WE Smile Magazine October 2015

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF MANDARIN ORIENTAL BANGKOK, ANGELA THIEN
On a refurbished rice barge, the
rusty coloured waters of the Chao
Phraya River carried me to the
Mandarin Oriental Bangkok. This hotel
spans across both sides of the river,
but my destination today was the
cooking school located on the quiet
west bank. From the boat, it was
a short walk through sun dappled
tropical gardens before I found
what looked like an old wooden Thai
home out of antiquity. Chef Narain
Kiattiyocharoen welcomed me at the
door and I was able to quickly meet
the class before instructions began.
The lesson started with dessert.
Today’s dish was Dumplings with
Coconut and Sesame Seeds (Khanom
Leb Mu Naang), a sweet and slightly
salty dish coloured pastel with
pumpkin, pandan leaves and blue
butterfly pea flowers. The chef first
instructed us from his cooking station,
taking questions and allowing the class
to sample a bit of everything before
tasting them together. Each day, four
dishes are taught, which include an
appetizer, entrée, soup or curry and
dessert. Special care is placed to
TASTE
explain ingredients and substitutes are
suggested according to the student’s
home country. For instance, our
Pineapple with Pork and Salted Daikon
dish could use european radishes
if Diakon was unavailable. After the
demonstration was a small hands-on
portion where your cooking skills were
put to the test.
“Go ahead and get your hands dirty,
confidence is key!” says the chef, as
he tries to inspire us all to work on our
newly learned techniques.
While making Herbed Soup with
Chicken and Sweet Potatoes (Tom
Jiew Gai) the Chef explained a bit of
Thai history. “This Soup was invented
by King Rama V of Thailand. Aside
from being well known for abolishing
slavery, he also loved to cook,” Chef
Narain said as he showed the group
a famous photograph of the King,
casually cooking with an old wok. As
the story goes, the King felt ill one
day and craved hot soup. He then
asked the palace cooks to create
a dish which used both holy basil,
sweet basil, fried shallots, chili, lime
and nourishing chicken. Without an
appetite for rice, sweet potatoes were
used instead. This deliciously balanced
piquant soup certainly did taste like it
could cure all that ails you.
After being awarded a certificate
of completion, the class was treated
to a grand meal of our own making.
While I might not be able to match the
Chef’s gusto at creating Thai traditional
food, the experience certainly helped
me get some culinary courage. After
all, confidence is key.
The Hands-on Cooking and
Authentic Thai Lunch takes place from
Monday to Friday (except Tuesday)
from 9:00 - 13:00 hrs, priced at 3,733
THB net per person. To find out more,
contact Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok
at 48 Oriental Avenue. +66 (2) 649
9000, mobkk-thaicooking@mohg.com
(mandarinoriental.com)