Cookery Class

We got back from the lake a bit late, but fortunately the cooking class turned out to be just next to our hotel and run by the hotel with their chef and staff. We missed the visit to a local house but were walked round to the cooking area for the start of the course proper.  This was another highlight of the trip and a great way to spend an afternoon.

The setting was lovely.  The cooking area was in a bamboo grove and open to the sides but with a roof to keep the sun off.  It had a chef's station facing a horseshoe counter with student stations set up and a sink and further preparation area.  There was a walkway out over the duck pond to an island eating area where we would have a meal of the result of our labours.  This would all be lit up at night with citronella type torches.

There were five of us on the class.  As well as the two of us, there was an Australian retired couple who were touring Asia and seemed to be doing a class in each country, this was their third. And there was a Hungarian girl who lives in Brussels and works for the European Commission.  She was over for an Asian development conference and had a spare afternoon. We were looked after by Sophie and a chef from the hotel.

Here's Sophie sorting us out.

Here's the walkway to the dining area.

The first dish we made was a Khmer chicken curry.  They explained the ingredients to us and then we followed the chef in making the curry paste.  Lots of fine chopping and then mashing into a paste in a large pestle and mortar.  Very therapeutic. We then learnt how to chop vegetables into Cambodian shapes by cutting at an angle and rolling. Finally, frying and boiling in a pan on a nifty gas burner.

We then made a peanut dipping sauce for spring rolls and then the spring rolls themselves.  The dessert course was a traditional Combodian cake that was like making pancakes but that went crispy. The only bit I really struggled with was rolling these into a nice cornet shape before they went hard.  Claire, of course, was excellent at all this.

We then sat down with a beer to a very convivial meal eating our own food.  And, even if I say so myself, it was gorgeous food.

Here we are getting ready to eat.

Here are my finished articles.  The spring rolls with cakes behind.

And the curry.  I don't think it was until our last day in Siem Reap that I tasted a better one in a restaurant.

We got a nice recipe book at the end of the course including the recipes we'd cooked and those they do on other courses. Claire is now planning some Cambodian dishes as part of our regular staples.