We love teaching these sassy little spring rolls for 2 reasons: One, it's a delicious way to deliver health and to "dip your toe" into the wondrous world of using fish sauce to enhance flavor. Two, everybody should learn how to use rice-paper wraps to make spring rolls. Let this technique open the door to your imagination the next time you go fridge-diving. Leftover barbecued meat, random bits of veggies, extra herbs to use up . . . all can find their way to dance in a spring roll. Just don't forget the fish sauce!

These colorful rolls make a great appetizer, the perfect lunch, or are lovely passed around at a party. They go well with any type of menu — it doesn't have to be Thai.

serves 6

Add the veggies to the mixing bowl and introduce their bitter and sweet favors to spicy ones: grate the ginger and garlic directly on top. Now for sour, with lime. Next, more herbs. Inhale the freshness as you give everything a good mix. Taste. What's missing? You guessed it: salty! Add a little bit of fish sauce, grab a small portion of the filling, and taste again. Observe the magic that the fish sauce has imparted, and maybe add a little more. Set the filling aside.

Heat about an inch of water in a skillet until boiling. Turn off the heat. Holding one end of the rice paper wrap, dip it in the hot water for no more than a few seconds. Rotate it, and submerge the undipped-side. Remove it from the water and place it on a dry work surface. Don't worry if the wrapper feels a tad firm, it will loosen up quickly and become pliable. Place a spoonful of filling on the lower half of the wrap, tuck in the top and bottom and fold the edge over the filling. Make sure the ingredients are snuggled in nice and tight and roll, roll, roll. Just before you roll the last little bit of wrapper, tuck in an herb leaf (pretty-side facing down). When you finish the roll you'll see a beautiful leaf presented beautifully.

Repeat with the remaining wrappers, re-heating the water as necessary, and place the finished spring rolls on a platter. Scatter with the sesame seeds, extra herbs and serve.

These delightful little poppers are another great appetizer, and our excuse to show the class just how easy it is to make Thai rice. The technique is very different from Basmati rice, for instance. Rather than cooking in water, Thai rice is soaked and then steamed above water. The result is glutinous rice, which just loves to absorb coconut milk after it's finished cooking. It's easy to make in advance and re-steam when you need it. We love to roll it into flattened little balls for these appetizers. When we serve coconut rice as an accompaniment to a Thai curry, we spread it out on a tray and cut into pretty wedges that look elegant on the plate.

Serves 6 - this makes enough rice for the appetizer and alongside the Thai curry

Make the coconut sticky rice:
Soak the rice in plenty of water overnight. (If you forget to soak the rice, soaking for about 3 hours in warm water should do the trick.) Drain, and then place it in the steaming basket of a rice cooker and steam for about 40-45 minutes. No rice cooker? No problem! You can also cook the rice in a steamer, covered, above an inch or two of low-simmering water. (Find the best steamer here at Hipcooks.)

When the rice is tender, turn it out over a large bowl. Add the coconut milk and lime zest and stir, marveling at how quickly the rice absorbs the luscious coconut milk. Taste and don't be afraid to salt generously! As you stir, the rice will continue to absorb. You may find that you like it with a little more coconut milk: this is a fluid process that is done to taste. You'll find the rice quite amiable to adjustments.

We find this rice is very easygoing: you can serve it immediately: there's the "ol' plop and serve method," or spread it onto a baking sheet. Soon it will firm up, and you can cut it into squares or triangles. You can make the rice ahead of time as well — it's easy to reheat in the steaming basket, just as before. Alternatively, you can reheat in a low oven.

Make the appetizer:
Heat the oil in a small skillet and toss in the garlic. When fragrant, add the shrimp and cook for a few moments on each side, until bright pink. Squeeze in the lime juice and season with salt and chili flakes.

Moisten your hands with water and grab a tablespoon or so of the prepared rice. Form into a little ball, flatten it and dip the bottom into the sesame seeds. Place a cilantro leaf on top, and then, the shrimp. Repeat and serve.

This is such a ubiquitous recipe and a fan favorite, we couldn't have a Thai Class without it! At home, there are numerous ways you can prepare a great satay: the most delicious is on the grill. With a great marinade, however, you can also achieve superb results on the stovetop or in the oven (like we do in class.)

Peanut sauce is another fan-favorite, but we sneak it into class to teach the concept of layering flavors. We first start with simple peanuts and spice. The transformation, as we add salty, sour, and sweet one layer at a time, never fails to amaze. Use this flavor-layering technique for everything you cook. When you're purposeful about layering flavor, your dishes will sing!

