MarkKim + Chef (2023-…): Season 1, Episode 1 - Episode #1.1 - full transcript
Welcome to MarkKim + Chef.
I think everyone knows by now
that we love to eat.
Hey, that's raw!
We also love to cook...
but we're not really good at it.
Hurry up, babe!
Now, we're moving towards
the next chapter of our lives together.
That's right.
We're walking down the aisle.
This is a good time for us
to sharpen our cooking skills
in our kitchen.
That's why we've recruited
some of the most celebrated chefs
in Thailand to teach us.
They'll be cooking in their homes
while we cook in ours.
How did they get here?
Let's go back inside and have a look.
On this episode of MarkKim + Chef
we'll be cooking Thai food.
Prawns.
-Prawns?
-Tom yum kung?
Are we making tom yum kung?
-Let's put them all right here.
-Bro.
Come help us. Come help, please.
This is a lot.
Wait, what's this? This is a lot.
The chef who will be joining us today
is experienced in cooking
and grew up in the palace kitchen.
I have no idea
if we can pull off making royal cuisine.
I think we should go ahead
and introduce our chef.
OK, sure.
-Here we go!
-Let's meet our chef.
-There she is! Hello.
-Hello
-Chef Pom.
-Hello.
I have to say that
I'm both thrilled and terrified
because the chef who will be
teaching us to cook today
is the toughest judge on
the nation's renowned culinary competition.
It's Chef Pom, M.L. Kwantip Devakula.
Of course, we'll be laser focused
and do the best we can.
Hopefully, we won't receive
any harsh critiques from Chef Pom.
Please go easy on us.
Hello, please allow me
to introduce my family to you.
I'm here with my parents
my sister and my sister's husband.
We're so excited.
So, these four people going to be
Mark and Kim's victims?
Victims?
She's using the word "victims".
I have faith in your skills, Chef Pom
and that you'll be able to teach us
how to make delicious food.
We'll listen to you closely.
We won't be stubborn at all today.
I will do my best to teach you
and I hope my students will not
end up ruining my reputation.
She's giving you guys pressure.
OK.
Today, I will try to smile more
so that you won't be so nervous.
I'm even more nervous now.
I see that
your family is joining you today
so we'll be making tom yum kung.
You guessed it!
It will be the traditional tom yum kung
that Thai people have been making.
There is no such thing
as the creamy version or the clear version.
It is tom yum kung, period.
And we will be pairing it with
a fermented soybean dip
with fresh vegetables.
- A dip? I like that.
-Woah, I love it!
-My mum likes it too.
-Wait, Mum's making
this face like this dish is really hard to make.
For today
can we have Kim be the head chef?
-I'll be her assistant.
-Yes.
-I'll be the head chef.
-I feel...
I feel like I'm in a classroom
where the teacher is super strict.
Shall we begin?
Sure, we're so ready.
First things first, this right here...
Are these two the same?
This is chicken stock.
Pour it into a pot.
Get five stalks of lemongrass.
Sure, five stalks.
Do you know galangal?
Yes, galangal.
Don't be nervous, babe.
Don't be nervous.
Are your vegetables clean?
We haven't rinsed them yet.
The vegetable rinsing staff back there.
Please hurry up.
See? You're so clumsy.
Take it easy. Don't fight.
Large red bird's eye chillies.
Large red bird's eye chillies.
Do they have to be red, Chef?
I said red
but you can use green ones if you like.
We are using large red ones here.
Kaffir lime leaves.
Kaffir lime leaves.
And then, shallots.
Hurry up, babe.
Babe, knock it off.
All right, for the lemongrass...
I want you to do this.
Smash it gently until it's pliable.
Put them into the stock pot.
Next, let's work
on the kaffir lime leaves.
Fold each leaf into half, lengthwise
and pull the midrib off.
Mark, you're taking too long.
Just tear the midrib out.
Chef, I'm shaking here.
This is one of the easiest tasks.
If you're taking so long just to do this
how are you going to handle the other tasks?
Are the kaffir lime leaves ready?
-Yes, Chef!
-Yes, Chef!
Add the leaves into the pot.
-Next up, galangal.
-Galangal.
Slice it. The slices need not be too thin.
Add them into the pot.
Putting them in the pot.
Next up is an easy task.
Take the red bird's eye chillies
and remove the stem.
Will the soup be spicy, Chef?
I can't eat spicy food.
We won't be crushing the chilli
so the soup won't be spicy.
I see. OK.
We're just adding the chillies in
for their fragrance.
OK.
When they are ready
add them into the stock pot.
For shallots, gently crush them.
Crush all of them
and add them to the pot.
I have a question, Chef.
All right, ask away.
Are there any differences between
royal cuisine and ordinary Thai cuisine?
Actually, there's no difference.
Royals and commoners
take their shrimp paste dip
mackerel and vegetables the same way
but say, for example, the chilli paste...
common folks would make theirs
very spicy, salty and sour
while the royals would go for
a more balanced taste.
When it comes to vegetables
we would cut them into bite-sized pieces.
