Also Titled, “That time I took a cooking class at Sur La Table”
Yes! It’s true! There is a gigantic kitchen in the back of our store where certified chefs teach classes almost daily. A few weeks ago Doug and I were invited to take part in the Szechuan cooking class!
Now, I love Chinese food but have always been really mystified when it comes to preparing it. In this class we made a peanut glass noodle dish, spicy stir-fried eggplant, hot and sour soup, and pork potstickers. Everything was incredibly delicious!
I don’t think I will be cooking a lot of Chinese food from scratch at home though, because all the recipes required just a few tablespoons of like six or more different kinds of vinegar, oil, paste, etc. That’s a lot to keep on hand if you’re going to be using them in small doses! I did learn some useful tips like adding sugar and/or vinegar to counteract something too spicy.
The most exciting part for me was folding the potstickers shut. Doug actually got really good at crimping the edges like the potstickers you might buy in the freezer section. I was less successful, and just made sure to seal them shut smoothly (photo above). Making potstickers did seem like something I would be able to make at home sometime!
Here’s the part where I make this post relevant to you. Taking a cooking class like this was so fun! I think that it would make an awesome date or an awesome Christmas gift, if you have a friend that likes to cook. I appreciated learning more about a cuisine that I generally do not make at home.
Check out a list of Sur La Table locations, or for my readers in Kansas, call Apron Strings in Hutchinson and ask if they have any info on their cooking classes! Many smaller kitchen stores (non-chains) have classes so make sure to ask!
[And no, although I do work part-time at SLT, I am not getting paid to write this post. I just felt like it :) ]
My Friend Staci 
Sounds like a great work perk! I’m not much of a cook but I would like to take a cooking class with my husband sometimes. He’d enjoy it more then me but I’d still like it that we do it together.
It was really fun! I think anyone would enjoy it regardless of skill level.
One of our favorite styles of cooking is Chinese. Yes, it frequently involves multiple ingredients added to each recipe, but because we also often do Japanese and Thai, in the end it’s actually MORE cost efffective for us! The three styles frequently use the same ingredients in different concentrations and combinations, so you go through them at a reasonable rate instead of buying a specialty item you use twice and then slowly expires in your fridge or cupboard. And you get to make fun meals! But, if you don’t plan on having at least one meal a week in one of those cooking styles, it may not be worth it. For us, that’s Indian cooking…so many spices and ingrdients!!
Yum, that sounds good. For now, I guess I’ll stick with cooking mostly Italian/Mediterranean food and keep on buying my Chinese sauces pre-bottled from “Trader Ming” ;)