Thai Cooking Class
Thailand still remains Southeast Asia’s most popular destination and luckily for me, it’s just a hour or so flight away from Singapore. I had been to Bangkok about a year ago, although at the time the area was congested with the city’s usual traffic mayhem rather than the current political demonstrations. I recently stopped by … Continue reading
Cashew Nut Chicken
Cashew Nut Chicken is a Thai stir-fry dish with Chinese origins, but tweaked to pack more heat. The preparation felt like most Chinese stir-fry recipes my Dad taught me, especially when we marinated the chicken with Chinese cooking wine, oyster sauce and then mixed with flour. The unique flavor for this Thai dish came from … Continue reading
Tom Yum
Tom Yum is a classic Thai spicy and sour soup that is packed with fragrant herbs. “Tom” means “to boil”, while “yum” refers to a mixture of things that tends to be spicy and sour. We prepared Tom Yum during our Thai Cooking Class in Phuket, and I found it was an incredibly easy soup … Continue reading
Brazilian Cooking Class
As I typically do on all my travels, I signed up for a cooking class as soon as I arrived in Brazil. It was winter and the weather was a bit dreary during the week I was in Rio de Janeiro. Cooking classes are a great rainy day activity (although I would do it even … Continue reading
Caipirinha de Limão
Well, obviously you cannot take a cooking class in Brazil without making the country’s national cocktail! This famous drink is made of cachaça, a distilled spirit made from sugarcane juice, that I refer to as “fire water.” I tried drinking it straight once when I was in Rio and wow that hurt bad… reminded me … Continue reading
Farofa de Banana
Farofa is a typical accompaniment to many Brazilian dishes, especially the classic black bean stew feijoada. At many locals restaurants in Brazil, you will often see a bowl of farofa already on the table, just waiting to complement some hearty Brazilian dishes. Farofa is made of manioc flour, also known as cassava powder. Cassava is … Continue reading
Moqueca Baiana
Moqueca baiana which translates to “Bahian stew” in Portugese is literally that — a delicious Brazilian seafood stew originating from the Bahia state in the Northeast region of the country. This dish is influenced by African cuisine, which is most noticeable in its use of palm oil. Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil made … Continue reading
Peruvian Cooking Class – Dinner
After landing in Lima on my Peru travels, one of the first orders of business was scheduling a Peruvian cooking class. Natalya had taken a class with Sky Kitchen when she was in Lima several years ago and she highly recommended it. She took the class with the lunch dishes, which she wrote about here: … Continue reading
Picarones
Picarones is Peruvian dessert that is commonly sold on the streets of Peru. The squash and sweet potato are puréed and mixed into a dough, which is then deep fried into doughnuts, and served with a syrup made from molasses. The flavor is so unique due to the squash and sweet poato, and its sweetness … Continue reading
Lomo Saltado
When I first arrived in Peru, I was surprised to see all the Chinese eateries all over Lima. I had not realized how large the Chinese immigrant population in Peru was, or rather, how much influence Chinese culture had on Peruvian cuisine. Asian Peruvians make up about 5% of the current population, although it is … Continue reading
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