The Flavors of Asia Cooking Class

Mai Pham with her cooking assistant, shown
behind her cookbook and signature sauces

I joined the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op this year, after admiring from afar for a long time and even taking a few outstanding classes there in the past. (Like this one on Pie Making, and another on Raised Bed Gardening.)

This week I got to attend a cooking class on the Flavors of Asia taught by Mai Pham, an expert in Vietnamese and Thai cuisine. Mai teaches at the Culinary Institute of America in Napa, owns many restaurants all over the country, has published a cookbook, makes her own line of sauces, and is a bit of a local celebrity. She has been on Martha Stewart and kicked off her class by showing us a segment she did on the Food Network to give us a feel for the cuisine of Southeast Asia.

Mai was very professional and pleasant, and even brought her 86-year-old, very spry-looking father to the class with her. Her grandmother, she confided, lived to be 105 years old and credited her longevity to a vegetarian diet and lots of coconut milk, which the Vietnamese associate with high immunity levels.

Mai also stressed the importance of moderation in all things, confessing that she has to work hard to keep balanced. For example, if she wants to eat ice cream for dessert, her family will eat a simple, light dinner such as stir-fried vegetables and brown rice before indulging.

Mai demonstrated and let us sample several dishes during the course of the class, as well as teaching some basic techniques like assembling and rolling salad rolls, and cutting herbs and vegetables gently to avoid bruising. She showed us how to make:

* Salad Rolls with Shrimp and Pork, with a Peanut Hoisin Sauce

* Yellow Curry with Tofu and Eggplant

* Singapore Noodles Topped with Stir-Fried Asian Greens

* Caramel Pork with Egg and Daikon

My favorite dishes were the Yellow Curry and Singapore Noodles, but I enjoyed them all. Before heading home, I hopped around the corner to the Co-Op to pick up a jar of Lemongrass Kitchen brand Yellow Curry Sauce, a concentrated base which makes 3-4 batches of curry. I can't wait to try my hand at this at home!

Here is Mai Pham's recipe for the Yellow Curry with Tofu and Eggplant. It's crazy good; I've never liked a vegetarian curry so much! It also taught me one thing I've done wrong in the past - adding raw vegetables to my curry has added too much water and diluted the flavor, so that I never felt that my curries at home matched up with the restaurant versions. Blanching the vegetables ahead of time solves this problem. Also, she explained that frying the tofu ahead of time so that it gets a "skin" allows it to absorb sauces better. This recipe would be perfect for summertime, when eggplant, tomatoes, green beans and zucchini are all in season.

1/4 c. Lemongrass Kitchen Thai Yellow Curry Sauce
1.5 c. coconut milk
1/2 lb. firm tofu, pan-seared or lightly fried, cut into 2/3x2"x1/12" pieces
2 c. eggplant, Japanese preferably, halved lengthwise then cut into 1/2 " half moon pieces
3 Roma tomatoes, cut into 8 wedges
1/2 c. green beans, 1" lengths, blanched
1/2 c. zucchini, bite sized pieces, blanched
2 tsp. Thai chilies, cut on the diagonal into thin slices (optional)
1/2 c. frozen peas
10 Thai basil leaves (optional)

1. In a saucepan, combine LGK Thai Curry Sauce Concentrate with coconut milk and cook over medium heat until mixture comes to a low boil.
2. Add tofu, eggplant and tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes.
3. Add remaining ingredients and simmer until all vegetables start to soften, another 2-3 minutes.

Evolution of a Foodie

Last night, I watched the movie "Julie & Julia", a film that focuses on two women and their sustaining relationship with food. Upon noticing this theme, I reflected upon my own relationship with food and how it has changed over the years. I divided my evolution into a series of stages.

Growing up: Mom, as a dairy farmer’s daughter, is a meat-and-potato and comfort food personality. I admire her efforts to serve well-balanced meals. She taught me how to cook from a young age, mostly sweets like peach cobbler and pumpkin pie.

High school: My senior year project focuses on "gourmet" food. I discover epicurious.com and branch out with some new ideas. At the conclusion of my project, I have perfected my flourless Chocolate Decadence, serving it with raspberry sauce and real whipped cream to the judges and passing my exam with flying colors. No one seems to mind my bribing of the judging panel of teachers in serving this dish.

College: I set out amongst the people of Utah, determined to learn how to make dinner rolls from scratch and collect as many recipes from my classmates as possible. I take beginning and advanced cooking and nutrition classes. Main accomplishments: Learning how to make a good pie crust, homemade breads, and sampling every kind of casserole you can imagine. My favorite recipe from a roommate: Chicken with Broccoli (curry cheese sauce, served with rice... you know the one!) from Wendy Wittwer.

Study Abroad in France: I am introduced to the wondrous cheese platter concept, good bread, and all-butter pastries (note: this was pre-lactose intolerance). A new sophistication graces my taste in food and my mother begins to wonder where I got my eccentric tastes from.

Mission in Hong Kong: I learn more about Asian food- MUCH more. Walking through the market the first time was like walking on the moon and trying to find something edible. Over time, I notice that I feel healthier eating fresh foods and eliminating dairy and most sweets. Chinese companions teach me to make a steamed fish and fry bok choy like a pro; Thai companion teaches me to make pad thai and green curry. (And yet somehow the result for the latter is not the same when I try this at home in California...)

Past 3 years: I buy a subscription to Cooking Light, discover Williams-Sonoma and the scandalous luxuries found therein, and attempt to eat local/fresh/healthy, but sometimes I just end up with Spaghettios. However, I try harder now that I am married and have someone else to think about than myself. Allrecipes.com is a mainstay on my computer.

Through all the changes and places I’ve traveled, food has always been my most constant distraction. At one point in "Julie & Julia", Meryl Streep, portraying Julia Child’s character, sighs, "I just think about food all the time. I’m obsessed!" I know the feeling, Julia. If only we could all make a living off of our passions.