Cooking with Poo

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She’d been selling food to her friends and neighbours to get by, but the ingredients were getting more expensive and her regular customerscouldn’t afford a price increase. Poo started looking for a new job. Poo had been making a living by cooking in front of her home for over a decade. She would sell up to 100 dishes a day to feed her family. In 2007 though, the rice prices doubled, thus making her business no longer profitable. So, being the entrepreneurial woman that she is, Poo approached Anji, her Australian friend, to ask if she would help her set up a cooking school to teach tourists and locals how to make simple yet delicious Thai meals. The first was that the class started with a trip to Klong Toey market, the biggest wet market in Bangkok.

Cooking with Poo by Saiyuud Diwong | Goodreads Cooking with Poo by Saiyuud Diwong | Goodreads

You can also buy the Cooking with Poo apron I am happily modelling above and Poo’s cookbook – but again, there was no hard sell for any of it. What Did I Think of Cooking With Poo If just reading the above makes you squeamish, then there are plenty of vegetable and fruit isles to explore! They had such a wide variety of exotic fruit, of the likes we had never seen before. From spikey strawberries (rambutan) to yellow watermelons and everything in between. Some of the fruits are similar to what we are used to, only different. Just like the famous Thai saying “same same but different”. For example, their apples appear to have a porcelain film on them. Their tomatoes are pink rather than red, and their bananas are stumpy and green (you eat them when green!). Khlong Toei is one of the most authentic markets in Bangkok, selling very cheap raw meat, fish, vegetables, and fruit. Chances are, that wherever you eat in Bangkok, the produce will have been bought here. Visiting a wet market might be fascinating, but not necessarily enjoyable!When we got to Klong Toey market the main aim was to buy the ingredients we needed, but we still got to see some of the quirkier things on sale like frogs, insects and ant eggs. Many travellers are looking for that special non-touristy travel experience — a taste of real life rather than a contrived tourist spot. 'Cooking with Poo' is exactly that — a chance to see another, very real side of Thailand and its people. It is not just a great cooking adventure, it is also a way to help this wonderful lady as she in turn helps herself and her community. A real feel good story — now captured in this book! First thing I did was, unfortunately, devalued it by testing out some of the recipes and marking all in it….dating and making my personal notes along side each one. I even had my son and his wife and kids sign their names next to one recipe we all tried together. They happened to stop by while I was cooking, so they had to taste test, too, and give it a grade. Hey, it’s just a book! Because of this, I find what Poo is doing so enlightening. Not only is she providing opportunities, she is providing hope. She shows her community that opportunities can be created and that dreams can be realised with the right plan and support. And it is because of this that I think you should add Cooking with Poo to your next Bangkok trip! It was hands down the best thing we did whilst in the city! What to expect from this Thai Cooking Class

Cooking with Poo – the Ultimate Thai Cooking Class - BEA Cooking with Poo – the Ultimate Thai Cooking Class - BEA

The buffet breakfast is enormous with every cuisine known to man; it’s a brilliant place to fuel up before a long day trip.They also offer buffet lunch if you fancy a lazy day. When we were there they were gearing up to open their cheese and wine room. Poo - do this at home and you too will make delicious Thai foodThai green curry in less than ten minutes. You don’t have to travel very far south from the shops and hotels of downtown Sukhumvit Road before you reach Bangkok’s largest slum area located just north of the Chao Phraya River. Klong Toey is home to an estimated 100,000 people, a mix of poor people from Bangkok plus economic migrants from other regions of Thailand (mainly the north and north-east) who have been drawn to the Thai capital by the prospect of work. The numbers at Klong Toey are swelled still further by immigrants from neighbouring countries like Laos and Burma who arrive with no legal status or documents and are left with little option but to take the dirtiest and lowest paid jobs on offer. With basic amenities like fresh water and electricity in limited supply, the Klong Toey residents have no legal rights to occupy the land and live with the threat of eviction hanging over them. Khun Poo’s Story It is very important to remember when visiting Khlong Toei, or any other market for that matter, that these are working markets where people need to make a living, so please be respectful and don’t get in the way. Time to learn how to cook Thai cuisine! During this part of my Bangkok trip I stayed at a hotel called the Amari Watergatewhich is an absolutely brilliant hotel for foodies.Floor, Retail Center, CRC Tower, All Seasons Place, No.87/2 ,129A, Wireless Road, Lumpini, Patumwan, Bangkok 10320

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It’s also walking distance from Siam Paragon – the food hall of which is just incredible. I can spend hours in there. What to Read Next Now, ten years later Poo not only speaks excellent English, she has a dedicated cooking school (still in the slum) and employs numerous people from the area in her business. People started settling in Khlong Toei in the 50s after emigrating from the poorer regions in the North East in search of a better life. At the time cheap labour was in demand, and therefore Bangkok promised a plethora of opportunities. However, the average earnings for those living in the slum are only half of the national average and only a third of that of a Bangkok household. Basic amenities such as water and electricity are in short supply, and living standards are low. Serious crime, drug addiction, unmanaged waste, and unemployment have led to a crushing sense of doom. Social mobility is incredibly hard in these situations. We all need a bit of hope! In the eight years she’s run the school, Poo has seen the community change for the better. Now, she says, many students in “our family” go to university, and with the financial support, families are able to take weekends off and even have the occasional holiday from work. The twelve staff Poo employs are all neighbourhood friends. Since Poo trained them up they earn more money and rest time than they would otherwise.All the food items were pretty much prepped (thank heavens) and so, it really was a case of just getting on with it. Poo cooked first so you could see what was going to happen – then it was my go, About a square mile wide and home to around 100,000 people Klong Toey is a tough place to live and, in 2007, Poo was struggling.