MarkKim + Chef (2023-…): Season 1, Episode 9 - Episode #1.9 - full transcript
Everyone knows how much we love to eat
but neither of us knows how to cook.
As we're getting married soon
we've enlisted the help of
some of the most well-known chefs
in Thailand to teach us to cook.
It's here. Let's go.
We have a lot of vegetables.
We have another challenge
on MarkKim + Chef today.
When it comes to food
we have very different preferences.
Mark loves super spicy food
while I go for lighter flavours.
So today, we hope to find
a middle ground in terms of flavouring
that we would both enjoy.
And it will be something
we can use in our cooking
for our lives as one going forward.
Let's ask our chef. Let's go.
-Hello. -Hello.
Hello.
Today on MarkKim + Chef
we welcome Chef Nooror Somany Steppe.
She's a talented female chef
with more than 40 years of cooking experience.
She is the owner of
a chain of Thai fine-dining restaurants
where her dishes have impressed
people from all over the world.
So which of you
is going to be the head chef today?
Me, because my goal is to make
Thai food for my future husband.
I'm a lucky man.
The way to a man's heart is through his stomach.
Yes, and Mark is the sous-chef today.
He's going to be my assistant.
So, babe, you have to listen to me
every step of the way, OK?
Babe, you have to listen to our chef as well.
You can't argue with her, OK?
Today, we're going to make dishes
that you can both enjoy.
(Southern Thai dialect) These dishes
are going to be delicious.
-Delicious. -Delicious.
Southern food it is.
Let's go through today's dishes.
Today, we'll be making
crab curry with seepweed.
And our second dish is
leum pua (forget the husband) sticky rice
with longan.
You'll forget your husband after eating this?
Wait.
-Wait... Chef. -Forget the husband.
Are you sure?
Leum pua sticky rice with longan.
-Why leum pua? -Why leum pua?
It was said that the hill tribe people
enjoyed this dish so much
that they forgot their husbands.
Fine, we'll give it a try...
We'll make the curry paste first.
You can put away the things
we won't be needing for now.
Such as the longans and banana leaves.
I'm going to put the longans
and the banana leaves in the fridge, OK?
Do you have a mortar?
All right. Grab your mortar.
Here we have lemongrass
galangal
fresh turmeric
kaffir lime
fingerroot
garlic
and shallot.
I'll show you how I cut the galangal.
We'll use about an inch.
First, dried chilli peppers.
The ones that have been soaked in water.
Squeeze them dry.
Dried chilli peppers
Put them in the mortar, right?
Don't make it too spicy.
Oh my god, that's too much!
Go ahead and put them in.
All right, Head Chef. You call the shots.
For the lemongrass
we're going to smash it first
before we cut it.
We're going to use almost the whole stalk.
Once you're done, put it in the mortar.
Next, the galangal.
An inch of the galangal.
Remove the skin from the galangal.
Watch your fingers.
Put the galangal slices into the mortar.
Put the galangal slices into the mortar.
Go ahead and add it in.
Followed by kaffir lime zest.
We're only using the zest.
Of half a kaffir lime. Just the zest.
Go easy when you're cutting the zest.
If you cut too much of the peel
it will taste very bitter.
So just the thin outermost layer, right?
Yes, just the outermost layer.
Our next ingredient is...
turmeric.
Turmeric.
We just need about an inch of it.
First, slice off the skin.
Turmeric will stain your fingers yellow.
All done, Chef.
Next up, fingerroot.
We'll scrape off the skin first.
Two stalks.
I'm adding some salt.
Go ahead and add some salt.
Salt
-Pepper. -Pepper.
Pepper
Let's start pounding.
Here we go.
That's not what she means!
Pound the ingredients.
Oh, I see.
Pound the ingredients, not your head.
Chef, how did you become a chef?
Actually, I started cooking
when I was nine years old.
My mum said whether a man
asks for your hand in marriage
depends on how it sounds
when you pound chillies.
Hear that?
So you've been doing that since you were nine?
Yes, exactly.
You're amazing, Chef.
Let's hear how it sounds when Kim pounds chillies
to find out if Mark will propose to her.
He has already proposed.
Yes, I did.
I've already proposed to her.
I lost this game of love a long time ago.
Pound four cloves of garlic.
Go ahead and add in the shallot.
OK.
Shrimp paste.
Shrimp paste.
One teaspoon, please.
It smells so good.
Yes, it does.
OK, what's next, Chef?
OK, I think it's fully mashed.
Once you're done, set this aside.
Let's move on to the next step.
Do you have a pot?
Yes, we do.
Add a bit of water.
OK, that's enough.
We're going to blanch the seepweed.
These leaves right here.
Here comes the seepweed.
How do fresh seepweed taste?
Like seaweed.
I've washed it.
Seepweed: Herbaceous plants that are
commonly found along saltwater coastlines
It's salty!
Why is it salty?
Seepweed grow in mangrove forests
and are quite hard to find.
We have to order it from the locals.
I see.
The concept of the dishes
we're making today is "food as medicine".
These ingredients are all antioxidants.
-That's fantastic. -That's good.
Grab a bunch like this
and pull downwards. Just pull downwards.
Yes, OK. Put them in the boiling water.
