Last night I went to one of the free sessions the Thai government is sponsoring to spread the joys of the country’s cuisine. San Francisco Chef Chai Siriyarn prepared five dishes, and each night (there are three sessions left) he will do four or five more. He passed around raw ingredients for us to sample and smell, most helpful to a novice like me. I would have never guessed what lemon grass looks like in its raw form (kind of like a plain old stick). The palm sugar is delicious and would be a wonderful substitute in daily life for refined white. Galangal looks like ginger in its raw form—a lumpy root. Similarly shaped, a tamarind fruit saved my poor mouth after I accidentally ate a pain-bringing pepper I thought was a broccoli stem.The students sample each dish, which ends up being a moderately sized meal when all is said and done. The wine expert at Talin made matches for each and gave us a handout about which wines work best with Thai flavors. His suggestions were remarkably inexpensive and well-paired. As if all this free stuff wasn’t enough (the classes cost nothing), Talin gave us 10 percent discount cards toward our next purchases, kept the store open an additional 30 minutes and gave us a big old calendar in a nice bag when we were leaving the store. The Thai government also gave us a calendar and recipe books and info about the country. Cooking tip : When making a shrimp soup, blanch the shrimp for mere seconds in boiling water until they are pink. Add them to the soup just before serving. They will be plump and without the overly fishy taste sometimes found in shrimp soups. Only 30 people per class, but you should try to get in on one. Sign up at talinmarket.com or 268-0206. We’re lucky to have a store like Talin in Albuquerque.
Thanks, Royal Thai Government
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Lemon grass—Stick-like and tasty. Once, I bit into a large chunk of lemon grass before I knew you weren’t supposed to chew on it. I found it rather stabby.
Galangal—You’ll often see slices of this floating in Thai soup. It is common in Thai cuisine to include items that add flavor to a dish but that aren’t meant to be eaten directly.
Tamarind—On the outside is a thin shell you can easily crack with your fingers. Tastes kind of like a fig.
