It's been difficult to post this weekend because our internet is out in our rooms; the only connection we can get is in the computer room downstairs. Even now it's pretty spotty! We've been having crazy thunderstorms every night, causing frequent power outages. Perhaps this is the reason I can't connect...hmmm...
Last Sunday (now a week ago...wow...time is flying!) I went with my dance class to Chiang Mai University to watch my professor perform. The dance and music showcase was part of a Southeastern Asian heritage exhibition going on at the university. Waew, my professor, is world-renowned for her style that blends traditional Thai Lanna dance with modern and contemporary styles. She was the assistant choreographer for the Black Eyed Peas music video for 'Boom Boom Pow.' Here are some pictures as well as the link to her website: Waewdao Sirisook
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| Waew in an ensemble piece. The lights represent sacred lotus flowers! |
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| Another performer doing a dance which blends many different Asian and contemporary styles |
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| Waew performing her solo piece |
On Monday, I was invited to my Thai friend Aim's home to learn how to cool Indian food. My friends Lisa and Awa came with me. Aim is half Thai and half Indian; her mother is from India and obviously knows how to cook some killer Indian food. Lisa has complete photo documentation as we made a traditional and popular Indian dish called Chole Bhature -- a chickpea curry and fried bread.
Here's how we did it!
1. Boil chickpeas until tender; this varies depending on the method of cooking. We used a pressure cooker, so they took about 30 minutes. Boiling in a sauce pan takes at least an hour. We also had to boil the red chilies as to rehydrate them, about 20 minutes.
3. In a large saucepan, get about 1/4 cup oil very hot. Add curry paste cook until the water is out. We learned that this is the most critical step in making this dish -- if you mess this up, it's disastrous for the rest of the dish. Aim's mom told us that the best way to tell when it's done is to watch the color. The curry will get to be a darker and more robust color of red, and the oil will start to separate out on the sides of the pan. When it's done, it will be very thick and heavy, like you could almost roll it into a ball:
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| Just beginning to separate |
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| Getting darker... |
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| All done! Much thicker and darker! |
4. Making the Bhature: combine 1 kg all purpose flower with 1tsp salt and 1 tsp sugar. Add 650 mL soda water (to make it fluffy!) Knead well, and let rest for 20 minutes.
5. Finishing the curry: Add the boiled chickpeas (including the water!) to the curry and heat until it becomes thick and most of the water evaporates out. Garnish with fresh cilantro at the VERY end so it doesn't wilt!
6. Making the bhature: The dough should be one big ball. This next part is the most complicated to explain! The most important part, Aim's mother told us, is to keep your hands well oiled so that when you roll the dough out it is smooth and does not stick to your hands or to the rolling pin.
Break off small bits of dough, a ball about 1 in to 1 1/2 inches in diameter. There is a particular way to roll the dough in your hands so that it gets soft and smooth ("push, pull, fold" was our mantra as we were learning). Next, roll out each ball with a rolling pin -- they should be very thin, almost transparent.
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| My sad attempts at rolling the dough the 'right' way! |
7. More hot oil: heat about 1/2 c vegetable oil in the wok until scalding hot (now we're FRYING!). Place the rolled out dough in the oil and fry until golden brown. They will puff up and become very light and airy (delicious...sigh...)
8. EAT! I can confidently say that this was one of the top 5 greatest meals of my life...so far :)
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| Our finished product: Chole (curry) Bhature (the fried bread) and a salad! |
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| Me, Aim, and Awa -- hot and sweaty from cooking, but very happy after a delicious meal! |
The rest of the weeks' events (and food!) pails in comparison to that night. It was a very busy week of homework, but I did make some time to visit the Chiang Mai University Market (the CMU Market). This market is HUGE and it is very popular with students. It has lots of cute clothing and shoes, but everything here is so tiny! It's almost impossible to find shoes in my size, a 39 (or 8 1/2), which is pretty average for the Western world. Oh well! I need to be saving my money anyway.
On Thursday evening, we took our books and whatnot to a restaurant in the Night Bazaar to do some homework. I ended up getting distracted and took my 1,000 baht (about $30) to the streets instead. I bought some great souvenirs and gifts (which I'm sure some of you will be seeing when I get back!) Sometimes, I feel like it's hard to hold myself back. There's a lot of junk at the bazaar, but I found some great handmade and very unique things! When in Rome, I suppose.
The weekend was pretty calm; on Friday our gender professor took us on a field trip to a number of bars and clubs that are integrated into the sex industry in Chiang Mai. It was a very interesting and sobering experience. We visited a Karaoke bar, where you can pay the bar to take a girl home with you, as well as a brothel. At the brothel, us white women were not allowed back to see the girls on display because the owners were afraid of us intimidating the sex workers. I did sneak a peek as I went to the bathroom -- the weirdest thing to me was how normal all of this seemed. The sex industry is responsible for 20% of Thailand's GDP, yet it is illegal. It was sort of eye opening to visit these places and see how they work. Obviously, I don't have any pictures because it's illegal to take photographs inside mot of these places.
A very good week on the whole, and I'm getting excited for our field trip on Wednesday to Sukhothai and Ayuthya (two of the three Old Kingdoms in Thailand). I'll be gone until Sunday, and I promise to come home with lots of pictures!
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