Put them in. Blanch them.
OK.
Blanching just once is not enough.
We're going to scoop out the leaves
and blanch them again.
Boil more water and blanch the seepweed again.
OK, put the seepweed in the boiling water.
Let them boil for about five minutes.
Why do we have to do it twice, Chef?
We do it twice because seepweed is salty.
So we blanch them and squeeze the water out.
I would like to know
for your restaurants abroad
do you have
all the ingredients you need over there?
40 years back, they weren't available.
I had to send them over
but nowadays, Thailand has been exporting
ingredients including herbs abroad
so we can find them in supermarkets.
OK, let's go back to where we were.
The water is boiling.
Go ahead and take the seepweed out.
Add cold water in here.
Squeeze the seepweed dry with your hand.
This will get rid of some of the salt within.
Put it back in the same pot.
Are you doing OK?
OK, we'll set it aside.
Kim and Mark, do you have the crab I sent?
I think I saw it earlier.
Here it is.
Here it is.
We're just going to boil it
and use it for plating.
This is a blue swimming crab
from the Gulf of Thailand.
Mark and Kim, do you have any ice?
Prepare a basin of ice like this.
We'll be putting the crab in here later.
I've never cooked crab before.
This is my first time.
Go ahead and put the crab in boiling water.
For about five minutes.
The crab will turn red.
I'll put the lid on so that it'll cook faster.
While waiting for the crab to cook
let's get a pot to make our curry.
We're using a lot of pots here.
Babe, you have to do the dishes.
Has your crab turned red yet?
Yes.
OK. Then put it in the ice bath.
Why do we have to put it in an ice bath?
So it won't be hot to touch.
So it won't be hot to touch.
It's to remove the residual heat
-so we don't overcook the crab. -I see.
So the meat won't be too mushy?
When crabs are overcooked
the meat becomes rubbery.
To keep the meat nice and firm, right?
That's right.
Well done, Kim. That's correct.
Well done. You can be a chef now.
Let the crab cool down for a bit
and we can shell it.
Let's make the curry in the meanwhile.
Pot.
Ladle.
Pot.
Ladle.
Put your pot on the stove on low heat.
Low heat.
Do you have any oil over there?
Yes, we do.
OK, we'll add one and a half tablespoons.
Make sure you're not on high heat
or the curry will burn. Do this on low heat.
Once your oil is heated
we can add the curry paste.
Are we adding all of it?
All of it.
Curry paste
It smells good.
Whoa, it smells so good!
Add one ladle of coconut milk for now.
Coconut milk
We want to render some coconut oil.
This smells so good, Chef.
Sous-chef, please prepare
three cups of coconut milk.
Yes, you can go ahead and pour it in.
This is a lot of coconut milk.
Coconut milk will help to cut the spiciness.
It smells so good.
The aroma is wafting across the room.
Kaffir lime leaves and sweet basil leaves.
We have to tear up some kaffir lime leaves.
We're going to season it.
One and a half tablespoons of fish sauce.
If you like your curry salty, add more.
One tablespoon of palm sugar.
Palm sugar
Add the kaffir lime leaves.
Kaffir lime leaves
Sweet basil leaves.
Sweet basil leaves
We're adding the seepweed next.
Are we putting all of it in?
All right, after adding the seepweed
wait for the curry to boil and set it aside.
Give it a good stir.
OK, please turn off the stove.
Turn off the stove.
Let's shell the crab.
Bring it on.
Twist and remove the claws first.
Actually, I don't usually
kill or shell the crabs myself.
Twist off the claws first.
Then go ahead and remove the legs.
Kim, do you see this part?
We're going to remove the carapace.
You're a crab cracker.
OK. You're so good at doing this.
Even better than I am.
Rinse the carapace.
We'll be using it for plating later.
For the curry, we can just use the crab meat
that I've already prepared for you.
The carapace is just for plating.
-That's it. -Here.
Put your pot of curry back on the stove.
Now, let's get back to our crabs.
Cut it in half.
I've sent you this. Do you see it?
Crack the shell right here.
Try to get the meat out
from the claw intact like this.
You got it. That's lovely.
This is no good.
That's all right. Well done.
Really?
You're too kind to us, Chef.
How is this well done?
Lower the heat.
You startled me. I thought someone got hurt.
Why did you use high heat, babe?
This is the lowest heat possible.
Will this affect the taste?
No, it won't. It's OK.
But it's so messy now.
Do you have the crab meat ready?
-Yes. -OK, add it to your curry.
Add it all in.
Let's taste it. It won't be hot.
It won't be spicy anymore.
It's packed with crab meat.
The crab meat will lend
a natural sweetness to your curry.
My mouth is watering.
It's so good, babe.
It's really rich.
-Really rich. -Yes.
It looks delicious, doesn't it?
I feel like I'm in Phuket, Chef.
All right. We'll set the curry aside for now.
-Yes. -Next, we'll be making...
We'll eat this crab curry
with rae rai noodles instead of rice noodles.
What's rae rai noodles, Chef?
Rae rai is a kind of traditional food.
It's a dessert.
A dessert?
Do you have this ball of dough?
-Is this the one? -Yes, that's the one.
