South Australia
If someone had told me before my recent trip to Adelaide that I was capable of making restaurant quality Asian dishes, I’d have laughed out loud. Yet that’s exactly what I accomplished during my stay at Sticky Rice Villas in the Adelaide Hills. was fortunate to stay in Bali, one of three luxurious villas, nestled behind the Sticky Rice Cooking School on a night when they had a spare spot at the table…so I eagerly signed up. I love Asian flavours but have never been very good at juggling the balance of sweet and sour to get my dishes just right. They pass muster, but aren’t award winners.
The group assembled on the night included some newbies like myself, but also a few who’d enjoyed the evening so much they’d booked again; for one couple, this was their fourth class. The atmosphere from the start was jovial, convivial and relaxed.
Classes vary, and it’s worth checking the schedule before you book. The Travelling Chef was a delicious mix of cuisines from around Asia, the menu created by Chef Yukiko Anschutz. Kiko, as Chef instructed us to call her, was a wonderful teacher and hostess. Her slight frame belies a wealth of knowledge, talent and skill. A qualified professional in Asian cuisine, who trained at the Thai Cooking School at the Oriental Hotel in Bangkok, she has a great depth of knowledge for Chinese, Indonesian, Malay, Vietnamese, Thai and Japanese cuisine. Her belief that cooking should be fun and exploratory was showcased on the night.
Once introductions were performed and a few basic kitchen rules were set, we were divided into groups to share tasks. Some set to work on Ayam Goreng Kunyit, a delicious turmeric fried chicken; others prepared Sambal Terasi, a very spicy little morsel; my group concocted Wok Fried King Prawns with chilli, lemongrass and lime leaf. Also prepared was a Green Mango Jicama salad and a Nonya chicken curry known as Kari Ayam. We headed outdoors to whip up beef grilled in betel leaf that was served with Nuoc Mam.
While capable of chopping and dicing at the speed of light, Kiko purposefully slowed her demonstrations so that we, too, could learn her techniques. Complex looking dishes had been deconstructed so that laymen like us could reconstruct them with relative ease into flavourful dishes that also looked appealing. Kiko darted around checking on everyone, imparting snippets of useful information - like substitute ingredients if you battled to find a particular fruit or vegetable, or the best way to slice and dice onions to avoid the usual tears.
In what seemed like no time at all, we’d all completed our prep work – spices, vegetables, a range of meats, herbs and sauces lined our workbench. We hadn’t cooked a thing, yet the flavours of Asia were already present in the still night air. Once the cooking began, and those ingredients hit the hot oil, it was extremely difficult not to taste-test too often! It was one of those instances where you really longed for a camera that could share smells and tastes! At one point, we abandoned the stoves and headed to the rear courtyard where we learned how to roll beef into leaves and grill them to perfection on a barbecue.
The dishes completed, apart from a pot of palm sugar syrup simmering on the stove, we adjourned to the dining area to partake of the banquet we’d so proudly prepared. While we’d been working in the kitchen, the staff had laid the table, complete with a range of local wines that were perfectly suited to the spicy dishes.
I think the overall feeling from those attending for the first time was one of amazement – had we really prepared something so delicious ourselves? Needless to say, there was nothing left on any of the serving plates or in the copious bottles of wine that seemingly appeared from nowhere each time they became empty.
A personal favourite of the night was the Golden Rice served with palm sugar syrup – a perfectly sticky end to a fantastic evening filled with humour, learning, incredible aromas and flavours and a few new friendships.
Feeling totally sated and absolutely replete, I thankfully only had to wander a few paces back to my gorgeous villa.
My only complaint? I’d blasted images on social media throughout the evening and knew family and friends back home were expecting me to repeat the performance at the very next dinner party. Thank heavens for the recipes and notes from Kiko!