Cantonese Cooking Class!!!

I enjoyed 8 hours of cooking at a Cantonese Cookery class, held by Marsha Sherpa http://www.marthasherpa.com/. There were 4 others in the class and she took us through 5 Canonese dishes and shared so much of Chinese culture and cuisine with us. I had lots of "aahhaa" moments as she explained customs and things that have been puzzling me. Martha wore a mask "for hygiene purpose" the entire class, which combined with her accent, meant we had to concentrate!

First up, we each made Singaporean stir fried rice noodle. She showed us how to cook and fry the noodles properly- didn't know my current method could be so wrong! This dish actually originated in HK and is slightly spicy with shrimps, bbq pork, onions, sprouts, carrots and chives. What can I say!

Learning to stir fry rice with egg in it. Lots of tossing and patting at high speed and temperature.

Hong Kong Fried Rice with bbq pork, shrimp and green peas.

Crispy Chicken with lemon sauce... mmmm. Learned that the Chinese don't like chicken breast- but they'll eat any other part! Thigh and wings are favorite. That's why chicken breast is so cheap.

Preparing the pork for deep frying. Martha is a perfectionist and made us all work very methodically and meticulously (not my usual style).

The result- Cantonese style sweet and sour pork with pineapple and peppers. After each dish was cooked, we got to sit around the table and eat and ask questions. The food was really really amazing and I can't wait to try it out at home.

And lastly, we watched, as Martha taught us how to turn this fish...

into this...

into this- Cantonese style crispy fish with pickled vegetables in sweet and sour sauce. I really felt like I left with a greater appreciation and understanding of Chinese lifestyle, food and customs and there are a whole lot of ingredients that I'm now not scared to buy! Know what to do with them!