Break off a piece and roll it into a ball.
Wait, what is this made of?
It's made of rice flour
tapioca starch and arrowroot starch.
Oh, I see.
All right, let's make small dough balls.
Form small balls because... wait a minute
Do you have this very important tool?
A noodle maker?
How do we turn this into noodles?
Kim and Mark
please get some all-purpose flour.
Here it is.
Open it. Open the noodle maker.
Sprinkle some flour on it.
The flour will prevent our dough
from sticking to the noodle maker.
Put a ball of dough here in this hole.
OK, now it's time.
It's time.
A guillotine.
This is brilliant!
Awesome!
Gather the noodles
and put it in the steamer
Putting it in the steamer.
Cool!
So we need to make more dough balls, right?
Keep going until you've got
ten small dough balls.
It's looking great over there.
Really, it's beautiful.
Actually, we can do it like this.
Cut it out.
I'll take it...
It got in my eyes!
Sorry!
-Sorry... -It's all over my face.
I saw your face was a bit oily. Sorry.
You guys are so cute together.
Go away...
It's normal for the kitchen
to get messy when you cook.
OK. All done, Chef.
All right, we're going to steam this
for seven minutes.
Can I kick Mark out of the kitchen?
Oh, don't do that. It's good to have him around.
He's lovely.
Give me the lid.
Nope, adjust your tone first.
-What? -Adjust your tone first.
Hurry up, babe.
-Your tone. -OK, please.
"Give me the lid."
The lid, please.
We're going to wait eight minutes.
Actually, seven minutes is enough
since the dough is already cooked.
Are the rae rai noodles ready?
Wow. They look so good.
Let's put them on a plate.
Do you have a plate ready?
They're cooked. Set them aside for now.
Like this.
Beautiful.
We'll set this aside for now.
The next dish we're making is
leum pua sticky rice with longan from Lampang.
From Lampang?
-It's Mark's hometown. -That's awesome!
I chose leum pua sticky rice
as one of today's dishes specially for you.
Leum pua sticky rice is cultivated in Lampang
and the longans are from Lampang too.
Oh, I see.
Kim, please tidy up the countertop
and we'll start making our dessert.
Do you have the ingredients
for leum pua sticky rice with longan ready?
What do we need?
We need sticky rice
that has been soaked in water.
There are two types of sticky rice, right?
-The white one and this. -Yes.
-All right. -Let's mix the two together.
Do we have to add any seasoning
in this step?
We don't need to season it.
We're just going to steam it.
We're too slow...
-OK. -Let's mix the sticky rice.
We'll be using this.
A cheesecloth.
Chef, ours is dry.
Do we need to wet the cloth first?
No, dry is fine.
Spread the cheesecloth over the steamer
Pour the rice in.
OK.
Then cover the rice with the cloth.
Put the lid on the steamer.
Steam it for 20 minutes.
-This takes some time. -20 minutes, sure.
Next, we'll prepare the ingredients
that we'll be needing.
-Do you have coconut water? -Yes, we do.
We do.
Do we need a lot?
Add about two and a half cups
because we'll be cooking the sticky rice again
to soften it.
Do you have young coconut meat?
Yes, we do. Right here.
Here's how you get the coconut meat out.
Young coconut meat
Go ahead and grate it like this.
Watch your hands and fingers.
Yes, it's very sharp.
I have more toys for Mark.
Mark said that longans from Lampang
are the best.
Yes. These are all the way from Lampang.
The weather's very hot in Lampang.
The hotter it is, the sweeter the longan.
Do you have this tool?
Here.
All right. Let's prep these together.
Poke it in and twist to remove the seed.
And then you peel off the skin.
Chef got the seed out just like that.
Like this.
Babe, you're no good at this.
Here.
(Northern Thai dialect) This is not good at all!
Let me see the skills of a Lampang man.
Oh, dear.
Wow, I did it!
Oh, excellent!
That's beautifully done.
If you don't want to use the tool
you can use your hands instead.
How many have you done, Chef?
Well, we're going to need 20 longans.
We've already got 20.
-All done, Chef. -All done.
Well done.
I have sinned.
Next
we're going to make a coconut milk topping.
-Coconut milk? -Wait a minute.
Let's go through the ingredients.
Do you have taro?
Taro
About 100g of palm sugar.
You can put it in the pot.
We're going to pour in coconut water
and set it aside.
Next, do you have another pot?
We've used up all our pots, Chef.
Oh, you ran out of pots?
Can we use this pot?
Sure.
Be careful.
Prepare a cup of coconut milk.
One cup.
Coconut milk
Pour it into a separate pot.
A separate pot?
It's OK...
If you've already poured it in, it's OK.
I'm sorry!
I'll do the same. It's OK.
Pour it into the same pot. It's OK.
-You didn't pay attention. -No.
Her pots are the same colour
so I thought it was the same pot.
You weren't paying attention.
Now, we're going to add
about half a teaspoon of salt in here.
Salt
The next step...
May I ask a question?
Sure. Who is the question for?
Really? I have a question for you, Chef.
What is it you'd like to know? Ask away.
How to make rice balls in sweet coconut milk?
What would you like to ask?
Sticky rice... oh, wait.
