Would you like 3 or 4 Chili Peppers in Your Salad?

The other day, instead of Thai Language class, we... cooked! We were divided into gruops and sent to a local market with a shopping list. Imagine a group of American students, attempting to navigate the narrow aisles of a market, surrounded by local Thais, clutching a list of ingredients that we can't even read, and using the few Thai words that we know in what I'm sure are ridiculous accents. Quite the sight. But we were succesful and headed back to school. Then, each group worked with an Ajaan (professor) to make a traditional Thai dish.

I made Som-Dtam, or papaya salad. The base of the salad is shredded, unripe papaya-- which is nearly white and very firm rather than the juicy deep orange/red of a ripe papaya. The dish is very easy to make. All you need is a large mortar and pestle and some muscle. Grudually you pound together some garlic, chili peppers, string beans, palm sugar, the shredded papaya, lime, tomato, fish sauce, and dried shrimp. And as a finishing touch, sprinkle some roasted peanuts on top. Yummy! But beware, because those chilis are SPICY. I've had the dish many times since I've been here and really like it. Although once while at my neighbors house, we ate some that she had made. I took one bite and my mouth was on fire for the next half hour. My Meh and my neighbor were just chowing down, only taking breaths to wipe their running noses or take deep breaths through the sides of their mouths. These people are hard-core!

The other groups made: eggs that were boiled and then fried with tamarin sauce and garlic stuff on top, spring rolls, a pork and noodle dish, and a ground pork dish with lots of cilantro and other herbs. So we got to eat it all for lunch. It was DELICIOUS! Everything was sooo good. I'm hoping I can find these ingredients back in the states so I can make them at home! It was really fun to learn to cook with traditional Thai methods. Plus, I can't complain about missing a day of Thai class...