Serves 6

Marinate the chicken:
Place the chicken in a non-reactive bowl. Whisk together the fish sauce, sugar garlic and ginger, pour over the chicken and stir to coat. Leave to marinate for a few hours, or overnight. 

Make the Peanut Sauce:
Heat a swirl of oil in a skillet over medium heat, and briefly saute the ginger and the garlic. Add the peanut butter, stirring as the peanut butter melts. Transfer to a blender or food processor. Remove the stem from the Thai chilies and whizz into the sauce. Taste for spice, knowing that this sauce will really come alive once you start adding flavors.  When the spice is right (it should be delightfully spicy), layer the lime and fish sauce. You may need hot water to bring the emulsion back to liquid — add in quarter-cup increments. Adjust the flavors until it sings and adorn with sesame seeds and cilantro.

Cook the chicken:
Heat a swirl of oil in a pan and brown the chicken on one side, then the next. Transfer to a hot oven (we use the toaster oven) to finish cooking, about 10 minutes in a 375°F oven should be plenty. (Alternatively, you can cook the chicken on a well-seasoned grill or griddle pan.)

Thread a skewer or toothpick into the chicken (if you like), scatter with cilantro, and serve alongside the peanut sauce.

Now that you're a master of layering flavor, try your hand at Som Tam, or green papaya salad.  

This refreshing salad speaks to the ingenuity of the Thai, using shredded unripe papaya as bitter green "salad leaves." It can be found from street vendors to restaurants throughout Thailand, made-to-order in large mortar and pestles. In fact, the name translates to "pounded sour." Som Tam is often served with sticky rice to alleviate the heat (for the meek), or to soak up the delicious dressing (for the spice-addicts!)

At Hipcooks, we "keep it real" and use a mortar and pestle. At home you can do the same, or improvise with a blender.

serves 6, as a side salad

In a mortar or pestle,  pound together the garlic until it becomes a paste. Add the chilies and pound, noticing that you can pick up on the spice of the chilies by the smell alone. Next, add the brown sugar — its graininess will help make everything a smooth paste. Finally, add the fish sauce. Taste to your heart's content, as you balance the flavors to zingy perfection. 

Traditionally, you'll add the long beans and gently pound: this expands the surface area of the beans and they'll absorb plenty of the dressing. (We call them the "flavor savors" of the salad.) Turn it all into a mixing bowl, add the papaya and beansprouts, and mix. You should have just the right amount of dressing to "salad greens, " otherwise adjust again.

How you adorn the papaya salad is up to you: we suggest some beansprouts, cherry tomatoes for color, cilantro leaves, and peanuts. In Thailand, they'll add tiny pungent dried shrimp or even crab.

This salad will stand up to a hot day, and you'll find you can make it well in advance before a dinner party. This is a salad that won't wilt!

Since this is a class with the fan-favorites, we had to include Pad Thai. Like the Papaya salad, it's popular street food in Thailand. Now that's our kind of "fast food!"

A Pad Thai is authentic when it uses tamarind, in the form of a sour paste that gives the dish a reddish color. Whether you prepare this with tofu, chicken, shrimp, pork or beef, what makes this dish is (you guessed it!) the balance of flavor: sweet egg and rice noodles, spicy garlic and chili, bitter chive or green onion, salty fish sauce, sour tamarind.

Serves 6

Mix the tofu with the marinade ingredients and let it sit for a few hours, overnight, or up to a few days.

Make the Pad Thai sauce by placing all the ingredients into a blender and whizzing until combined. Taste to adjust. Since this sauce will keep for weeks in the fridge, feel free to make a larger amount for quick pad-thais, made to order.

When you're ready to enjoy pad thai, "cook" the noodles by pouring boiling water over them, in a heat-proof bowl or pot. Make sure they're all submerged, and soak until soft, about 5 minutes or so. Drain in a colander over the sink until you're ready.

Meanwhile, in a wok or skillet, heat a swirl of neutral oil and add eggs. Cook omelette-style or scrambled-egg style. Pop onto a plate to cool. Wipe out the wok or skillet with a paper towel, and heat another swirl of oil. Add the tofu and its marinade, and cook until crispy. As in class, the "leave-it-alone" approach works best: allow it to brown nicely before turning and mixing. 

When the tofu is nice and crispy, add the chives and cook for a few more moments until they're wilted. Add the drained noodles and the pad thai sauce, a little at a time, while gently stirring the noodles. (Tongs work great here.)