What was I going to ask? I forgot.
So, is leum pua sticky rice
a type of sticky rice or...
Is it a type of sticky rice or something else?
Why is it called leum pua sticky rice?
It's said that a hill tribe woman
went and worked in the mountains
with her baby on her back.
She ate this sticky rice
and it kept her full all day.
And it made her forgot her husband.
That's why they called it
leum pua sticky rice.
Mark, I'm a big fan of yours
and I really like Kim.
I'd like to know if Kim is scary
like the roles she played on TV.
Pretty much...
I'm not scary!
But most people don't get to see her scary side.
I'm the only one who sees it.
That's because you don't listen to me.
I do. Of course, I do.
This timer just saved my life.
OK, let's remove the lid together.
Scoop out the sticky rice.
We'll let it simmer for 15 minutes
so the sticky rice will be nice and soft.
We'll put the young coconut meat in first.
Put the coconut meat in. Let it cook and soften.
My pot is too small
so I'm pouring everything into a bigger pot.
We'll be using tian op (Thai aromatic candle)
to infuse our dessert with fragrance later.
But first, we're going to add the taro.
Adding the taro.
The taro has already been boiled.
So make sure it's not overcooked
but cooked just right.
The longans.
Go ahead and add the longans.
-Oh my god. -Looking good.
We're going to turn this into royal Thai cuisine.
Find a glass bowl or something like this.
Light the tian op?
Yes, light it up.
We'll put it in here.
-All right. -Let it float like this.
Oh, and then let it float.
Then put the lid on.
We'll leave it for five to ten minutes
depending on your preference.
I like the fragrance to be stronger
so I'm going to do ten minutes.
It's done. Finally, it's a success.
Finally, it's a success.
OK.
Mark and Kim.
I'm going to warm up the curry
and then we're going to garnish it.
We set the curry aside for a while
so now we need to heat it up.
Do you have chilli, Kim?
It's for decoration.
Let's slice it.
Slice it in half lengthwise. Watch your fingers.
Slowly. Watch your fingers.
Cut it into thin strips.
Pick up the rae rai noodles with tongs.
Pick up the rae rai noodles.
We have the same plates, Chef!
Oh yes, you're right.
I wonder why that is.
I got mine from a shop around the corner.
Mine are from Lampang.
Oh yes, pottery.
It has to be from Lampang. That's right...
I bought it all from Lampang.
I order all my bowls and plates from Lampang.
Because...
"Renowned Horse-Drawn Carriages"
"Famous Pottery"
"Well-Known Buddhist Temples"
"World-Renowned Elephant Conservation Centre".
What was that?
-What does it mean? -That's Lampang's slogan.
I see.
Get a generous ladle of crab meat.
Wow, the curry is so thick.
It smells really good.
Ladle some of the crab meat onto the carapace.
It's looking so good.
Kim, place a few strips of the red chilli
on top of the rae rai noodles
to add to the colour of the dish.
It looks awesome. Is this dish done?
Yes, it's done.
Sticky rice, please.
Next, the sticky rice.
Do you have a coconut shell?
We're plating it like this. Is it all right?
-That's beautiful. -OK.
This is how I do it.
I dyed sugar with food colouring
extracted from butterfly pea flowers
and I put this here to make it look pretty.
Oh my, yours is so pretty.
OK, remove the tian op.
Scoop the sticky rice.
It's ready to be served.
Oh my god.
Kim and Mark, as you can see
we can turn an ordinary dish
into an extraordinary one
by using local ingredients.
-Thank you. -Thank you, Chef.
-All right... -OK.
I'm going to have a bite.
Babe, it's so good.
Really?
Let me taste it too. Don't exaggerate.
It's really good!
-Absolutely delicious. -Excellent.
Thank you.
It tastes like... it's like what we said.
We're trying to find a middle ground
-in terms of flavouring, right? -Yes.
It's not too spicy for you
but it's got a spicy fragrance to it
which is what I want.
So, we met right in the middle, Chef.
I'm glad to hear that.
This is very hot.
How was today? How did we do as your students?
How would you rate us?
Ten out of ten.
Although you don't have much cooking experience
you achieved so much.
Plus, the dishes today were
really difficult to make.
-By the way, this is so good. -Really?
It smells so good.
Let me try. My hands are shaking.
How is it? What about you, babe?
How many points would you give me?
I have to say I'm so lucky to have...
Chef with us today.
We're very lucky to have Chef with us today
because this is so good.
What?
I'm so lucky to have
Babe!
So good...
Ten out of ten! I mean it.
This has been fantastic, Chef.
Thank you very much for today.
-Thank you. -It's my pleasure.
We'd like to know
which charity organisation
you'd like to donate to.
Yes, whichever organisation you prefer.
I'd like to donate to the Queen Sirikit Centre
for Breast Cancer Foundation.
I'm the ambassador of this foundation.
Every October, the foundation commemorates
breast cancer awareness month.
-We rejoice in your merit. -Very good.
Thank you very much, Chef.
If we are in the area
we'll go to your restaurant.
I wish you both happiness and hope that
you make delicious meals every day.
-Thank you. -Thank you.
You're very welcome. Bye.
Babe.
May I add more chilli?
Say what?
