To be in a kitchen....

It was delightful taking a cooking class, not only to learn how to prepare Cambodian food, but also to sit behind a cutting board and have a knife in my hands. We don't really have any opportunities to cook while on the road. Hostels and guesthouses don't have kitchens at our disposal, so we are left hopping from one restaurant to the next. And while the cooking class was hardly the same as cooking at home, I was happy to take the next best thing. A couple of French Canadians, Aussies, and us made a trip to the market with our instructor, a young Cambodian guy quite comfortable in the kitchen...having learned to cook by watching his mom when he was quite young. And somehow when you are whipping up food under a guiding hand, it turns out just as you were hoping it would...and sometimes better! We prepared a coconut curry, chili beef served over a salad, and hot and sour chicken soup. After a trip to the market, wandering through stalls picking up plenty of fresh ingredients...produce, fish and meat...we set to chopping and preparing. A row of woks were awaiting us and we stood side by side as our curries sizzled, sweat ran down our faces, and the room filled with the sweet smell of coconut curry. We feasted on each of our dishes as soon as we scooped the food out of the woks, and were delighted by how easily we had thrown together these delicious meals. I'm hoping that once we are back home, I can still whip up these dishes and bring back memories of the tastes and smells of Cambodia!