So the royals look refined
even when they're eating.
Not like, "Oh my goodness"
"That's a huge piece."
Your mouth will be stuffed full
and you'll be chewing away, not a dignified look.
Anyway, stop slacking off.
-OK, all right. Next, please.
-OK.
-Bring out the river prawns.
-Prawns.
The river prawns, please.
Back in the day
how did people get their prawns?
This is a story from my father.
Back in the day, the Devakula Palace
was a part of the Devavesm Palace
located by the Chao Phraya River.
Back then, our idea of playing
was to jump into the Chao Phraya River.
We would find
river prawns clinging to pier posts.
Back then, river prawns
were neither expensive nor hard to find.
Oh, I thought they were hard to find.
Now, we'll start to shell the prawns.
Please watch closely.
This is a bit more technical.
First, remove the carapace like this.
Well done. A bit harder.
Then remove the gills.
Stick your thumb into the gills like this.
Pull it carefully so it doesn't break.
Watch closely. This is the tricky bit.
If we pull gently
the black poop sack will come right off.
-OK.
-Is it this?
Yes, pick it off from the bottom
and throw it away.
Pick it off and throw it away.
-But we're keeping this part?
-Well done.
You're good at shelling prawns, students.
This is how the river prawn looks like now.
Get a bowl.
Scrape off the prawn head butter
and twist off the head.
Here is how we remove the prawn shell.
Work your fingers
through one segment at a time.
Gather the prawn gills
prawn heads, prawn shells
and add them into your pot
while the stock is boiling.
-Kim and Mark.
- Yes?
What kind of tom yum kung have you had?
Tom yum kung...
both the creamy and clear versions
but I still don't know the difference.
We don't know which is authentic Thai cuisine
or which one is the original.
All right, that's simple.
Take a look at your stock pot right now.
The stock is cloudy from boiling down
the prawn shells, prawn heads and prawn gills.
Nowadays, people don't use river prawns
and they don't make the stock this way.
Their way of doing it is wrong.
They add evaporated milk
to make the stock creamy
but the proper way of making creamy stock
is to boil the ingredients down.
Kim and Mark, are you done
preparing the prawns like this?
Here it is, Chef.
Wonderful.
Next, we're going to finish preparing
the ingredients for tom yum kung.
Cut the straw mushrooms into quarters.
If the mushrooms are small
you can just halve it.
For the bigger straw mushrooms
cut it into quarters like this.
Mummy, are you happy
with this daughter-in-law to-be?
Here we go.
We'll have to wait and see after this meal.
We're going to have to wait and see
after this dish.
We're done here, Chef.
For the vegetables
slice the lemongrass diagonally like this.
Then tear four kaffir lime leaves.
-Chef Pom, may I ask a question?
-Sure.
How did you become a chef?
Well, I didn't want to be a chef at all.
I was forced to cook since I was young.
One thing about being forced to cook
was that I didn't know if I liked it.
The adults just made me do it
and I rebelled against them.
But then one day
I realised I really do love cooking.
Oh, I see.
All right, now for the galangal.
Slice it thinly.
And then, cut everything in half.
All done.
Do you have smaller
bird's eye chillies over there?
We do.
Smash some and give it a rough mince.
Do you have any stories about life in the palace?
So my grandfather was related to the royalty.
I had to use royal language with him
for words like "eat" and "sleep"
and I assumed every family
uses these terms in their daily lives.
When our school taught the royal language
I didn't understand why my friends
had to memorise these words.
Don't they speak like this at home?
So, my friend told me
if every family spoke that way
that would have been weird.
Wait, what do you have there?
Coriander.
Cut the roots and put it aside for later use.
For this dish...
we'll grab a few bunches
and pick the leaves.
Babe, are you taking notes?
I'm not.
I've forgotten about it.
That is all for making tom yum.
-We'll just set it aside for now.
-OK.
Because we're going to start on
our fermented soybean dip.
For the stock
you can turn off the stove.
Get the white soybean paste.
Right. The one that looks like soybean.
That's right.
Oh dear.
Is it salty?
See, it was too late for me to stop you.
We have to ferment this.
In order to preserve it
we make it very salty.
So, before using it
we have to rinse and drain it dry.
Then grab this.
It's called a hand blender.
Do you have coconut milk?
Coconut milk.
OK.
Measure the white soybean paste
and put it into the container for blending.
Then, add coconut milk.
Just about half of the amount
of the white soybean paste will do.
OK, done.
Blend it, keeping your blender upright.
Press down on the beans.
Press straight down on the soybeans.
Well done.
Keep moving it like that
until the texture is like this.
All right. This should do.
Now, it is about to get difficult.
Here comes the lemongrass again.
The lemongrass?
Yes. Watch this.
Oh wow, that's really thin.
Do you have any tips for this step?
There's no tip.
Just remember not to blend it.
Just slice it thinly.
Next, the shallots.
Who is going to slice the shallots?
I'll leave it to the head chef, of course.
Are the shallots ready?
We want the same amount
as the lemongrass.
That's quite a lot.
