Asia's tastiest delicacies - vegetarian cooking course

Venla, the service and administration manager at Helsinki Adult Education Center, is testing the college's courses. This time, Venla is testing the Asian Tastiest Delicacies vegetarian cooking course.

“Is this the vegetarian cooking class?” Cautious inquiries begin to be heard from the door of the Rudolf Steiner School’s home economics classroom on a Monday in October, just before 5 p.m. It’s a gray and damp afternoon, but the grayness is relieved for a few hours as the classroom fills with the aroma of fresh coriander, lime, cumin seeds, ginger, and jasmine rice. The journey into the world of Asian food has begun.

The adult education institute's most delicious vegetarian delicacies in Asia - vegetarian food course is underway, led by Liisa Häkkinen. The evening begins with a short lecture on the most typical food styles in Asia. The teacher reminds us right away that there is no general "Asian cuisine" due to the size of the continent and the numerous different food cultures. The best-known in Finland are probably Indian, Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese and Japanese cuisine, but even within each country there are numerous regional food traditions. However, what the food cultures of different Asian countries have in common is the abundant use of vegetables, and often Asian food is completely vegan, or at least can be easily adapted to be so.

Let's roll up our sleeves!

Today we will focus entirely on vegan food. We will receive comprehensive handouts, which will provide general food knowledge as well as recipes for the dishes we will cook during the course. The menu includes Vietnamese rice paper-wrapped summer rolls with dips, plum chutney, Indian papadams, dal sauce, tofu and mushrooms with noodles, green Thai curry and banana ice cream with coconut fudge for dessert.

“We split into groups and get to work. Each group is responsible for making a dish. My partner and I are working on a tofu-mushroom-noodle dish. We fry the tofu, mushrooms and onions in a pan, add the necessary sauces and spices and finally throw in the cooked noodles. Is it really that easy to make a tasty Japanese-style noodle dish! I will definitely try this in my home kitchen. Other stoves are used to make green curry, crispy papadams fried in oil, a rich dal-lentil stew and dark brown fudge.”

Venla

Service and Administration Manager, Helsinki Adult Education Institute

The table is set, please!

As eight o'clock approaches, the table is set and the dishes have found their way onto the serving dishes. We sit down at the table and start tasting. The dishes are very different from each other, but they form a really tasty and harmonious whole. The cheerful summer rolls of the appetizers are complemented by pleasant nut and soy dips, and the papadams are like a perfect match with the dal stew and sweet and sour plum chutney. The green curry tastes of fresh herbs, and I can really notice the difference compared to the store-bought curry base I used before. The Asian-style dishes I make at home have often ended up tasting a bit the same, whether it's an Indian or Thai-influenced recipe, but maybe with these instructions I'll be able to create a slightly more authentic dish at home again. After a delicious and fresh banana dessert, it's time to wash the remaining dishes and thank the teacher and fellow students for a nice evening and shared meal.

We will go home richer in experience, with full bellies and new recipes and ideas in our pockets.

You can find Liisa Häkkinen's Asian food recipes on her blog: http://liisaswonderlan.blogspot.com/search/label/Aasia

Liisa's Asian Vegetarian Cooking course can be found in the course program in the spring as well. The spring courses will be available online during November and registration begins on November 25.11th.

Text: Venla, Helsinki Adult Education Institute

Images: No Revisions, Unsplash