Sure, babe. We have more chilli over there.
You can have all the chilli you want.
but neither of us knows how to cook.
As we're getting married soon
we've enlisted the help of
some of the most well-known chefs
in Thailand to teach us to cook.
It's here. Let's go.
We have a lot of vegetables.
We have another challenge
on MarkKim + Chef today.
When it comes to food
we have very different preferences.
Mark loves super spicy food
while I go for lighter flavours.
So today, we hope to find
a middle ground in terms of flavouring
that we would both enjoy.
And it will be something
we can use in our cooking
for our lives as one going forward.
Let's ask our chef. Let's go.
-Hello. -Hello.
Hello.
Today on MarkKim + Chef
we welcome Chef Nooror Somany Steppe.
She's a talented female chef
with more than 40 years of cooking experience.
She is the owner of
a chain of Thai fine-dining restaurants
where her dishes have impressed
people from all over the world.
So which of you
is going to be the head chef today?
Me, because my goal is to make
Thai food for my future husband.
I'm a lucky man.
The way to a man's heart is through his stomach.
Yes, and Mark is the sous-chef today.
He's going to be my assistant.
So, babe, you have to listen to me
every step of the way, OK?
Babe, you have to listen to our chef as well.
You can't argue with her, OK?
Today, we're going to make dishes
that you can both enjoy.
(Southern Thai dialect) These dishes
are going to be delicious.
-Delicious. -Delicious.
Southern food it is.
Let's go through today's dishes.
Today, we'll be making
crab curry with seepweed.
And our second dish is
leum pua (forget the husband) sticky rice
with longan.
You'll forget your husband after eating this?
Wait.
-Wait... Chef. -Forget the husband.
Are you sure?
Leum pua sticky rice with longan.
-Why leum pua? -Why leum pua?
It was said that the hill tribe people
enjoyed this dish so much
that they forgot their husbands.
Fine, we'll give it a try...
We'll make the curry paste first.
You can put away the things
we won't be needing for now.
Such as the longans and banana leaves.
I'm going to put the longans
and the banana leaves in the fridge, OK?
Do you have a mortar?
All right. Grab your mortar.
Here we have lemongrass
galangal
fresh turmeric
kaffir lime
fingerroot
garlic
and shallot.
I'll show you how I cut the galangal.
We'll use about an inch.
First, dried chilli peppers.
The ones that have been soaked in water.
Squeeze them dry.
Dried chilli peppers
Put them in the mortar, right?
Don't make it too spicy.
Oh my god, that's too much!
Go ahead and put them in.
All right, Head Chef. You call the shots.
For the lemongrass
we're going to smash it first
before we cut it.
We're going to use almost the whole stalk.
Once you're done, put it in the mortar.
Next, the galangal.
An inch of the galangal.
Remove the skin from the galangal.
Watch your fingers.
Put the galangal slices into the mortar.
Put the galangal slices into the mortar.
Go ahead and add it in.
Followed by kaffir lime zest.
We're only using the zest.
Of half a kaffir lime. Just the zest.
Go easy when you're cutting the zest.
If you cut too much of the peel
it will taste very bitter.
So just the thin outermost layer, right?
Yes, just the outermost layer.
Our next ingredient is...
turmeric.
Turmeric.
We just need about an inch of it.
First, slice off the skin.
Turmeric will stain your fingers yellow.
All done, Chef.
Next up, fingerroot.
We'll scrape off the skin first.
Two stalks.
I'm adding some salt.
Go ahead and add some salt.
Salt
-Pepper. -Pepper.
Pepper
Let's start pounding.
Here we go.
That's not what she means!
Pound the ingredients.
Oh, I see.
Pound the ingredients, not your head.
Chef, how did you become a chef?
Actually, I started cooking
when I was nine years old.
My mum said whether a man
asks for your hand in marriage
depends on how it sounds
when you pound chillies.
Hear that?
So you've been doing that since you were nine?
Yes, exactly.
You're amazing, Chef.
Let's hear how it sounds when Kim pounds chillies
to find out if Mark will propose to her.
He has already proposed.
Yes, I did.
I've already proposed to her.
I lost this game of love a long time ago.
Pound four cloves of garlic.
Go ahead and add in the shallot.
OK.
Shrimp paste.
Shrimp paste.
One teaspoon, please.
It smells so good.
Yes, it does.
OK, what's next, Chef?
OK, I think it's fully mashed.
Once you're done, set this aside.
Let's move on to the next step.
Do you have a pot?
Yes, we do.
Add a bit of water.
OK, that's enough.
We're going to blanch the seepweed.
These leaves right here.
Here comes the seepweed.
How do fresh seepweed taste?
Like seaweed.
I've washed it.
Seepweed: Herbaceous plants that are
commonly found along saltwater coastlines
It's salty!
Why is it salty?
Seepweed grow in mangrove forests
and are quite hard to find.
We have to order it from the locals.
I see.
The concept of the dishes
we're making today is "food as medicine".
These ingredients are all antioxidants.
-That's fantastic. -That's good.
Grab a bunch like this
and pull downwards. Just pull downwards.
Yes, OK. Put them in the boiling water.
Put them in. Blanch them.
OK.