Next up, I guess
we'll just tear some kaffir lime leaves
like we did for our tom yum.
Otherwise my students would get discouraged.
One more thing. Do we have galangal?
Slice the galangal thinly.
Once you have ten slices
lay them flat like this.
Spread them out and have them
slightly overlapping.
All nice and flat.
Cut them into thin strips like this.
Watch this.
Go for it, babe.
How do I do that again?
Looking lovely. That would work...
Really?
Mark, please grab some green chillies.
For this, we can use green chillies
bell peppers or chilli spur peppers.
Cut it this way.
Into pieces like this.
Easy. This is a piece of cake.
We just need about two chillies.
Sure.
All right, are you ready? We're going to
make the fermented soybean dip.
Yes.
Oh dear, this is not easy.
Yeah, a lot of prep involved.
Get an empty pot.
Oh, that's quite a big pot.
This one's perfect.
Let's use this one.
OK.
Let's see how much pork you have.
This much, Chef.
Let me see.
OK, if that's all you have
you can add it all into the pot.
-OK.
-OK.
Do I turn on the stove?
Don't turn on the stove just yet.
This is one of the techniques
to make sure that the pork doesn't
stick together in big chunks.
Since we're making a dip
we want it to be all nicely blended.
Add our blended white soybean paste
to the pork.
All right, now
pour the coconut milk into the pot.
Slowly.
Then, stir.
Now, put it on the stove.
Lovely. Keep stirring
and add more coconut milk as needed.
You'll have to eyeball it.
Make sure you don't add too much coconut milk
because this is a dip.
We don't want the dip getting too watery
or it won't coat your food properly.
I think we can add a bit more.
Yeah. Yours is nice and mushy.
My students are doing fantastic.
Don't underestimate their skills.
Come on.
-I'm glad.
-Such big smiles you have.
One small compliment
and you're both grinning from ear to ear.
Oh my, it's boiling over there.
All right.
Add the thinly sliced lemongrass
the thinly sliced galangal
the minced shallots
and the kaffir lime leaves.
Here, have a look
at how the texture should be.
Well done. That is perfect.
Chef said ours was perfect.
Sugar.
Palm sugar.
Palm sugar.
That's right.
Add it in.
Mummy's going to help you season it.
Here she comes.
I'm here to taste it.
Mum can't wait any longer.
Is it cooked through yet?
Once it's cooked through
you can taste it to see how salty it is.
-All right. Let's try.
-Salty.
It should be sweet and salty.
How is it?
The sugar hasn't fully dissolved yet.
-I see a chunk there.
-I know.
-It's already salty.
-Working on it.
If you're happy with the taste
get the tamarind paste.
Mark.
You have to try a bit of the tamarind paste
to see how it tastes.
Don't blow on it. Why are you blowing on it?
I think my taste buds are all dead now.
Kim, are you happy with the taste?
Yes.
Add about two tablespoons
of the tamarind paste.
Mark is lovely.
He does everything he's told.
Yes.
But I don't listen to everyone, only some.
Mark.
If you'll only listen to a select few
listen to your wife and you'll have a good life.
Yes.
Do I have any other choice?
Kim, does it taste good yet?
We don't want it to be too sour.
We just want a hint of sourness.
Is it good?
-Yeah.
-Really?
If you're happy with the taste
sprinkle the sliced chillies on top
and turn off the stove.
Now, moving on to the tom yum kung.
Yay.
One more thing we have to prepare
is lime.
Lime.
Oh, here comes the lime.
They're over here.
Oh, I can hardly see how you're doing
because I'm being blinded by
the head chef's diamond ring.
Soak the coriander in water.
Now, get another pot.
We're using a lot of pots here.
It takes a lot of pots to make Thai food.
You complain a lot.
We don't have that many pots at home.
All right.
Give the stock that we cooked just now
a good stir
and pour only the liquid
into our new pot.
Add in the lemongrass
the galangal and the kaffir lime leaves
that we've prepared.
Do you have any shallots left?
Yes.
Put the shallots in whole.
Wait for the soup to boil.
Meanwhile, taste it
to see how salty our soup is.
We're almost running out of spoons
just from taste-testing.
You can always rinse your spoon
and re-use it.
There you go.
You're absolutely right, Chef.
-It's good.
- It smells so good.
The prawns smell so good.
But the flavour is not quite there yet.
I see, we're going to season it later.
Not yet. We haven't added any lime juice.
-Right...
-Taste-wise...
we want the soup to be a bit saltier
than how you would want it.
A bit saltier?
Because once we add lime juice
it will cut the saltiness.
We're using fish sauce
to make the soup saltier.
Chef, I'd like to hear you say
"I've warned you."
With the facial expression too?
Please give us the whole package.
Please give it all you've got, Chef.
While working in the kitchen
don't fool around.
I've warned you.
Oh my god.
-Roger that, Chef.
-Roger that.
Oh, my soup's about to boil.
How are things at your side?
-It's boiling.
-It's boiling.
Once it's boiling
add about two tablespoons of fish sauce.
