Sawasdee ka!

A bunch of us were invited to Thaikhun last week, the Thai restaurant within Clocktower Dining in the intu Victoria Centre. The invite said ‘join us for a drink on arrival, an interactive cookery workshop and some Thai nibbles to try’. I didn’t want to get my hopes up, so just assumed we would be popping in, watching a chef create some lovely food and trying whatever they produced.

I could not have been more wrong!!

Upon arrival we were taken out to the terrace to enjoy a cocktail in the later afternoon sun. This was a chance to catch up with the lovely blogging ladies and enjoy the sun for a few moments.

We were then directed to the lower level of the restaurant, where we were greeted by a lovely lady and the chef, Em. As we descended, cooking stations had been arranged facing the main area and we were told to pick a station! Donning aprons and chef hats, we learned that we were going to be taught how to make summer rolls and red Thai curry. This made me super happy. I took a half day cookery class on Koh Tao back in November and it was so much fun to learn how to make Thai curry paste and lots of different dishes.

First up, we made the summer rolls. We soaked rice paper in water, then layered lettuce, cucumber, mint and basil leaves and prawns on to the damp paper and rolled it all up. This was accompanied by a sweet spicy sauce. We were then asked to head back to the terrace to enjoy these, whilst the stations were replenished for the curry.

The summer rolls were incredibly tasty and I was impressed with how good mine looked. I really struggle to present my food in an appetising way, but these were so easy.

We headed back down after eating our starter and Em then taught us to make the red curry. I had a misconception that red curry was always the hottest and so had never tried it, much to my shame. Turns out I was wrong!

We started by frying the red curry paste in a little oil, then adding coconut milk and water and letting it bubble. Then in went the cooked chicken, chicken powder, 3 tablespoons of sugar, 2 tbsp of fish sauce, pineapple, grapes, tomatoes and lime leaves. The chilli was optional and I used half of mine, minus the seeds. Let it bubble for 5 minutes and then serve. Again we headed up into the main restaurant to eat it.

We were each given a little bowl of rice to go with it. Again I was shocked at how flavourful this was. It was mildly spicy and very sweet. The pineapple soaked up the flavours, as did the chicken. I wasn’t keen on the grapes but I’ll just leave them out next time.

I can’t believe it was ready in under 20 minutes. I honestly think this was one of the best dishes I have ever cooked. Plus it’s a great way to use left over chicken!

If you’re looking for authentic Thai food, I highly recommend Thaikhun. I went for my birthday last year with a big group of friends and the overall consensus was great quality, tasty food, friendly staff and something for almost everyone (unless you really don’t like spice. Then I wouldn’t recommend it). The bloggers event was absolutely incredibly fun, possibly my favourite event to date. I now need to see if they will teach me to make even more delicious food!!

A massive khob khun ka to all the staff at Thaikhun and intu Victoria for inviting me down to participate and for looking after us and teaching us! 🇹🇭 ขอบคุณค่ะ