01.23Thai Cooking Demonstration | Four Seasons Resort Hualalai
Four Season’s Chef James “Jim” Babian never disappoints. He is Executive Chef at Four Season’s Resort Hualalai and has become something of an expert on Thai food. You’ll remember he cooked a fabulous Thai dinnerfor my husband and me earlier this year. He surprised us with a Thai cooking demonstration when we brought our family to the resort for the first time a few months ago. Everyone got in the act and we ate like kings.
First course was Tom Yum Soup. Delicious shrimp, shitake mushrooms, lemon grass, Kaffir lime leaves and fresh lime juice were spotlighted in this appetizer. Most of the ingredients for the meal were grown in the hotel’s herb garden.
Next up was Chef Jim’s Thai Beef Salad. The combination of heirloom tomatoes, prime New York steak grilled to perfection, Thai chili peppers, fresh cilantro and lime juice, along with a few “secret” Thai ingredients was definitely a favorite and easy to prepare.
OK. we were starting to get full now, but another course was being prepped. It just happened to be another of my husband’s favorites. We love Pad (Phad) Thai and it was fun to see how Chef Jim added his special flair to this colorful Thai dish. Garden fresh seasonings combine with traditional thai condiments and you end up with one of Thailand’s most popular dishes.
FInally, we came to the end of the meal and Chef Sean made a fresh pineapple fruit sorbet in a matter of minutes. The taste was so concentrated we had a hard time believing there was no added sugar. Just lightly baked fresh pineapple slices to concentrate the sugar and add to a magic “$3,000 instant sorbet machine. It was a delicious way to end our meal.
Nothing more fun than watching great chefs at work, showing us the step by step recipes for great Thai food. My “Blue Baker” helped with preparation and everyone in the family had a great time watching and eating. Our family wants to thank Chef Jim and Chef Shaun Acosta, Sous Chef, for a great afternoon of cooking and, more importantly, a great meal. This is one we we will remember, as we try to recreate the great food we enjoyed this afternoon.
– The Gourmet Review
NOTES
All of Chef Jim’s recipes for our Thai meal are included in links on today’s blog post. Give them a try!