Sticky Rice Cooking School Stirling review | SA’s Great Travel Planner

The yellow curry is one of five recipes we’ve been tasked with for the four-hour class, which includes two meal breaks – one for entree, one for mains.

I’m in tears.

All I have to do is pound with my pestle the ingredients of our Thai yellow curry paste – galangal, garlic, chilli, shallots and lemongrass among other spices and aromatics – but something is making my eyes water.

I put it down to the chilli and onion. I can’t even cut a lanky spring onion at home without welling up.

We’re about 20 minutes into our Sticky Rice Cooking School class with chef Terry Intarakhamhaeng of award-winning Adelaide Thai restaurant, Soi. 38.

It’s among a raft of classes cooking school director Claire Fuller has added to the 2020 program featuring some of South Australia’s best-known chefs.

Having opened the doors in Stirling more than 10 years ago, it’s a way to keep things fresh.

Other names in the 2020 line-up include Paul Baker (Botanic Gardens Restaurant), Duncan Welgemoed (Africola), James Brinklow (The Lane) and Spanish chef Alfonso Ales, whose CV includes former No. 1 restaurant, El Bulli.

But back to class.

I’ve handed over the mortar and pestle to someone else so that I can compose myself, and we’re all having a laugh. At least nobody else is crying.

The yellow curry is one of five recipes we’ve been tasked with for the four-hour class, which includes two meal breaks – one for entree, one for mains.

Doubts over not getting through it all are dashed as Terry calmly explains each step and maintains a steady flow of cooks from work bench to stove top, fryer and outdoor barbecue.

Time to enjoy our creations at Sticky Rice Cooking School. Picture: Jessica Galletly

It’s all hands-on. While we work in groups of four, each one of us has the opportunity to cut, grate, mix and taste.

We use that yellow curry paste in two different ways – firstly, to marinate chicken thighs we’ll later char on the barbecue and top with a spicy-sweet nam jim jao dressing (delicious).

Another technique involves us frying off the curry paste in a pan before adding coconut milk, fish sauce and soy – a curry sauce in which we poach spoonfuls of minced prawn meat (which, of course, we have also made from scratch).

That curry was a personal favourite – I could slurp it up like soup – and a perfect example of balanced flavour.

Entree was the crowd-dividing sago dumplings, filled with minced pork.

“Sago is something you either love or you hate,” Terry laughs.

Sticky would be the word I’d use to describe the steamed balls, but I take away one handy technique – when steaming any dumpling, the filling has to be very well seasoned or it’ll taste like nothing.

Pimp your pork, guys.

Green mango salad tossed with crispy fried slices of barramundi demonstrates the fresher flavours of Thai fare, while stir-fried morning glory (Asian spinach) with salted soy beans is a punch in the face of umami.

We’re learning how to season not with common salt and pepper, but fish sauce, oyster sauce and palm sugar.

There are other goings on while we’re cooking. There are people washing our dishes (participants are free of the dirty work), and another helper setting up a long table for our banquet dinner, complete with wine.

That is, of course, the best part. Sitting at the table with new friends and a Bali-esque backdrop (Sticky Rice’s design is inspired by our Indonesian neighbours) has us feeling a world away.

We leave with bellies (and doggy bags) full, plus a recipe booklet we’ll hopefully refer to back home.

And, hey, if I dare not make that curry paste from scratch again, I can still order Terry’s Soi. 38 curries during the restaurant shutdown via chefsonwheels.com.au

Reviews are unannounced and paid for by SAWeekend

This review was first published in March 2020 and had details updated in March 2021

• 96 Old Mount Barker Rd, Stirling
• 8339 1314
• stickyricecookingschool.com.au

• LOCATION About 25 minutes (17km) southeast of the CBD, via the National Highway.
• DETAILS Four-hour hands-on cooking classes and meal.
• PRICE $145-$185