the moment there is no medical fix, even weight loss surgery may fail if you have this gene.  But it can lead to severe overweight from early childhood, and it can easily be found with a blood test.  Doctor Daniel Chen, from Sydney’s Garvan Institute of Medical Research, would like a blood sample from you if your Body mass Index is over 30, especially if you have very healthy blood pressure for your weight.
d.chen@garvan.org.au or 92958557.

And if you have the hunger gene maybe you should stay away from Southend on Sea, east of London, where they have just broken the world potato chip record, to celebrate one of England’s national dishes, fish and chips.
Five staff  of the Adventure Island fish and chip shop took four hours and 20 minutes to cut the potatoes, deep fry the chips and box them up, beating the previous record of 368.5kg set in 2004.  The box had to be an extra large version of the regular chip boxes to meet food hygiene standards.  Spokeswoman Tracy Jones said :
“It was hot work. We did it all from scratch. The previous record was done with frozen chips.  There was a really good atmosphere. Loads of people turned up. The biggest problem was stopping children putting their hands in and taking the chips before we were finished.”
The money went to charity and the leftovers to the pigs.  The Adventure Island amusement park is on a roll with records – it has also just set the world records for the most naked people on a rollercoaster (102 people) and the longest dodgem car marathon (26 hours).

MUSIC

lots of traditional Thai instrumental tracks, courtesy of wonderful local Thai cook Thome – sorry all the info is in Thai script!

The Oyster Murders, Lovers who drink the sea

Bianca Meier, Walk the earth

Oka, Pandanus

Nadia Piave, Musetta, from Caffe’ d’Amore