Plah Goong Recipe

From what John and I have heard from most of you, the weather is warming up in the States and it is beginning to feel a bit more like Spring. Well, I went to a great cooking school a couple weeks ago and thought I would share a simple Shrimp Herb Salad (Plah-Herb Salad, Goong-Shrimp) recipe with you to maybe try with one of your Spring BBQ's.

Ingredients: (Per 1 serving)

5 medium size Prawns

1 1/2 tablespoons Lemon grass*

1 1/2 tablespoons Shallot*

1 Kaffir lime leave (can substitute with lemon zest or sweet basil)*

1 tablespoon mint leaves*

*These 4 ingredients should be finely chopped

Ingredients for the Dressing:

2 hot chillies, finely chopped (remove seeds for less spice)

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon Thai chili paste (or any chili paste you can find)

2 teaspoons fish sauce

2 teaspoons lime juice

Directions:

Use medium heat, grill the prawns until well cooked, then remove all the shells and set aside. Prepare dressing by mixing sugar, Thai chili paste, fish sauce, lime juice and chopped chilies together, stir to combine well. Add cooked prawns, and chopped herbs, then toss well again. Serve over any type of lettuce leaves. Add mint as garnish.

Bangkok Refugee Center

I am happy to say that I am back in the classroom again! However, this is a bit different than any other teaching I have done.

I was recently connected with the director of the Bangkok Refugee Center (BRC) who told me they are desperately seeking teachers to volunteer their time in classrooms. The BRC is an organization that was formed by the Catholic Office for Emergency Relief and Refugees. The cetner supports refugees from all over the world. Many of these refugees have had to flee their native countries due to persecution, violence, famine and natural disasters. Most of them are here without any means of support and rely on the Bangkok Refugee Centre for assistance with medical care, legal assistance, social services, education and vocational training. It is quite amazing to walk through the gates of this center see a small community of people who will do whatever it takes to provide a better life for themselves and their families.

The class I am teaching is the beginning English class. I have 15 students who are from Sri Lanka or Somalia. They range from ages 5-12 and barely speak English. It can be a bit of a challenge to try and explain certain concepts, but pictures and acting things out seems to work best. Their parents usually sit outside the classroom (which looks like a cement bunker) and watch to see what their children are learning. I even have one father who writes down everything I put on the board in his notebook. These are people who desperately want to learn English so that they may one day receive citizenship in a country that offers them a better life.

It has been an amazing and eye-opening experience working here. It broke my heart when I recently read some of the quotes on the BRC website from some of the refugees.

“I want to live like other people”
“My country I love, it is my country, it had my family, but I cannot return. I fear persecution. If the government changes and it is secure I will return…Me, I want to live like other people, recover my life. I lost my family; I do not know where my wife and children are. I want to work and live without persecution. I want to see my family, my children, and my wife. The UN…is my only hope.”

“The police were waiting”
“A human trafficker promised to take me to the United Kingdom. Then he sent me to Qatar where I was arrested. The Qatar officials saw that I was traveling with a fake passport and just sent me to my final destination, Bangkok, where the police were waiting for me.”

Feel free to check out the website if you want to read more. http://brcthai.org/index.html


Entrance to the center


Refugee receiving health care services


Art Class

Phuket

We were very fortunate to have Thai holidays on Friday and Tuesday this past weekend and could take off for a few days to Phuket. John's friend Brian, who is currently living part time in Dubai, joined us last minute on the trip. Phuket is an island about 300 miles south of Bangkok in the Andaman Sea. It may be well known for the terrible 2004 Tsunami that hit there, but it is also well know for the beautiful islands that surround it.

Our first adventure was on Sunday when we went with a tour to visit the Phi Phi Islands. Getting to the islands was about an hour speedboat ride from Phuket (with 4-6 foot waves) to get out to the islands near Phi Phi. We did some sightseeing, snorkeling and then stopped at Coral Island for a picnic lunch on the beach. The weather wasn't great but we still enjoyed seeing the sights.

Where the movie "The Beach" was filmed

On Monday we did a half day tour. We had strong winds and rain on our way out to the islands but, it all cleared up once we arrived at the our first stop. This tour included; a visit to a Muslim fishing village, walking around James Bond Island ("The Man With the Golden Gun" was filmed here), and canoeing through the caves. All in all, we saw some breathtaking scenery and would highly recommend this trip to anyone visiting southeast Asia.

Covering up in rain parkas for the wet ride.

The dock to the Muslim Fishing Village

Canoeing through the caves.

James Bond Island

Bollywood-Bangkok Style

If you have seen the movie "Slumdog Millionaire" you may remember the very last scene when the entire cast is dancing to music-Bollywood style. Here's a link...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQGb9g4SY_I

Well, the American Women's Club had a Bollywood class last week and it was VERY interesting watching everyone dance. For my friends who wanted to see me dance-yea right I'm going to put a video of me dancing! But, I do have some pictures from the day!

Allison, Shelly, Our instructor, and me. (Yes, we were very sweaty)

Dance instruction