Here we go.
Now, we will add
the prawn head butter
and the prawn heads.
That one.
Finally, it's these little guys' turn.
Lovely. I can see it's still bubbling.
Go ahead and put them in.
Give it a good stir
to make the prawn head butter dissolve.
Make the prawn head butter dissolve.
Make it dissolve?
Stir and break it up a bit.
You will see the prawn head butter
floating on the surface.
Oh, this is a good tip.
It looks so good.
Add the straw mushrooms
that we have prepared earlier.
The straw mushrooms.
I think we'll need our helper
to prepare the vegetables
for the fermented soybean dip in the meantime.
Mum.
Would you like to do some vegetable carving?
-Whoa.
-Wow.
I can give it a try.
Go for it, Mum.
Kim, is it boiling?
Yes, it is.
Once it's boiling, add the prawns.
And when it is bubbling again
turn off the stove
and leave the soup hot in the pot.
Mummy, cut a cucumber like this.
In half, right?
Not in half. Just a bit off the side.
Kim, turn off the stove!
-It's about to boil over!
-Chef!
This always happens to me.
Turn off the stove and leave it.
-Leave it.
-Leave it.
Mummy, please bring your attention this way.
You see the side with the cucumber skin
and the side without?
The darker end will be
the tip of our leaf.
You can carve this into the shape of a leaf.
The knife's really sharp, Mum.
Be careful, Mum. I've warned you.
Hey, are you stealing my line?
Here comes the leaf!
A fat leaf.
OK.
Now we are going to create
a line in the centre of the leaf.
Angle your knife like this.
Draw a line down the middle of the leaf.
Don't make it too deep, or it'll come apart.
Then, angle your knife the other way.
Make sure this cut meets your previous cut.
That way, we can remove the piece. See?
Now, we're going to work on
the veins of the leaf.
Once you're done drawing the veins
please watch this.
First, carve right here.
Carve along the veins you have drawn.
Then, make a little curve like this
along the curve you have made earlier.
-There you go.
-There you go.
Mummy, did you get something like this?
Here, have a look over here.
Mum, show off yours.
Hold on, let me work on it a bit more.
I'm afraid that she'll tell me off.
The teacher will scold me.
-Last but not least...
-There's more?
For each section of the leaf
we're going to create a line
in the middle like this.
Are you done, Mummy?
I've only done one leaf.
Does it look nice?
It does, but I'll tell you what.
Open your fridge.
I don't think we have the time
to carve all the leaves you'll need.
Did you send us some?
Oh my.
This is nuts.
Oh, this is how it's supposed to look?
All right, let's prepare
the other vegetables. Hurry.
Let's prepare the other vegetables.
You have four pair of hands over there.
Please hurry up.
All right, Kim.
Can you season the tom yum?
First, ladle your soup into a serving bowl.
Then, squeeze some lime juice in there.
We're not going to squeeze the lime juice
straight into the pot
while the tom yum soup is boiling.
Because that would make
the lime juice taste bitter.
I learnt that from experience.
It's good.
If it's good
add the smaller bird's eye chillies
that we've smashed and roughly minced.
After that, fish out the prawns from your pot
and add them in.
The prawn head butter looks lovely.
Next, the coriander that we've prepared.
Usually, people would just
chop the coriander and add it in.
Mark, serve the fermented soybean dip
in a bowl and place it in the middle.
Plating it like this helps us a lot.
All done, kids?
All done.
I'm all done too.
Chef Pom's dish
MarkKim's dish
Chef Pom's dish
MarkKim's dish
We're ready to eat.
We're ready.
Shall we eat together?
Sure. I can see
you have six people over there.
Why are there only five plates of rice?
Oh, normally we...
We like to share a plate.
Just kidding. Actually
we don't have enough plates.
We should have gone with less sugar
in our fermented soybean dip.
You two are all sweet and sappy as it is.
OK, let's have a taste and rate this.
Here we go.
How many points would you give us?
-Out of ten.
-I'll give you...
-Ten out of ten.
-Ten, really?
Well done!
Well done. How many points
would you give your students, Chef?
Seeing how much
the guests are enjoying their meal
I would give you ten out of ten.
-Yay! Thank you.
-Thank you.
OK, thank you so much for today, Chef.
Thank you so much.
-My pleasure.
-We've learnt a dish
that we can make at home by ourselves.
Before saying goodbye
we'd like to share with you that
MarkKim + Chef will donate
30,000 baht to a foundation of your choice.
May I know
which foundation you would like to donate to?
I would like to donate to
the Foundation for the Blind in Thailand
under the Royal Patronage of H.M. the Queen.
I have recently undergone cataract surgery.
It made me realise
just how important it is to be able to see.
This got me thinking about
how disadvantaged the visually impaired are.
I would like to help them as much as I can.
We rejoice in your merit.
Absolutely.
Anyway, have a lovely meal.
Thank you very much.
Goodbye, everyone.
Babe, do you take chilli?
The fermented soybean dip.
The dip is so good.
I think it's delicious.
