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After Jamie Oliver and the rise of the celebrity chef, it seems many more guys are tying the apron strings and getting to know their mortar from their pestle. However, can white men in Bangkok really cook? Bangkokrecorder pitched two of their team, one Caucasian male, Eric Taylor, and one Asian female, Karuna Gurung, to battle it out, egg flipper and tongs at the Blue Elephant Cooking School. A quick cooking demonstration is followed by students having a crack at the dishes themselves. Despite the fact that most of the ingredients are already laid out for the student in their correct proportions, our two contestants proved that there is indeed much room for error…
Entrée
Contestant 1: k.g
Feeling a little cocky because the head chef had told me that I slice my ingredients like a professional and that I look good behind the wok, I’m thinking this is going to be a breeze. Me, a true Asian with years of maternally-enforced, home-style cooking behind me, not to mention five years in the hospitality industry, against a North American dude who’s only claim to culinary fame is a half-decent guacamole (probably store-bought)…phthph!
Already, I could see my opponent getting worked up into a frenzy while preparing his ingredients. Watching him feverishly pound the garlic was hysterical (although these could be signs of one of those crazed, but brilliant chefs).
| vs. | Contestant 2: e.t
Yes I’m Caucasian, but who said North American guys can’t cook? I’ve lived away from my family for nine years now and have picked up a few tricks along the way. Not to mention that I worked my way through university at various bars, restaurants and catered events, thus earning the well deserved nickname “The Hardest Workin’ Man in the Food and Beverage Industry.”
This recipe had some funky steps, like crushing, rather than cutting, the chilies, and boiling the chicken in coconut milk.
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Tom Kha Kai Mapaow Paow (Menam Chicken Soup)
(all recipes make 1 serving)
8 T chicken stock
140g/ ½ cup coconut milk
4 pcs of galangal, finely sliced
1 lemongrass stem, finely sliced
kaffir lime leaves, crushed
1 coriander root, crushed
40g chicken breast
20g roasted young coconut flesh, sliced
1 shallot, crushed
5 green chillies, crushed
Seasoning
1 T fish sauce
2 T tamarind juice
½ T lemon juice
1 t sugar
½ t oil of nam prik paow (chilli oil from chilli paste)
Method
Bring stock in a saucepan to boil over medium heat.
Add galangal, lemongrass, coriander root, shallot, chilli and kaffir lime leaves. Bring to boil for one minute.
Add coconut milk and bring to boil; add the sliced chicken and young coconut flesh. Simmer for one minute until chicken is half cooked.
Add fish sauce, sugar, tamarind and lemon juice. Bring back to boil and remove from heat.
Transfer to a soup bowl and float nam pril paow oil on the surface as well as the coriander leaves. Serve hot.
Judge on k.g’s dish: Mm, it’s good. Not bad.
Judge on e.t’s dish: This one has more bite. I think because he is a man and men like to have more punch to their food.
Verdict: e.t
Mains
k.g
Humbled by my last dish, I was a little more attentive this time. I took so many notes during the demonstration, my recipe sheet had more writing than printed words. You’d think there wouldn’t be much room for mistake. Just how different can two dishes with the same ingredients already prepared into the correct portions taste? Well, a lot actually.
In Thai cooking, there are four main flavours: spicy, sweet, sour and salty. The problem is, the thought of using sugar for savoury dishes to me is both unappetizing and unhealthy. So, as usual, I think I’ll just do whatever the hell I like. | vs. | e.t
I was excited for the next dish because I’ve always wanted to know the proper way to make curry paste. I’ve often asked my Thai friends of their recipe, but the reply has only been “I buy it at the store.” When I insist that I wanted to make the paste rather than buy it, they then reply with a look of astonishment that I would actually want to go through the trouble.
During the demonstration of how to prepare the paste using the pestle and mortar, the head instructor told us that her mother once said that she would have to learn to pound the chilies aggressively if she expected a man to marry her. After a few more seconds of violent pounding she commented, “It’s easier to use a food processor.” |
1. Chu Chi Gung (Prawns with Red Curry Sauce)
 2 medium-sized prawns, shelled de-veined with heads left on
2 T vegetable oil
1 T red curry paste (see below)
70ml coconut milk
½ T dried shrimp
10 leaves Horapha (or sweet) basil
1 T cream of coconut milk
Fresh coriander leaves for sprinkling
2 kaffir lime leaves, finely sliced
1 red chilli finely sliced for garnishing
Seasoning
1 T sugar
1 t fish sauce
2 Kaffir lime leaves, finely sliced
Method
Pound the dried shrimp in a mortar.
Heat the oil in a wok until hot. Add red curry paste and stir-fry for about two minutes until an aroma develops.
Add the coconut milk and bring to boil.
Add dried shrimps, sugar and fish sauce. Stir-fry for five seconds.
Add ½ sliced kaffir lime leaves and sweet basil and mix well then remove from heat.
Steam prawns over boiling water for one minute.
Arrange prawns on a serving dish and put curry sauce on top of steamed prawns.
Pour over cream of coconut milk, then sprinkle the other ½ sliced kaffir lime leaves and finely sliced chilli. Top with coriander leaves.
Red Curry Paste
10-15 dried red chillies (according to taste)
½ t coriander seeds
2 stems lemongrass
6 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
60g/2oz shallots, sliced
3 T kaffir lime zest
1 ½ T shrimp paste
2 t salt
2 t ground white pepper
Method
Soak the red chillies in water until soft.
