I teased you last week with a glimpse into my Tuesday-night classes with Thai cooking maven Kasma Loha-unchit . This most-recent set of classes was the fourth 4-week series I’ve attended; I started with the beginning series nearly 10 years ago, followed up with the intermediate course a few years later, and then — after travelling with Kasma through central and northern Thailand in January 2006 — picked up again with the advanced series last spring. In the beginning series , you master popular curries , simple stir-fries, spicy soups and salads, and authentic (ketchup-free!) pad thai noodles. Even if you think you know a lot about Thai food, you’re sure to learn a lot: You’ll taste-test multiple brands of coconut milk, learn about the best places to buy ingredients, hear the lowdown on the top brands , and get plenty of practice balancing sweet, salty, sour, and hot flavors under Kasma’s watchful eye. Intermediate classes move on to more labor-intensive preparation