This is so rich
but it's not the creamy version.
This tastes better than the ones we buy.
Well done.
I think everyone knows by now
that we love to eat.
Hey, that's raw!
We also love to cook...
but we're not really good at it.
Hurry up, babe!
Now, we're moving towards
the next chapter of our lives together.
That's right.
We're walking down the aisle.
This is a good time for us
to sharpen our cooking skills
in our kitchen.
That's why we've recruited
some of the most celebrated chefs
in Thailand to teach us.
They'll be cooking in their homes
while we cook in ours.
How did they get here?
Let's go back inside and have a look.
On this episode of MarkKim + Chef
we'll be cooking Thai food.
Prawns.
-Prawns?
-Tom yum kung?
Are we making tom yum kung?
-Let's put them all right here.
-Bro.
Come help us. Come help, please.
This is a lot.
Wait, what's this? This is a lot.
The chef who will be joining us today
is experienced in cooking
and grew up in the palace kitchen.
I have no idea
if we can pull off making royal cuisine.
I think we should go ahead
and introduce our chef.
OK, sure.
-Here we go!
-Let's meet our chef.
-There she is! Hello.
-Hello
-Chef Pom.
-Hello.
I have to say that
I'm both thrilled and terrified
because the chef who will be
teaching us to cook today
is the toughest judge on
the nation's renowned culinary competition.
It's Chef Pom, M.L. Kwantip Devakula.
Of course, we'll be laser focused
and do the best we can.
Hopefully, we won't receive
any harsh critiques from Chef Pom.
Please go easy on us.
Hello, please allow me
to introduce my family to you.
I'm here with my parents
my sister and my sister's husband.
We're so excited.
So, these four people going to be
Mark and Kim's victims?
Victims?
She's using the word "victims".
I have faith in your skills, Chef Pom
and that you'll be able to teach us
how to make delicious food.
We'll listen to you closely.
We won't be stubborn at all today.
I will do my best to teach you
and I hope my students will not
end up ruining my reputation.
She's giving you guys pressure.
OK.
Today, I will try to smile more
so that you won't be so nervous.
I'm even more nervous now.
I see that
your family is joining you today
so we'll be making tom yum kung.
You guessed it!
It will be the traditional tom yum kung
that Thai people have been making.
There is no such thing
as the creamy version or the clear version.
It is tom yum kung, period.
And we will be pairing it with
a fermented soybean dip
with fresh vegetables.
- A dip? I like that.
-Woah, I love it!
-My mum likes it too.
-Wait, Mum's making
this face like this dish is really hard to make.
For today
can we have Kim be the head chef?
-I'll be her assistant.
-Yes.
-I'll be the head chef.
-I feel...
I feel like I'm in a classroom
where the teacher is super strict.
Shall we begin?
Sure, we're so ready.
First things first, this right here...
Are these two the same?
This is chicken stock.
Pour it into a pot.
Get five stalks of lemongrass.
Sure, five stalks.
Do you know galangal?
Yes, galangal.
Don't be nervous, babe.
Don't be nervous.
Are your vegetables clean?
We haven't rinsed them yet.
The vegetable rinsing staff back there.
Please hurry up.
See? You're so clumsy.
Take it easy. Don't fight.
Large red bird's eye chillies.
Large red bird's eye chillies.
Do they have to be red, Chef?
I said red
but you can use green ones if you like.
We are using large red ones here.
Kaffir lime leaves.
Kaffir lime leaves.
And then, shallots.
Hurry up, babe.
Babe, knock it off.
All right, for the lemongrass...
I want you to do this.
Smash it gently until it's pliable.
Put them into the stock pot.
Next, let's work
on the kaffir lime leaves.
Fold each leaf into half, lengthwise
and pull the midrib off.
Mark, you're taking too long.
Just tear the midrib out.
Chef, I'm shaking here.
This is one of the easiest tasks.
If you're taking so long just to do this
how are you going to handle the other tasks?
Are the kaffir lime leaves ready?
-Yes, Chef!
-Yes, Chef!
Add the leaves into the pot.
-Next up, galangal.
-Galangal.
Slice it. The slices need not be too thin.
Add them into the pot.
Putting them in the pot.
Next up is an easy task.
Take the red bird's eye chillies
and remove the stem.
Will the soup be spicy, Chef?
I can't eat spicy food.
We won't be crushing the chilli
so the soup won't be spicy.
I see. OK.
We're just adding the chillies in
for their fragrance.
OK.
When they are ready
add them into the stock pot.
For shallots, gently crush them.
Crush all of them
and add them to the pot.
I have a question, Chef.
All right, ask away.
Are there any differences between
royal cuisine and ordinary Thai cuisine?
Actually, there's no difference.
Royals and commoners
take their shrimp paste dip
mackerel and vegetables the same way
but say, for example, the chilli paste...
common folks would make theirs
very spicy, salty and sour
while the royals would go for
a more balanced taste.
When it comes to vegetables
we would cut them into bite-sized pieces.
So the royals look refined
even when they're eating.
Not like, "Oh my goodness"
"That's a huge piece."
