MarkKim + Chef

Welcome to MarkKim + Chef.

I think everyone knows by now

that we love to eat.

Hey, that's raw!

We also love to cook...

but we're not really good at it.

Hurry up, babe!

Now, we're moving towards

the next chapter of our lives together.

That's right.

We're walking down the aisle.

This is a good time for us

to sharpen our cooking skills

in our kitchen.

That's why we've recruited

some of the most celebrated chefs

in Thailand to teach us.

They'll be cooking in their homes

while we cook in ours.

How did they get here?

Let's go back inside and have a look.

On this episode of MarkKim + Chef

we'll be cooking Thai food.

Prawns.

-Prawns? -Tom yum kung?

Are we making tom yum kung?

-Let's put them all right here. -Bro.

Come help us. Come help, please.

This is a lot.

Wait, what's this? This is a lot.

The chef who will be joining us today

is experienced in cooking

and grew up in the palace kitchen.

I have no idea

if we can pull off making royal cuisine.

I think we should go ahead

and introduce our chef.

OK, sure.

-Here we go! -Let's meet our chef.

-There she is! Hello. -Hello

-Chef Pom. -Hello.

I have to say that

I'm both thrilled and terrified

because the chef who will be

teaching us to cook today

is the toughest judge on

the nation's renowned culinary competition.

It's Chef Pom, M.L. Kwantip Devakula.

Of course, we'll be laser focused

and do the best we can.

Hopefully, we won't receive

any harsh critiques from Chef Pom.

Please go easy on us.

Hello, please allow me

to introduce my family to you.

I'm here with my parents

my sister and my sister's husband.

We're so excited.

So, these four people going to be

Mark and Kim's victims?

Victims?

She's using the word "victims".

I have faith in your skills, Chef Pom

and that you'll be able to teach us

how to make delicious food.

We'll listen to you closely.

We won't be stubborn at all today.

I will do my best to teach you

and I hope my students will not

end up ruining my reputation.

She's giving you guys pressure.

OK.

Today, I will try to smile more

so that you won't be so nervous.

I'm even more nervous now.

I see that

your family is joining you today

so we'll be making tom yum kung.

You guessed it!

It will be the traditional tom yum kung

that Thai people have been making.

There is no such thing

as the creamy version or the clear version.

It is tom yum kung, period.

And we will be pairing it with

a fermented soybean dip

with fresh vegetables.

- A dip? I like that. -Woah, I love it!

-My mum likes it too. -Wait, Mum's making

this face like this dish is really hard to make.

For today

can we have Kim be the head chef?

-I'll be her assistant. -Yes.

-I'll be the head chef. -I feel...

I feel like I'm in a classroom

where the teacher is super strict.

Shall we begin?

Sure, we're so ready.

First things first, this right here...

Are these two the same?

This is chicken stock.

Pour it into a pot.

Get five stalks of lemongrass.

Sure, five stalks.

Do you know galangal?

Yes, galangal.

Don't be nervous, babe.

Don't be nervous.

Are your vegetables clean?

We haven't rinsed them yet.

The vegetable rinsing staff back there.

Please hurry up.

See? You're so clumsy.

Take it easy. Don't fight.

Large red bird's eye chillies.

Large red bird's eye chillies.

Do they have to be red, Chef?

I said red

but you can use green ones if you like.

We are using large red ones here.

Kaffir lime leaves.

Kaffir lime leaves.

And then, shallots.

Hurry up, babe.

Babe, knock it off.

All right, for the lemongrass...

I want you to do this.

Smash it gently until it's pliable.

Put them into the stock pot.

Next, let's work

on the kaffir lime leaves.

Fold each leaf into half, lengthwise

and pull the midrib off.

Mark, you're taking too long.

Just tear the midrib out.

Chef, I'm shaking here.

This is one of the easiest tasks.

If you're taking so long just to do this

how are you going to handle the other tasks?

Are the kaffir lime leaves ready?

-Yes, Chef! -Yes, Chef!

Add the leaves into the pot.

-Next up, galangal. -Galangal.

Slice it. The slices need not be too thin.

Add them into the pot.

Putting them in the pot.

Next up is an easy task.

Take the red bird's eye chillies

and remove the stem.

Will the soup be spicy, Chef?

I can't eat spicy food.

We won't be crushing the chilli

so the soup won't be spicy.

I see. OK.

We're just adding the chillies in

for their fragrance.

OK.

When they are ready

add them into the stock pot.

For shallots, gently crush them.

Crush all of them

and add them to the pot.

I have a question, Chef.

All right, ask away.

Are there any differences between

royal cuisine and ordinary Thai cuisine?

Actually, there's no difference.

Royals and commoners

take their shrimp paste dip

mackerel and vegetables the same way

but say, for example, the chilli paste...

common folks would make theirs

very spicy, salty and sour

while the royals would go for

a more balanced taste.

When it comes to vegetables

we would cut them into bite-sized pieces.

So the royals look refined

even when they're eating.

Not like, "Oh my goodness"

"That's a huge piece."

Your mouth will be stuffed full

and you'll be chewing away, not a dignified look.

Anyway, stop slacking off.

-OK, all right. Next, please. -OK.

-Bring out the river prawns. -Prawns.

The river prawns, please.

Back in the day

how did people get their prawns?

This is a story from my father.

Back in the day, the Devakula Palace

was a part of the Devavesm Palace

located by the Chao Phraya River.

Back then, our idea of playing

was to jump into the Chao Phraya River.

We would find

river prawns clinging to pier posts.

Back then, river prawns

were neither expensive nor hard to find.

Oh, I thought they were hard to find.