When the noodles are covered in sauce and taste great,mix in the egg, turn out onto a large platter, and garnish.

We hope that the class convinced you that there is no substitute for fresh, homemade curry paste, so kick those jars to the side! The complexity and depth of flavor that you can achieve at home is unparalleled. The ingredients dance together in fantastic harmony, yet the palate can discern the contribution of each.

Tradionally, curry pastes are made with a mortar and pestle, and lots of time. We shortcut the process by using a food processor. Like the Thai daughter who expresses love for the family by making fresh curry paste each day, we at Hipcooks express our love for our students with fresh curry paste, but without so much muscle-power.

Serves 6

Make the curry paste by first toasting the coriander, cumin and black pepper. Pound in a mortar and pestle, and add to the food processor, along with the other curry ingredients. Whizz until smooth: you may need to add a little oil or coconut milk so that you have a smooth paste. Taste and adjust the spice (we give such a range of Thai chilies in our ingedient list to allow for the fact that chilies vary widely, as does personal taste). It will most likely need salt: you can add more shrimp paste, opt for fish sauce, or add a hearty pinch of sea salt. All are good options.

Feel free to make the curry paste in advance of makingthe dish, a few days in the fridge is fine. For longer-term curry-paste storage, spoon it into a jar, cover with neutral oil, and store up to a couple of weeks.

Make the curry:
Heat a large skillet (on high heat), add a generous plop of coconut oil and then add the eggplant. Sprinkle it with salt as it cooks. The eggplant will absorb the oil quickly, which is okay. Just turn the heat lower to finish. Reove the eggplant, set aside, and repeat the process with the fresh shiitake mushrooms.

Once the shiitakes are soft, return the eggplant to the skillet and add the coconut milk. Bring it to a boil, and turn down the heat. Stir in the green curry paste and taste. You've earned it! Does the dish need a bit more or anything? Transfer to a serving plate, and top with the chiffonaded kaffir lime leaf. The smell will be heavenly! Serve with coconut rice (recipe above).

As the Thai so famously say: "Same, Same. But Different."

Indeed! Here is yet another curry, and yet another way to use basically the same ingredients we've used all through class, the same concept of layering flavor, to create a whole new dish that is deliciously different. Enjoy!

Serves 6

Marinate the chicken:
Place the chicken in a non-reactive bowl. Whisk together the fish sauce, sugar garlic and ginger, pour over the chicken and stir to coat. Leave to marinate for a few hours, or overnight. 

Make the curry paste:
First, toast the cashews in a skillet. When they're brown and fragrant, transfer to a cuttingboard and give them a rough chop. Using the same skillet, toast the coriander, cardamom and black pepper. Pound in a mortar and pestle, and add to the food processor, along with the reconstituted chile, galangal, tumeric, lemongrass, kaffir lime, cilantro stems, shallots, and garlic. Give these ingredients a good whizz, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and whizz again. Add the right amount of chilies for you. Then, add the shrimp paste to taste. Mix again, and about half the toasted cashews, saving the other half for garnish.  Lime juice and a bit of brown sugar will take this curry paste over the top.

Feel free to make the curry paste in advance of makingthe dish, a few days in the fridge is fine. For longer-term curry-paste storage, spoon it into a jar, cover with neutral oil, and store up to a couple of weeks.

Make the curry:
Heat a bit of coconut oil in a large skillet. Add the chicken (and its marinade). Cook for a minute or two over high heat, stirring as you do so. Stir in the curry paste, add a little hot water (about half a cup), lower the heat, and let this bubble away for a good five minutes to let the chicken cook through. Add the remaining cashews and taste! If you're finding it too spicy, you can continue cooking to mellow out the flavors. As long as your heat is on a low simmer, you let the stew gently bubble away. 

Serve garnished with cilantro, alongside coconut rice (recipe above).

Go on, you can eat. One. More. Little. Bite.

And if you can't, this dessert recipe is great for breakfast. 

Serves 6

Soak the rice in plenty of water overnight. Drain, and then place it in the steaming basket of a rice cooker and steam for about 40-45 minutes. No rice cooker? No problem! You can also cook the rice in a steamer, covered, above an inch or two of low-simmering water. (Find the best steamer here at Hipcooks.)

When the rice is tender, turn it out over a large bowl. Add the coconut cream, sugar, salt, vanilla and Cardamom. Taste and refine. 

Serve topped with coconut cream and almond flakes.