On the Tastiest treats of Asia vegetarian cooking course

Venla, Service and Administration Coordinator at Helsingin aikuisopisto, tests our courses. This time, Venla tries the Tastiest treats of Asia vegetarian cooking course.

“Is this where the vegetarian cooking course is?” Tentative questions start to be heard at the door of the home economics classroom of the Rudolf Steiner School on a Monday in October, shortly before five o’clock. It is a grey and damp afternoon, but the greyness gives way for a few hours as the classroom fills with the scent of fresh coriander, lime, cumin seeds, ginger and jasmine rice. The journey into the world of Asian food has begun.

The Helsingin aikuisopisto course Tastiest treats of Asia, led by Liisa Häkkinen, is under way. The evening begins with a short lecture on the most typical cooking styles of Asia. The teacher points out right at the start that we cannot really talk about a general “Asian cuisine” because of the size of the continent and its many different food cultures. In Finland, the best known are probably Indian, Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese and Japanese cuisine, but even within each of these countries there are many regional food traditions. What the food cultures of different Asian countries have in common, however, is the generous use of vegetables, and Asian food is often completely vegan, or at least easy to adapt to be vegan.

Let us roll up our sleeves!

Today we are focusing entirely on vegan food. We are given comprehensive bundles of handouts with general food information as well as recipes for the dishes we will cook on the course. On the menu are Vietnamese summer rolls wrapped in rice paper with dips, plum chutney, Indian papadams, dal, tofu and mushrooms with noodles, green Thai curry and, for dessert, banana ice cream with coconut caramel sauce.

“We split into groups and get to work. Each group is responsible for making one of the dishes. My partner and I tackle the tofu, mushroom and noodle dish. We fry the tofu, mushrooms and onions in a pan, add the sauces and spices and finally toss in the cooked noodles. So this is how easily a tasty Japanese-style noodle dish is made! I will definitely try this in my own kitchen too. On the other hobs, green curry, crispy papadams fried in oil, rich dal lentil stew and dark brown caramel sauce are taking shape.”

Venla

Service and Administration Coordinator, Helsingin aikuisopisto

The table is set, please help yourselves!

As the clock approaches eight, the table is almost set and the food has found its way into the serving dishes. We sit down and start tasting. The dishes are very different from one another but form a really tasty and harmonious whole. The fresh summer rolls are complemented by pleasant nut and soy dips, and the papadams are made to go with the dal stew and the sweet and sour plum chutney. The fresh herbs really come through in the green curry, and you can really tell the difference compared with the shop-bought curry paste I have used before. The Asian-style dishes I make at home have often tended to taste a bit the same, whether the recipe is Indian- or Thai-inspired, but perhaps with these recipes I will manage to create slightly more authentic food at home too. After the delicious and refreshing banana dessert, it is time to wash the rest of the dishes and thank the teacher and fellow participants for a lovely evening and a shared meal.

We head home richer by one experience, with full stomachs and new recipes and ideas in our pockets.

You can find Liisa Häkkinen’s Asian recipes on her blog: liisaswonderlan.blogspot.com (in Finnish)

Liisa’s Asian vegetarian cooking course is also in the course programme in the spring. The spring courses will be published online in November and registration starts on 25 November.

Please note that the course is taught in Finnish.

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Text: Venla, Helsingin aikuisopisto

Photos: No Revisions, Unsplash