Blanching just once is not enough.
We're going to scoop out the leaves
and blanch them again.
Boil more water and blanch the seepweed again.
OK, put the seepweed in the boiling water.
Let them boil for about five minutes.
Why do we have to do it twice, Chef?
We do it twice because seepweed is salty.
So we blanch them and squeeze the water out.
I would like to know
for your restaurants abroad
do you have
all the ingredients you need over there?
40 years back, they weren't available.
I had to send them over
but nowadays, Thailand has been exporting
ingredients including herbs abroad
so we can find them in supermarkets.
OK, let's go back to where we were.
The water is boiling.
Go ahead and take the seepweed out.
Add cold water in here.
Squeeze the seepweed dry with your hand.
This will get rid of some of the salt within.
Put it back in the same pot.
Are you doing OK?
OK, we'll set it aside.
Kim and Mark, do you have the crab I sent?
I think I saw it earlier.
Here it is.
Here it is.
We're just going to boil it
and use it for plating.
This is a blue swimming crab
from the Gulf of Thailand.
Mark and Kim, do you have any ice?
Prepare a basin of ice like this.
We'll be putting the crab in here later.
I've never cooked crab before.
This is my first time.
Go ahead and put the crab in boiling water.
For about five minutes.
The crab will turn red.
I'll put the lid on so that it'll cook faster.
While waiting for the crab to cook
let's get a pot to make our curry.
We're using a lot of pots here.
Babe, you have to do the dishes.
Has your crab turned red yet?
Yes.
OK. Then put it in the ice bath.
Why do we have to put it in an ice bath?
So it won't be hot to touch.
So it won't be hot to touch.
It's to remove the residual heat
-so we don't overcook the crab. -I see.
So the meat won't be too mushy?
When crabs are overcooked
the meat becomes rubbery.
To keep the meat nice and firm, right?
That's right.
Well done, Kim. That's correct.
Well done. You can be a chef now.
Let the crab cool down for a bit
and we can shell it.
Let's make the curry in the meanwhile.
Pot.
Ladle.
Pot.
Ladle.
Put your pot on the stove on low heat.
Low heat.
Do you have any oil over there?
Yes, we do.
OK, we'll add one and a half tablespoons.
Make sure you're not on high heat
or the curry will burn. Do this on low heat.
Once your oil is heated
we can add the curry paste.
Are we adding all of it?
All of it.
Curry paste
It smells good.
Whoa, it smells so good!
Add one ladle of coconut milk for now.
Coconut milk
We want to render some coconut oil.
This smells so good, Chef.
Sous-chef, please prepare
three cups of coconut milk.
Yes, you can go ahead and pour it in.
This is a lot of coconut milk.
Coconut milk will help to cut the spiciness.
It smells so good.
The aroma is wafting across the room.
Kaffir lime leaves and sweet basil leaves.
We have to tear up some kaffir lime leaves.
We're going to season it.
One and a half tablespoons of fish sauce.
If you like your curry salty, add more.
One tablespoon of palm sugar.
Palm sugar
Add the kaffir lime leaves.
Kaffir lime leaves
Sweet basil leaves.
Sweet basil leaves
We're adding the seepweed next.
Are we putting all of it in?
All right, after adding the seepweed
wait for the curry to boil and set it aside.
Give it a good stir.
OK, please turn off the stove.
Turn off the stove.
Let's shell the crab.
Bring it on.
Twist and remove the claws first.
Actually, I don't usually
kill or shell the crabs myself.
Twist off the claws first.
Then go ahead and remove the legs.
Kim, do you see this part?
We're going to remove the carapace.
You're a crab cracker.
OK. You're so good at doing this.
Even better than I am.
Rinse the carapace.
We'll be using it for plating later.
For the curry, we can just use the crab meat
that I've already prepared for you.
The carapace is just for plating.
-That's it. -Here.
Put your pot of curry back on the stove.
Now, let's get back to our crabs.
Cut it in half.
I've sent you this. Do you see it?
Crack the shell right here.
Try to get the meat out
from the claw intact like this.
You got it. That's lovely.
This is no good.
That's all right. Well done.
Really?
You're too kind to us, Chef.
How is this well done?
Lower the heat.
You startled me. I thought someone got hurt.
Why did you use high heat, babe?
This is the lowest heat possible.
Will this affect the taste?
No, it won't. It's OK.
But it's so messy now.
Do you have the crab meat ready?
-Yes. -OK, add it to your curry.
Add it all in.
Let's taste it. It won't be hot.
It won't be spicy anymore.
It's packed with crab meat.
The crab meat will lend
a natural sweetness to your curry.
My mouth is watering.
It's so good, babe.
It's really rich.
-Really rich. -Yes.
It looks delicious, doesn't it?
I feel like I'm in Phuket, Chef.
All right. We'll set the curry aside for now.
-Yes. -Next, we'll be making...
We'll eat this crab curry
with rae rai noodles instead of rice noodles.
What's rae rai noodles, Chef?
Rae rai is a kind of traditional food.
It's a dessert.
A dessert?
Do you have this ball of dough?
-Is this the one? -Yes, that's the one.
Break off a piece and roll it into a ball.
Wait, what is this made of?
