Last year we spent almost two months in Thailand, where we fell in love with both the country and the cuisine.
I blogged about my favorite Thai dishes when I was out there, and whilst in Koh Phi Phi we took a Thai cookery course. Since arriving back home we've had a go at recreating some of those Thai flavours, with my version of Tom Kha Gai fast becoming a mid-week favorite in our house. If we can't physically be in SE Asia, we can at least recapture all those memories through the dishes we loved and lives off for so long.
So when we saw Thai Khun had opened in Guildford, we knew we needed to check it out!
Boasting a menu of street food classics such as moo dad deaw (deep fried honey pork), som tum (papaya salad) and geang phed (red curry), Thai Khun offers a taste of authentic Thai food, served with style.
Funny observation: 'moo' in Thai means pork. Ummm...
The setting is something else; eclectic and eccentric, entering the restaurant is like walking down a side street in Bangkok... without the funny smell and sound of tuk tuk drivers hassling you for custom. Walls lined with stackable metal tiffin boxes, pictures of Thai royalty (they are a big deal in Thailand - the whole country literally stop in their tracks to sing the national anthem at 8am and 6pm everyday) and tables carrying authentic plastic street-style condiment holders give that lovable madness feeling that I so associate with Thailand. Alongside the random street signs pinned to the walls and waiters greeting you with a friendly sawadee ka - you could easily forget you're in central Guildford!
So not only is the restaurant super fun and unique, and the food delicious - Thai Khun also run on a cookery school! The Guildford cookery school runs on the second Sunday of every month, where you get the opportunity to cook two dishes; a starter and a main course. Each month has a different focus - check out the schedule here. On our visit in March we made Fresh Prawn Rolls and then a Beef Massaman Curry; two dishes we loved when in Thailand and were keen to learn how to create ourselves.
Cost: £50 a head. Includes welcome drink, dishes to eat whilst there and a goody bag to take home.
On arrival, we were given a welcome drink and an apron and chefs hat (totally essential if you want to feel the part!) and had a chat with the others in our group. In our session there were seven people in total (including us), with two chefs and one host looking after us - meaning we had plenty of opportunity of ask questions and get 1:1 help when we needed it. The chefs themselves were warm, funny and did an excellent job in showing us how we would create our masterpieces. They told us about some of the key components of Thai cookery - galangal, fish sauce and coconut milk among others - and how you can use one to balance the flavor of another. For instance, the sweetness of palm sugar can be used to counter-balance the saltiness of fish sauce; they encouraged us to taste our food whilst cooking to better understand what we like and what we can do to 'tweak' the flavours as we go.
We created four delicious prawn rolls - served with a side of sweet chilli and crushed peanuts - which we devoured impressively quickly before getting started on our Massaman curries. The curries were served with sticky coconut rice, and again went down a treat with seven hungry chefs.
If you, like me, love a good Thai feed then I would really recommend booking in for a cookery course at Thai Khun - it would also make a great gift.
How about treating your Mum to a Thai cookery course as a Mother's Day gift?
* Thank you Thai Khun for inviting me to review your cookery school! Views my own.
