"Thai" It! You Won't Be Sorry!

My mom came up a few months ago, so she could receive her Mother's Day gift from me. Guess what it was???
Not a card....
Not candy....
Not a macaroni necklace...
It was a super-fun cooking class! At my beloved Bayleaf! Ain't it cute?
The Bayleaf is a super cool cooking store here in downtown Lawrence. It has the niftiest kitchen tools and gadgets and absolutely precious kitchenware (& aprons!)
And they also offer monthly cooking classes. With cooking classes with the titles of "Apple Autumn Harvest" and "Pad Thai and Beyond" you know you're in for a treat, a delicious treat.
When I went in to sign up for a class it was a toss up between a Mediterranean class and a Thai class. Both excellent choices, but I personally knew the instructor for the Thai class and knew it would be a ball. And by golly, it was! We made Thai/Lao Egg Rolls with a dipping sauce and Thai Pineapple Fried Rice. We had a great time at the class. We made new friends and had a ton of laughs. And of course ate some tasty food. Enjoy the pictures and I highly recommend you throw a "Thai Night" soon with these fabulous recipes. ;)

As soon as we arrived at the Bayleaf we were put to work.

Mom got the job of pulverizing the peanuts for the egg roll sauce.

Crush those nuts! Crush those nuts! Haha, that made me giggle.

This is the delicious filling of our Thai/Lao Egg Rolls. It's got cabbage, carrots, vermicelli noodles, mmm......Mom and I talked about just eating this straight from the bowl and we kinda did.

And now to assemble...Place about a 1/4 of a cup of filling on a wrap.

Slap some egg wash on the sides, it works as an adhesive so the roll can stay together.

Nice...

Then you bring the bottom up...

And add more of the egg wash.

Bring both pointy ends (left and right) in and start to roll up, nice and tight.

And...

Voila! Picture perfect.

This is Dawn. She was our instructor. I worked as a TA for her in one of her English classes on campus a few semesters ago. She's a fun lady. You'd like her.

Plop, plop...

Hungry yet?

Just call her the "FryMaster."

Frying egg rolls! Everywhere!!!

I think it was here that I called "dibs" on about five of these babies. "And I want this one and that one and definitely this one."

Check out the dipping sauce! Holy smokes! This sauce has it all. Sweet, spicy, tangy, savory...please and thank you.

First bite. Oh yeahhhhh.......The technique is to take a bite out of the roll, then pour the sauce straight into the roll. Seriously, the only way to eat it.

And then Dawn started the best rice I can honestly say I've ever eaten and that's a ton of rice, folks.

I want some. I want some NOW.

Thai/Lao Egg Rolls and Pineapple Fried Rice
adapted from Dawn Haverkate-Ens

Eggroll Filling (make early in the day or a day ahead: must cool before using)
2 Tbsp oil, divided (Canola or peanut)
3 1/2 cups grated carrots
3 1/2 cups chopped cabbage
7 oz. pkg of vermicelli noodles (bean thread), soaked in a bowl of water until softened (about 10 min) and cut up with kitchen shears
4-6 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in warm water for 20 minutes, drained and minced (discard the hard core)
1/2 lb. ground/minced pork
1 1/2 Tbsp. oyster sauce
1 1/2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 bunch of green onions, chopped into small pieces

Heat wok over medium high heat. Add 1 Tbsp. oil, swirling to coat sides of pan. Add minced pork and fry until done, breaking apart into small pieces as you do so. Put meat in a bowl and set aside.
Add another Tbsp. of oil to the wok and heat over high heat. (Adjust heat as needed in the cooking process. A flat bottom wok may not require high heat all the time, depending on what you're cooking in it.) Add chopped cabbage and carrots and stir fry until they have lost volume and give up much of their water.
Add the drained noodles, 1 1/2 Tbsp. oyster sauce, 1 1/2 Tbsp. soy sauce, 1 tsp. white wine vinegar, and 1/2- 1 tsp. sugar. Stir fry until the noodles are cooked (they will become transparent). Add back the pork and add the minced shiitake mushrooms and chopped green onions. Add generous amounts of freshly ground pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary to make it more salty, sour or sweet. (soy or salt, white wine vinegar, sugar)
Making the Eggrolls
Thaw eggroll wrappers before using (about 1/2- 1 hour). You will need to purchase frozen wrappers labeled as "Spring Roll Shells/Wrappers" in an Oriental Market.
Fill and roll the eggrolls as directed, using a "glue" of approximately 1 egg plus 1 1/2 tsp. water whisked together. (Make more "glue" as needed.) Set on cookie sheets and if necessary put a towel over them to prevent them from drying out too much.
Preheat oil in a wide deep skillet in enough oil to cover them, keeping the oil at 365 degrees. Drain on a paper towel or cookie rack over a cookie sheet and keep them in a warm oven until serving (if desired). Serve with flippin' delicious dipping sauce. Below!

Dipping Sauce
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
4 cloves garlic
1-3 serrano chilies (or Jalapeno)
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup fish sauce
crushed roasted peanuts

Boil 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup sugar in a small pan until sugar dissolves. Cool.
Closer to serving time, add 1/4 cup fish sauce and 1/4 cup lime juice. Pound 4 garlic cloves and chili with a little salt in a mortar until you have a paste. Add to liquid. Taste and add salt if needed. You may add more fish sauce, lime juice, or chilies to balance the flavors. (If adding more garlic or chilies, mash them before adding).
Place in small serving bowls and top with crushed peanuts when serving.

Thai Pineapple Fried Rice
2 Tbsp. cooking oil (Canola or peanut)
7 garlic cloves
1/2 cup pork, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chicken, thinly sliced
1/2 to 2/3 lb. shrimp
pinch of salt (for meat)

1 1/2 cup pineapple, cut into small pieces (PLEASE use fresh!! Tastes so much better.)
6 cups cooked rice, cooled and kept in the refrigerator at least overnight
3 eggs

2 tsp. yellow curry powder
1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. or more ground white pepper
3 Tbsp. fish sauce

1 bunch of green onions, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
red or green jalapeno pepper, seeded and thinly sliced (optional)

1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup cashews

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Put the rice into a large bowl and pull it apart so that there aren't large chunks. Set aside. Be sure all of your ingredients are within easy reach of the cooking area.
Set wok over medium high heat. Add the oil, rotating the wok so that it coats the sides. When the oil is hot add the garlic and stir fry briefly, until it is aromatic and golden.
Immediately add the shrimp, chicken and pork and stir fry until the meat is almost done.
Create an open space in the bottom of the wok, add a small bit of oil, add the eggs and allow them to cook until they set up a bit. Then stir them as they cook. When they are about half done add the rice and pineapple and mix quickly.
Add 2 tsp. curry powder, 1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar, 1 tsp. ground white pepper and 3 Tbsp. fish sauce and mix well, continuously turning the rice mixture over. Add chopped green onions, red bell pepper and jalapeno pepper (if using).
Add raisins and cashews. Finally, add the cilantro. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

Well put, Mr. Shaw, well put.