It's made of rice flour
tapioca starch and arrowroot starch.
Oh, I see.
All right, let's make small dough balls.
Form small balls because... wait a minute
Do you have this very important tool?
A noodle maker?
How do we turn this into noodles?
Kim and Mark
please get some all-purpose flour.
Here it is.
Open it. Open the noodle maker.
Sprinkle some flour on it.
The flour will prevent our dough
from sticking to the noodle maker.
Put a ball of dough here in this hole.
OK, now it's time.
It's time.
A guillotine.
This is brilliant!
Awesome!
Gather the noodles
and put it in the steamer
Putting it in the steamer.
Cool!
So we need to make more dough balls, right?
Keep going until you've got
ten small dough balls.
It's looking great over there.
Really, it's beautiful.
Actually, we can do it like this.
Cut it out.
I'll take it...
It got in my eyes!
Sorry!
-Sorry... -It's all over my face.
I saw your face was a bit oily. Sorry.
You guys are so cute together.
Go away...
It's normal for the kitchen
to get messy when you cook.
OK. All done, Chef.
All right, we're going to steam this
for seven minutes.
Can I kick Mark out of the kitchen?
Oh, don't do that. It's good to have him around.
He's lovely.
Give me the lid.
Nope, adjust your tone first.
-What? -Adjust your tone first.
Hurry up, babe.
-Your tone. -OK, please.
"Give me the lid."
The lid, please.
We're going to wait eight minutes.
Actually, seven minutes is enough
since the dough is already cooked.
Are the rae rai noodles ready?
Wow. They look so good.
Let's put them on a plate.
Do you have a plate ready?
They're cooked. Set them aside for now.
Like this.
Beautiful.
We'll set this aside for now.
The next dish we're making is
leum pua sticky rice with longan from Lampang.
From Lampang?
-It's Mark's hometown. -That's awesome!
I chose leum pua sticky rice
as one of today's dishes specially for you.
Leum pua sticky rice is cultivated in Lampang
and the longans are from Lampang too.
Oh, I see.
Kim, please tidy up the countertop
and we'll start making our dessert.
Do you have the ingredients
for leum pua sticky rice with longan ready?
What do we need?
We need sticky rice
that has been soaked in water.
There are two types of sticky rice, right?
-The white one and this. -Yes.
-All right. -Let's mix the two together.
Do we have to add any seasoning
in this step?
We don't need to season it.
We're just going to steam it.
We're too slow...
-OK. -Let's mix the sticky rice.
We'll be using this.
A cheesecloth.
Chef, ours is dry.
Do we need to wet the cloth first?
No, dry is fine.
Spread the cheesecloth over the steamer
Pour the rice in.
OK.
Then cover the rice with the cloth.
Put the lid on the steamer.
Steam it for 20 minutes.
-This takes some time. -20 minutes, sure.
Next, we'll prepare the ingredients
that we'll be needing.
-Do you have coconut water? -Yes, we do.
We do.
Do we need a lot?
Add about two and a half cups
because we'll be cooking the sticky rice again
to soften it.
Do you have young coconut meat?
Yes, we do. Right here.
Here's how you get the coconut meat out.
Young coconut meat
Go ahead and grate it like this.
Watch your hands and fingers.
Yes, it's very sharp.
I have more toys for Mark.
Mark said that longans from Lampang
are the best.
Yes. These are all the way from Lampang.
The weather's very hot in Lampang.
The hotter it is, the sweeter the longan.
Do you have this tool?
Here.
All right. Let's prep these together.
Poke it in and twist to remove the seed.
And then you peel off the skin.
Chef got the seed out just like that.
Like this.
Babe, you're no good at this.
Here.
(Northern Thai dialect) This is not good at all!
Let me see the skills of a Lampang man.
Oh, dear.
Wow, I did it!
Oh, excellent!
That's beautifully done.
If you don't want to use the tool
you can use your hands instead.
How many have you done, Chef?
Well, we're going to need 20 longans.
We've already got 20.
-All done, Chef. -All done.
Well done.
I have sinned.
Next
we're going to make a coconut milk topping.
-Coconut milk? -Wait a minute.
Let's go through the ingredients.
Do you have taro?
Taro
About 100g of palm sugar.
You can put it in the pot.
We're going to pour in coconut water
and set it aside.
Next, do you have another pot?
We've used up all our pots, Chef.
Oh, you ran out of pots?
Can we use this pot?
Sure.
Be careful.
Prepare a cup of coconut milk.
One cup.
Coconut milk
Pour it into a separate pot.
A separate pot?
It's OK...
If you've already poured it in, it's OK.
I'm sorry!
I'll do the same. It's OK.
Pour it into the same pot. It's OK.
-You didn't pay attention. -No.
Her pots are the same colour
so I thought it was the same pot.
You weren't paying attention.
Now, we're going to add
about half a teaspoon of salt in here.
Salt
The next step...
May I ask a question?
Sure. Who is the question for?
Really? I have a question for you, Chef.
What is it you'd like to know? Ask away.
How to make rice balls in sweet coconut milk?
What would you like to ask?
Sticky rice... oh, wait.
What was I going to ask? I forgot.
So, is leum pua sticky rice
a type of sticky rice or...