Your mouth will be stuffed full
and you'll be chewing away, not a dignified look.
Anyway, stop slacking off.
-OK, all right. Next, please.
-OK.
-Bring out the river prawns.
-Prawns.
The river prawns, please.
Back in the day
how did people get their prawns?
This is a story from my father.
Back in the day, the Devakula Palace
was a part of the Devavesm Palace
located by the Chao Phraya River.
Back then, our idea of playing
was to jump into the Chao Phraya River.
We would find
river prawns clinging to pier posts.
Back then, river prawns
were neither expensive nor hard to find.
Oh, I thought they were hard to find.
Now, we'll start to shell the prawns.
Please watch closely.
This is a bit more technical.
First, remove the carapace like this.
Well done. A bit harder.
Then remove the gills.
Stick your thumb into the gills like this.
Pull it carefully so it doesn't break.
Watch closely. This is the tricky bit.
If we pull gently
the black poop sack will come right off.
-OK.
-Is it this?
Yes, pick it off from the bottom
and throw it away.
Pick it off and throw it away.
-But we're keeping this part?
-Well done.
You're good at shelling prawns, students.
This is how the river prawn looks like now.
Get a bowl.
Scrape off the prawn head butter
and twist off the head.
Here is how we remove the prawn shell.
Work your fingers
through one segment at a time.
Gather the prawn gills
prawn heads, prawn shells
and add them into your pot
while the stock is boiling.
-Kim and Mark.
- Yes?
What kind of tom yum kung have you had?
Tom yum kung...
both the creamy and clear versions
but I still don't know the difference.
We don't know which is authentic Thai cuisine
or which one is the original.
All right, that's simple.
Take a look at your stock pot right now.
The stock is cloudy from boiling down
the prawn shells, prawn heads and prawn gills.
Nowadays, people don't use river prawns
and they don't make the stock this way.
Their way of doing it is wrong.
They add evaporated milk
to make the stock creamy
but the proper way of making creamy stock
is to boil the ingredients down.
Kim and Mark, are you done
preparing the prawns like this?
Here it is, Chef.
Wonderful.
Next, we're going to finish preparing
the ingredients for tom yum kung.
Cut the straw mushrooms into quarters.
If the mushrooms are small
you can just halve it.
For the bigger straw mushrooms
cut it into quarters like this.
Mummy, are you happy
with this daughter-in-law to-be?
Here we go.
We'll have to wait and see after this meal.
We're going to have to wait and see
after this dish.
We're done here, Chef.
For the vegetables
slice the lemongrass diagonally like this.
Then tear four kaffir lime leaves.
-Chef Pom, may I ask a question?
-Sure.
How did you become a chef?
Well, I didn't want to be a chef at all.
I was forced to cook since I was young.
One thing about being forced to cook
was that I didn't know if I liked it.
The adults just made me do it
and I rebelled against them.
But then one day
I realised I really do love cooking.
Oh, I see.
All right, now for the galangal.
Slice it thinly.
And then, cut everything in half.
All done.
Do you have smaller
bird's eye chillies over there?
We do.
Smash some and give it a rough mince.
Do you have any stories about life in the palace?
So my grandfather was related to the royalty.
I had to use royal language with him
for words like "eat" and "sleep"
and I assumed every family
uses these terms in their daily lives.
When our school taught the royal language
I didn't understand why my friends
had to memorise these words.
Don't they speak like this at home?
So, my friend told me
if every family spoke that way
that would have been weird.
Wait, what do you have there?
Coriander.
Cut the roots and put it aside for later use.
For this dish...
we'll grab a few bunches
and pick the leaves.
Babe, are you taking notes?
I'm not.
I've forgotten about it.
That is all for making tom yum.
-We'll just set it aside for now.
-OK.
Because we're going to start on
our fermented soybean dip.
For the stock
you can turn off the stove.
Get the white soybean paste.
Right. The one that looks like soybean.
That's right.
Oh dear.
Is it salty?
See, it was too late for me to stop you.
We have to ferment this.
In order to preserve it
we make it very salty.
So, before using it
we have to rinse and drain it dry.
Then grab this.
It's called a hand blender.
Do you have coconut milk?
Coconut milk.
OK.
Measure the white soybean paste
and put it into the container for blending.
Then, add coconut milk.
Just about half of the amount
of the white soybean paste will do.
OK, done.
Blend it, keeping your blender upright.
Press down on the beans.
Press straight down on the soybeans.
Well done.
Keep moving it like that
until the texture is like this.
All right. This should do.
Now, it is about to get difficult.
Here comes the lemongrass again.
The lemongrass?
Yes. Watch this.
Oh wow, that's really thin.
Do you have any tips for this step?
There's no tip.
Just remember not to blend it.
Just slice it thinly.
Next, the shallots.
Who is going to slice the shallots?
I'll leave it to the head chef, of course.
Are the shallots ready?
We want the same amount
as the lemongrass.
That's quite a lot.
Next up, I guess
we'll just tear some kaffir lime leaves
like we did for our tom yum.