Dry roast the coriander seeds in a pan for a few seconds until an aroma rises.
Grind, pound in a mortar or process all the ingredients until well blended into a smooth paste, then add salt and pepper.
The paste can be kept for up to one month in an airtight container in the refrigerator or six months in a freezer.
For a vegetarian version, omit shrimp paste.
Judge on e.t: This one is saltier, but preferable.
Judge on k.g: Less sweet and spicier.
Verdict: e.t
k.g
This is humiliating. I’ve all but given up hope. Not only have I been defeated on every dish so far, fellow classmates have now taken pity on me and telling me it’s okay that my sauce burned. After initially gushing about my dexterity with the knife, the only comment the head instructor can now make is, “But she looks nice.” It’s shameful.
All the dishes have taken no more than 15 minutes to cook. The morning class went from 9am to noon and within that time, pupils are taken on a whirlwind tour of four Thai recipes. In the haste, I let my chili sauce burn slightly and the sympathetic lady next to me said, “It’s okay dear, I like it that way too,” and proceeded to tell me her history of burnt food practices.
| vs. | e.t
Alright, I’m up 2-0, and the older ladies of the class are impressed with my mad cooking skills.
While we were preparing this dish the guy next to me was going crazy with the pestle and mortar. The sauce requires the crushing of onions, chilies, garlic, ginger and, most slippery of all, pineapple. While still diligently slicing my vegetables (called “prep work” for those of us familiar with industry jargon), some of the sauce from my neighbor’s mortar flew out and hit me in the face. But I didn’t let that little incident get inside my head. I’m a professional with a hip moniker and a reputation to upkeep. And I have a competition to win. |
2. Pla Sam Rod (Fish with Chilli Sauce)
40g pineapple, chopped
½ onion, chopped
3 large red chillies
5 bird-eye chillies, chopped
20g ginger, chopped
1 coriander root
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
150g sea bass, sole, plaice, pomfret, groper, salmon or trout (you can also use bean curd, chicken or pork)
Vegetable oil for deep-frying
1 ½ T vegetable oil
3 ½ T sugar
3 T tamarind juice
3 T fish sauce
10 basil leaves
Garnish
Fresh coriander leaves for sprinkling
2 halved cucumber slices and 2 halved tomato slices
Method
Crush pineapple, onion, large red chillies, ginger, coriander root and garlic in a mortar or blender.
Deep-fry fish in oil heated to 180ºC/350ºF for 10 minutes. Drain on absorbent paper.
Meanwhile, heat the vegetable oil in a wok until very hot. Add the crushed ingredients and stir-fry for 30 seconds.
Add sugar, tamarind juice and fish sauce and simmer for five minutes.
Stir-fry in basil leaves, then remove from heat.
Place fish on a serving dish, coat with sauce, sprinkle over coriander leaves and garnish with cucumber and tomato.
Judge on e.t: This one has brought the taste out a little. It depends on whether the pineapple is sweet or not.
Judge on k.g: This one is a little spicier. The colour of this one’s nicer because it got a little burned and gave it that brown colour. For the flavour, I like Karuna’s one better.
Verdict: k.g
Dessert: Final Words
k.g
Cooking is almost a luxury in this town, if you’re lucky enough to have a kitchen. So, after a steady diet of 99.99% eat out, my culinary skills seem to have gathered cobwebs, letting the opposition gain the upper hand.
But I didn’t lose too desperately, securing the judge’s thumbs up on the last dish. I admit my Tom Kha Gai lacked kick, but I still maintain that my other dishes whopped Taylor’s ass according to my taste. My adaptations to the recipes let me down with the Thai judges, but it’s surely an indication of my creativity in cooking! | vs. | e.t
According to your tastes? You’re pathetic. With two preferred dishes, I emerged triumphant. Who knew that all those nights spent sweating over a hot stove in one of my former places of employment would pay off some day? The competition is over, the instructor has given me my certificate of participation and I finally know how to make real chili paste. All that’s left is to feast on my winning culinary creations. But nothing could be more delectable than the sweet taste of victory. |
 Blue Elephant cooking school:
The Blue Elephant is an international restaurant chain and cooking school that specializes in Thai and Indian culinary dishes. The restaurants are located throughout Western Europe, as well as in Bangkok, Dubai, Kuwait, Bahrain, Malta, Beirut and Moscow.
Classes for the cooking school are held Monday to Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The morning classes begin with a trip to a nearby market with the instructor to select and buy the ingredients used for demonstrations. The group will then meet in a classroom to learn the proper techniques and cooking theory. The students then venture to the kitchen complete with individual work stations to try their hand at the cooking techniques just learned. Four recipes are showcased for each session.  Following the conclusion of the demonstrations, students meet in the dining area for lunch consisting of their personally made dishes. A certificate, a Blue Elephant apron and a gift package containing gourmet curry pastes and teas are given to participants.
Each day of the week features different recipes. Vegetarian courses are also offered, as are private lessons. More information, including pricing, online reservations and scheduling, at Blueelephant.com/school/index.html
BLUE ELEPHANT BANGKOK
Blue Elephant Building
233 South Sathorn Road
Kwaeng Yannawa, Khet Sathorn
Bangkok
+66 (0) 2673 9353
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Surasak skytrain station
by Eric Taylor and Karuna Gurung
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