Is it a type of sticky rice or something else?
Why is it called leum pua sticky rice?
It's said that a hill tribe woman
went and worked in the mountains
with her baby on her back.
She ate this sticky rice
and it kept her full all day.
And it made her forgot her husband.
That's why they called it
leum pua sticky rice.
Mark, I'm a big fan of yours
and I really like Kim.
I'd like to know if Kim is scary
like the roles she played on TV.
Pretty much...
I'm not scary!
But most people don't get to see her scary side.
I'm the only one who sees it.
That's because you don't listen to me.
I do. Of course, I do.
This timer just saved my life.
OK, let's remove the lid together.
Scoop out the sticky rice.
We'll let it simmer for 15 minutes
so the sticky rice will be nice and soft.
We'll put the young coconut meat in first.
Put the coconut meat in. Let it cook and soften.
My pot is too small
so I'm pouring everything into a bigger pot.
We'll be using tian op (Thai aromatic candle)
to infuse our dessert with fragrance later.
But first, we're going to add the taro.
Adding the taro.
The taro has already been boiled.
So make sure it's not overcooked
but cooked just right.
The longans.
Go ahead and add the longans.
-Oh my god. -Looking good.
We're going to turn this into royal Thai cuisine.
Find a glass bowl or something like this.
Light the tian op?
Yes, light it up.
We'll put it in here.
-All right. -Let it float like this.
Oh, and then let it float.
Then put the lid on.
We'll leave it for five to ten minutes
depending on your preference.
I like the fragrance to be stronger
so I'm going to do ten minutes.
It's done. Finally, it's a success.
Finally, it's a success.
OK.
Mark and Kim.
I'm going to warm up the curry
and then we're going to garnish it.
We set the curry aside for a while
so now we need to heat it up.
Do you have chilli, Kim?
It's for decoration.
Let's slice it.
Slice it in half lengthwise. Watch your fingers.
Slowly. Watch your fingers.
Cut it into thin strips.
Pick up the rae rai noodles with tongs.
Pick up the rae rai noodles.
We have the same plates, Chef!
Oh yes, you're right.
I wonder why that is.
I got mine from a shop around the corner.
Mine are from Lampang.
Oh yes, pottery.
It has to be from Lampang. That's right...
I bought it all from Lampang.
I order all my bowls and plates from Lampang.
Because...
"Renowned Horse-Drawn Carriages"
"Famous Pottery"
"Well-Known Buddhist Temples"
"World-Renowned Elephant Conservation Centre".
What was that?
-What does it mean? -That's Lampang's slogan.
I see.
Get a generous ladle of crab meat.
Wow, the curry is so thick.
It smells really good.
Ladle some of the crab meat onto the carapace.
It's looking so good.
Kim, place a few strips of the red chilli
on top of the rae rai noodles
to add to the colour of the dish.
It looks awesome. Is this dish done?
Yes, it's done.
Sticky rice, please.
Next, the sticky rice.
Do you have a coconut shell?
We're plating it like this. Is it all right?
-That's beautiful. -OK.
This is how I do it.
I dyed sugar with food colouring
extracted from butterfly pea flowers
and I put this here to make it look pretty.
Oh my, yours is so pretty.
OK, remove the tian op.
Scoop the sticky rice.
It's ready to be served.
Oh my god.
Kim and Mark, as you can see
we can turn an ordinary dish
into an extraordinary one
by using local ingredients.
-Thank you. -Thank you, Chef.
-All right... -OK.
I'm going to have a bite.
Babe, it's so good.
Really?
Let me taste it too. Don't exaggerate.
It's really good!
-Absolutely delicious. -Excellent.
Thank you.
It tastes like... it's like what we said.
We're trying to find a middle ground
-in terms of flavouring, right? -Yes.
It's not too spicy for you
but it's got a spicy fragrance to it
which is what I want.
So, we met right in the middle, Chef.
I'm glad to hear that.
This is very hot.
How was today? How did we do as your students?
How would you rate us?
Ten out of ten.
Although you don't have much cooking experience
you achieved so much.
Plus, the dishes today were
really difficult to make.
-By the way, this is so good. -Really?
It smells so good.
Let me try. My hands are shaking.
How is it? What about you, babe?
How many points would you give me?
I have to say I'm so lucky to have...
Chef with us today.
We're very lucky to have Chef with us today
because this is so good.
What?
I'm so lucky to have
Babe!
So good...
Ten out of ten! I mean it.
This has been fantastic, Chef.
Thank you very much for today.
-Thank you. -It's my pleasure.
We'd like to know
which charity organisation
you'd like to donate to.
Yes, whichever organisation you prefer.
I'd like to donate to the Queen Sirikit Centre
for Breast Cancer Foundation.
I'm the ambassador of this foundation.
Every October, the foundation commemorates
breast cancer awareness month.
-We rejoice in your merit. -Very good.
Thank you very much, Chef.
If we are in the area
we'll go to your restaurant.
I wish you both happiness and hope that
you make delicious meals every day.
-Thank you. -Thank you.
You're very welcome. Bye.
Babe.
May I add more chilli?
Say what?
Sure, babe. We have more chilli over there.
You can have all the chilli you want.