Otherwise my students would get discouraged.
One more thing. Do we have galangal?
Slice the galangal thinly.
Once you have ten slices
lay them flat like this.
Spread them out and have them
slightly overlapping.
All nice and flat.
Cut them into thin strips like this.
Watch this.
Go for it, babe.
How do I do that again?
Looking lovely. That would work...
Really?
Mark, please grab some green chillies.
For this, we can use green chillies
bell peppers or chilli spur peppers.
Cut it this way.
Into pieces like this.
Easy. This is a piece of cake.
We just need about two chillies.
Sure.
All right, are you ready? We're going to
make the fermented soybean dip.
Yes.
Oh dear, this is not easy.
Yeah, a lot of prep involved.
Get an empty pot.
Oh, that's quite a big pot.
This one's perfect.
Let's use this one.
OK.
Let's see how much pork you have.
This much, Chef.
Let me see.
OK, if that's all you have
you can add it all into the pot.
-OK.
-OK.
Do I turn on the stove?
Don't turn on the stove just yet.
This is one of the techniques
to make sure that the pork doesn't
stick together in big chunks.
Since we're making a dip
we want it to be all nicely blended.
Add our blended white soybean paste
to the pork.
All right, now
pour the coconut milk into the pot.
Slowly.
Then, stir.
Now, put it on the stove.
Lovely. Keep stirring
and add more coconut milk as needed.
You'll have to eyeball it.
Make sure you don't add too much coconut milk
because this is a dip.
We don't want the dip getting too watery
or it won't coat your food properly.
I think we can add a bit more.
Yeah. Yours is nice and mushy.
My students are doing fantastic.
Don't underestimate their skills.
Come on.
-I'm glad.
-Such big smiles you have.
One small compliment
and you're both grinning from ear to ear.
Oh my, it's boiling over there.
All right.
Add the thinly sliced lemongrass
the thinly sliced galangal
the minced shallots
and the kaffir lime leaves.
Here, have a look
at how the texture should be.
Well done. That is perfect.
Chef said ours was perfect.
Sugar.
Palm sugar.
Palm sugar.
That's right.
Add it in.
Mummy's going to help you season it.
Here she comes.
I'm here to taste it.
Mum can't wait any longer.
Is it cooked through yet?
Once it's cooked through
you can taste it to see how salty it is.
-All right. Let's try.
-Salty.
It should be sweet and salty.
How is it?
The sugar hasn't fully dissolved yet.
-I see a chunk there.
-I know.
-It's already salty.
-Working on it.
If you're happy with the taste
get the tamarind paste.
Mark.
You have to try a bit of the tamarind paste
to see how it tastes.
Don't blow on it. Why are you blowing on it?
I think my taste buds are all dead now.
Kim, are you happy with the taste?
Yes.
Add about two tablespoons
of the tamarind paste.
Mark is lovely.
He does everything he's told.
Yes.
But I don't listen to everyone, only some.
Mark.
If you'll only listen to a select few
listen to your wife and you'll have a good life.
Yes.
Do I have any other choice?
Kim, does it taste good yet?
We don't want it to be too sour.
We just want a hint of sourness.
Is it good?
-Yeah.
-Really?
If you're happy with the taste
sprinkle the sliced chillies on top
and turn off the stove.
Now, moving on to the tom yum kung.
Yay.
One more thing we have to prepare
is lime.
Lime.
Oh, here comes the lime.
They're over here.
Oh, I can hardly see how you're doing
because I'm being blinded by
the head chef's diamond ring.
Soak the coriander in water.
Now, get another pot.
We're using a lot of pots here.
It takes a lot of pots to make Thai food.
You complain a lot.
We don't have that many pots at home.
All right.
Give the stock that we cooked just now
a good stir
and pour only the liquid
into our new pot.
Add in the lemongrass
the galangal and the kaffir lime leaves
that we've prepared.
Do you have any shallots left?
Yes.
Put the shallots in whole.
Wait for the soup to boil.
Meanwhile, taste it
to see how salty our soup is.
We're almost running out of spoons
just from taste-testing.
You can always rinse your spoon
and re-use it.
There you go.
You're absolutely right, Chef.
-It's good.
- It smells so good.
The prawns smell so good.
But the flavour is not quite there yet.
I see, we're going to season it later.
Not yet. We haven't added any lime juice.
-Right...
-Taste-wise...
we want the soup to be a bit saltier
than how you would want it.
A bit saltier?
Because once we add lime juice
it will cut the saltiness.
We're using fish sauce
to make the soup saltier.
Chef, I'd like to hear you say
"I've warned you."
With the facial expression too?
Please give us the whole package.
Please give it all you've got, Chef.
While working in the kitchen
don't fool around.
I've warned you.
Oh my god.
-Roger that, Chef.
-Roger that.
Oh, my soup's about to boil.
How are things at your side?
-It's boiling.
-It's boiling.
Once it's boiling
add about two tablespoons of fish sauce.
Here we go.
Now, we will add
the prawn head butter
and the prawn heads.
