Experience the Freshest Thai Food at Paladarr
Thai food is one of my favourite cuisines and in Melbourne there are lots of Thai restaurants (fortunately!). Mr InsideOutStyle had mentioned that he'd like us to do a Thai cooking course together, so for his birthday I gave him a cooking course for two at Paladarr Restaurant in Alphington (a Melbourne suburb) which holds weekly Thai cooking classes in their kitchen.
With a seasonal menu that changes 4 times per year we got to learn how to cook:
- Panang curry
- Beef with basil stir fry
- A clear curry
- Larb Gai
- Curry Puffs
With classes limited to 6 participants (there is no more room in the restaurant kitchen) we started off by learning how to make our own fresh curry paste.
We were given our fresh ingredients, those staples of Thai cooking, lemongrass, galangal, coriander roots and stems, garlic, onion and kaffir lime skin, and then asked to chop them up.
After some rough chopping these fresh ingredients were blended with a whole pile of large red chillies to make the curry paste. Then it was onto the stoves we went to start cooking.
First frying up the curry paste before adding in the coconut milk, then meat and vegetables (and of course a dash of fish sauce).
Our next dish was a delicious basil beef stir fry which we were led through by one of the Paladarr chef's.
We chopped our ingredients before cooking this dish. With the professional stoves and wok burners, this took literally just a few minutes to achieve.
After chef showed us how to make each dish we got to taste his plated dishes before cooking our own. Ours were then boxed up in takeaway containers for us to enjoy for dinner at home.
One tip they recommended is that you can quickly blanch your vegetables for your curry or stir fry before cooking up so that the process is faster.
Our next dish was a clear curry from the north eastern region of Thailand which was flavoured by dill rather than coriander.
Then to the larb gai (which is a chicken mince based Thai salad).
After cooking all our dishes (the class started at 1.30pm and finished around 4pm), the last being curry puffs, we retired to the restaurant and the chef's brought out our cooked curry puffs which we enjoyed with a glass of wine (or beer) and chatted with Bryan the restaurant owner.
We were given recipe books containing all the dishes we had cooked, plus lists of places you can purchase the fresh ingredients to make at home.
With the two of us having cooked the dishes, we had enough food for two dinners and a lunch to enjoy over the rest of the weekend.
My rating? Totally Delicious and I'd love to go back and do it all again with the next seasonal menu.
Oh and an added bonus? Mr InsideOutStyle can never claim he doesn't know how to make it!
Find out about Paladarr Thai Cooking Classes here.
Experience the Freshest Thai Food at Paladarr
Thai food is one of my favourite cuisines and in Melbourne there are lots of Thai restaurants (fortunately!). Mr InsideOutStyle had mentioned that he'd like us to do a Thai cooking course together, so for his birthday I gave him a cooking course for two at Paladarr Restaurant in Alphington (a Melbourne suburb) which holds weekly Thai cooking classes in their kitchen.
With a seasonal menu that changes 4 times per year we got to learn how to cook:
- Panang curry
- Beef with basil stir fry
- A clear curry
- Larb Gai
- Curry Puffs
With classes limited to 6 participants (there is no more room in the restaurant kitchen) we started off by learning how to make our own fresh curry paste.
We were given our fresh ingredients, those staples of Thai cooking, lemongrass, galangal, coriander roots and stems, garlic, onion and kaffir lime skin, and then asked to chop them up.
After some rough chopping these fresh ingredients were blended with a whole pile of large red chillies to make the curry paste. Then it was onto the stoves we went to start cooking.
First frying up the curry paste before adding in the coconut milk, then meat and vegetables (and of course a dash of fish sauce).
Our next dish was a delicious basil beef stir fry which we were led through by one of the Paladarr chef's.
We chopped our ingredients before cooking this dish. With the professional stoves and wok burners, this took literally just a few minutes to achieve.
After chef showed us how to make each dish we got to taste his plated dishes before cooking our own. Ours were then boxed up in takeaway containers for us to enjoy for dinner at home.
One tip they recommended is that you can quickly blanch your vegetables for your curry or stir fry before cooking up so that the process is faster.
Our next dish was a clear curry from the north eastern region of Thailand which was flavoured by dill rather than coriander.
Then to the larb gai (which is a chicken mince based Thai salad).
After cooking all our dishes (the class started at 1.30pm and finished around 4pm), the last being curry puffs, we retired to the restaurant and the chef's brought out our cooked curry puffs which we enjoyed with a glass of wine (or beer) and chatted with Bryan the restaurant owner.
We were given recipe books containing all the dishes we had cooked, plus lists of places you can purchase the fresh ingredients to make at home.
With the two of us having cooked the dishes, we had enough food for two dinners and a lunch to enjoy over the rest of the weekend.
My rating? Totally Delicious and I'd love to go back and do it all again with the next seasonal menu.
Oh and an added bonus? Mr InsideOutStyle can never claim he doesn't know how to make it!
Find out about Paladarr Thai Cooking Classes here.
