Thai food has become an international favorite of many individuals. Unlike Italian or French foods that taste good almost anywhere in the world, Thai food can sometimes be a bit bland when it is not enjoyed in Thailand itself. This does not mean that there are no authentic Thai restaurants that deliver the genuine product, but they are sometimes difficult to find.

Certain individuals who are familiar with Eastern cooking techniques are not as familiar with Thai flavor profiles. For this reason some people choose to visit Thailand and enroll in a Thai cooking course. The Bai Pai Culinary School located in Bangkok Chongnonsee area is a popular favorite of many Thai cooking students.

One of the nicest features of this school is their traditional outdoor approach to Thai-style cooking. Most Thai homes feature compact indoor kitchens inside the home while a generous kitchen is located outside the dwelling. This is due to the smoke and intense high heat resulting from the various oils that are a big part of traditional Thai cooking, which make it almost impossible to prepare certain dishes indoors.

The Bai Pai school's kitchen is located in a stylish but small Thai house in one of the town's quieter neighborhoods. The school's instructor will guide students through the preparation of meals while the geckos croak and the wind wafts through the palm trees. It is a great treat to experience nature and cooking simultaneously.

Classes at the school are led through step by step instructions in order to prepare several dishes as individual courses. Students can take breaks in between dishes to sit down and sample their creations as they go along. Meals range from basic dishes such as prawn in tamarind sauce and green papaya salad and red curry roasted duck.

Students are taught everything from the simple tasks such as cleaning of shrimp, the proper way to use a mortar and pestle and how to tie pandan leaves. Students are even instructed in the art of separating coconut milk in order to isolate the thickest, creamiest part of the milk.

Many students find that it makes a pleasant day to learn interesting and helpful cooking techniques while enjoying the tropical outdoors. It is a great way for one to indulge a love of nature and a love of cooking at the same time. For me, it's a truly unique hand-on experience that worthwhile to gain in my life.

Tan Desmond is the owner of http://www.travelwithleisure.blogspot.com/, a site that provide useful tips and references for travellers in the Asia region.

View the original article here

Peking duck has become a world famous dish. It is the symbol of Peking food. If you go to Beijing, there are two things you must do first: one is climbing up the Great Wall and the second one is eating Peking duck.

In Beijing, there are two authentic methods to make this dish.

Hanging furnace roast duck is the most famous Peking duck. In authentic way, the chefs would never make a big open to take out of its internal organs. They just make a small hole in the duck's body and take the internal organs out from this small hole. Then fill its stomach with hot water and close the small hole to roast. With this method, the duck would not lose water because of roasting; also, the skin will not become soft. The roasted duck skin with this method is thin and crisp and it is the most delicious part of whole duck.

Compared with hanging furnace roast duck, this cooking method is also unique and popular. For this method, it makes use of a close oven and straw as the fuel, which won't make flames go directly onto the duck. When the oven reaches the proper temperature and the flames go out, put the duck into the oven and close it. The duck is roasted by the heat from oven wall. In the whole roasting process, you cannot see the open fire. The owner of this cooking method has applied for "state-level intangible cultural heritage protection projects".

The methods shown above are the greatest two methods in making roasted duck.

View the original article here