By Milda Urban, Summersalt Yoga founder

Thai cooking! Do I have your attention yet? Those who follow us on social media may have noticed that our retreat team is spending some time in Southeast Asia. And we’re not just traveling or escaping winter, we’re also trying to get new ideas, inspiration and training for our own retreat and you – our lovely yogis.

Vanessa (our yoga teacher) is doing her Thai massage course in Chiang Mai and I (Milda – chef of the kitchen) took a Thai vegetarian cooking class as I’ve been dying to learn a few new tricks and add some new recipes to our retreat menu. Boy, was I right to take the class!

Even if it’s called vegetarian – all the recipes were actually vegan – which made it all even better!

Starting with a local market visit just across the street I got a chance to learn a little bit more about the Thai produce. Various herbs (local basic, kaffir, the special Thai ginger, coriander…), veggies (Thai aubergine for example looks completely different than the one in Europe), various types of tofu, delicious mangoes…

Don’t forget all the local grandmas selling all that stuff or cooking on the spot – if you’re willing you can just grab your fully cooked lunch here. It all looked and felt so alive and was just calling to be bought and eaten.

After the tour I got to the kitchen where my teacher Diana explained the most important elements of Thai cooking (you’ll have to take a class to find out what those are  ) and then… I finally got a knife and started chopping!

In a few hours I made what felt like a hundred dishes – green, red, massaman Thai curries (I personally am completely obsessed with the Thai curries…) , fresh rolls, dips, salads, sticky rice… And it all worked out perfectly! I am not bragging here – just pointing out that Thai cooking can really be so easy and quick and if you’re a fan you can very simply incorporate a few dishes in your meals.

Guys, the class has awaken my inner menu generator and I already know which of the dishes I will be offering to our guests and which ideas I can implement or adapt to our kitchen.

Bon apetit and namaste!

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