That one.
Finally, it's these little guys' turn.
Lovely. I can see it's still bubbling.
Go ahead and put them in.
Give it a good stir
to make the prawn head butter dissolve.
Make the prawn head butter dissolve.
Make it dissolve?
Stir and break it up a bit.
You will see the prawn head butter
floating on the surface.
Oh, this is a good tip.
It looks so good.
Add the straw mushrooms
that we have prepared earlier.
The straw mushrooms.
I think we'll need our helper
to prepare the vegetables
for the fermented soybean dip in the meantime.
Mum.
Would you like to do some vegetable carving?
-Whoa.
-Wow.
I can give it a try.
Go for it, Mum.
Kim, is it boiling?
Yes, it is.
Once it's boiling, add the prawns.
And when it is bubbling again
turn off the stove
and leave the soup hot in the pot.
Mummy, cut a cucumber like this.
In half, right?
Not in half. Just a bit off the side.
Kim, turn off the stove!
-It's about to boil over!
-Chef!
This always happens to me.
Turn off the stove and leave it.
-Leave it.
-Leave it.
Mummy, please bring your attention this way.
You see the side with the cucumber skin
and the side without?
The darker end will be
the tip of our leaf.
You can carve this into the shape of a leaf.
The knife's really sharp, Mum.
Be careful, Mum. I've warned you.
Hey, are you stealing my line?
Here comes the leaf!
A fat leaf.
OK.
Now we are going to create
a line in the centre of the leaf.
Angle your knife like this.
Draw a line down the middle of the leaf.
Don't make it too deep, or it'll come apart.
Then, angle your knife the other way.
Make sure this cut meets your previous cut.
That way, we can remove the piece. See?
Now, we're going to work on
the veins of the leaf.
Once you're done drawing the veins
please watch this.
First, carve right here.
Carve along the veins you have drawn.
Then, make a little curve like this
along the curve you have made earlier.
-There you go.
-There you go.
Mummy, did you get something like this?
Here, have a look over here.
Mum, show off yours.
Hold on, let me work on it a bit more.
I'm afraid that she'll tell me off.
The teacher will scold me.
-Last but not least...
-There's more?
For each section of the leaf
we're going to create a line
in the middle like this.
Are you done, Mummy?
I've only done one leaf.
Does it look nice?
It does, but I'll tell you what.
Open your fridge.
I don't think we have the time
to carve all the leaves you'll need.
Did you send us some?
Oh my.
This is nuts.
Oh, this is how it's supposed to look?
All right, let's prepare
the other vegetables. Hurry.
Let's prepare the other vegetables.
You have four pair of hands over there.
Please hurry up.
All right, Kim.
Can you season the tom yum?
First, ladle your soup into a serving bowl.
Then, squeeze some lime juice in there.
We're not going to squeeze the lime juice
straight into the pot
while the tom yum soup is boiling.
Because that would make
the lime juice taste bitter.
I learnt that from experience.
It's good.
If it's good
add the smaller bird's eye chillies
that we've smashed and roughly minced.
After that, fish out the prawns from your pot
and add them in.
The prawn head butter looks lovely.
Next, the coriander that we've prepared.
Usually, people would just
chop the coriander and add it in.
Mark, serve the fermented soybean dip
in a bowl and place it in the middle.
Plating it like this helps us a lot.
All done, kids?
All done.
I'm all done too.
Chef Pom's dish
MarkKim's dish
Chef Pom's dish
MarkKim's dish
We're ready to eat.
We're ready.
Shall we eat together?
Sure. I can see
you have six people over there.
Why are there only five plates of rice?
Oh, normally we...
We like to share a plate.
Just kidding. Actually
we don't have enough plates.
We should have gone with less sugar
in our fermented soybean dip.
You two are all sweet and sappy as it is.
OK, let's have a taste and rate this.
Here we go.
How many points would you give us?
-Out of ten.
-I'll give you...
-Ten out of ten.
-Ten, really?
Well done!
Well done. How many points
would you give your students, Chef?
Seeing how much
the guests are enjoying their meal
I would give you ten out of ten.
-Yay! Thank you.
-Thank you.
OK, thank you so much for today, Chef.
Thank you so much.
-My pleasure.
-We've learnt a dish
that we can make at home by ourselves.
Before saying goodbye
we'd like to share with you that
MarkKim + Chef will donate
30,000 baht to a foundation of your choice.
May I know
which foundation you would like to donate to?
I would like to donate to
the Foundation for the Blind in Thailand
under the Royal Patronage of H.M. the Queen.
I have recently undergone cataract surgery.
It made me realise
just how important it is to be able to see.
This got me thinking about
how disadvantaged the visually impaired are.
I would like to help them as much as I can.
We rejoice in your merit.
Absolutely.
Anyway, have a lovely meal.
Thank you very much.
Goodbye, everyone.
Babe, do you take chilli?
The fermented soybean dip.
The dip is so good.
I think it's delicious.
This is so rich
but it's not the creamy version.
This tastes better than the ones we buy.
Well done.