It’s no secret that we are foodies. We love to cook food almost as much as we love to eat it. Tasting dishes around the world is one of the things we prioritise when we travel. From learning how to cook croquetas in Spain, to finding new dishes I’m inspired to learn to cook in our own kitchen, our passion for food and travel is synonymous and something that connects us to the destinations we’ve visited, not only abroad, but back home too. With that in mind, I couldn’t go to Malaysia, a country that has an amazing cuisine, without learning how to cook some of the delicious dishes there. This is where LaZat comes in.
LaZat is a cooking school based just outside the bustling city of Kuala Lumpur and run by the enthusiastic and gregarious Ana. From the initial greeting, Ana treats everyone like a long-lost friend. It’s not hard to believe she has friends all around the world, as she is charming and incredibly warm. Throughout the day, she was making jokes and openly talking about her life and experiences. By the end of the day I felt like I had known Ana for years and almost said upon departing, “see you next time”, as it truly felt that this would not be a one-off meeting.
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But enough about our lovely host, and more about the FOOD. We were picked up bright and early to start our day at the local market, being shown around the different food stalls and learning about typical ingredients used in Malaysian cooking. If I could take one thing away from the trip, spices are key. Oh, and there is actually such a thing as a black chicken which is used for medicinal purposes only (the skin is black underneath the feathers), but we’ll get to him later…
Some of the common ingredients found at a Malaysian food market, including Black Chicken
LaZat’s headquarters are located in a beautiful tropical jungle setting at Penchala Hill. The house/school itself is quite beautiful and rustic, with thatched roofs and lovely open areas to really soak up the surroundings whilst learning to cook delicious dishes. Between the relaxing sights and sounds of the jungle to the smell of mouth-watering food sizzling away, my senses were delighted.
Our picturesque ‘classroom’
LaZat is located on the tropical Penchala Hill
Tropical jungle right at the doorstep
Throughout the course of the day, we got to eat, laugh and cook our own food! We made five scrumptious dishes, covering entré to dessert, including the popular Malaysian dish, Kari Ayam (Chicken Curry). And to make the day even more special, Ana was kind enough to let me share the recipe with all of you!
Kari Ayam (Chicken Curry)
Ingredients
- 3 tbs oil
- 1 stalk curry leaves
- 2cm piece cinnamon stick
- 1 star anise
- 2 cloves
- 2 cardamoms
- 2 shallots, 2 garlic cloves, ½ cm piece of ginger – pound finely together
- 2 tbs curry powder, mixed with 2 tbs water (to form the paste)
- 180ml water
- 30g potatoes, cubed
- 1 small piece asam keeping (if you are unable to find this ingredient, you can substitute with 1tsp tamarind)
- ½ tsp salt
- 130g chicken breast, cubed
- 70ml coconut milk
Our wonderful teachers demonstrating how to make Kari Ayam
Method
- Heat oil in a pan on low and sauté curry leaves, cinnamon stick, star anise, cloves and cardamom until fragrant
- Add in pounded shallot, garlic & ginger mix
- Sauté for a few more minutes, until aromatic
- Add curry paste and fry until oil surfaces (this is important), stirring it occasionally.
- Add water, potatoes, asam keeping and salt and let it simmer
- Once potatoes are almost cooked and softened, add in chicken and coconut milk
- Continue cooking on medium heat until chicken is cooked
- Serve with rice or roti.
This tasted as good as the dishes I had in restaurants, and there is something about the pride felt when making it yourself. I don’t know about you, but I think it made it taste better!
If you are visiting Malaysia and enjoy cooking delicious food, get in touch with Ana at LaZat. Not only will you walk away with a full belly and a booklet of recipes cooked on the day, you’ll also have made a friend for life.
Oh and remember the black chicken I mentioned earlier? Ana actually had one living at her place! They look a lot cuter alive!
LaZat’s resident Black Chicken
If you love food as much as we do, check out our other food articles here.
What’s your favourite Malaysian dish? Have you done a cooking class during your travels? Comment below?
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I’m so going to have to try this! It looks delicious.
I have no idea what asam keeping is though so I guess it will be tamarind.
I hope you enjoy it! I had no idea what asam keeping was either! I think tamarind is the easier option 🙂
Wait, so black chicken is the TYPE of chicken? It’s actually black under the feathers? I just assumed that was the way it was prepped! Anyway, this looks like an amazing day! I especially love that she took you to the market to teach you about all the ingredients, it makes getting to know the culture and people so much more intimate
I know! When they pointed out the black chicken, I asked how they made it black and was told it’s a special type of chicken whose skin is black under the feathers! Amazing! The cooking class was such a wonderful and entertaining day, getting to know the culture, learning to make delicious food and making new friends! I’d love to do more of these for my future travels!
Those fluffy chickens are so cute, omg!!! I loved the food in Malaysia, but for some reason never took a cooking class (I did a few in Thailand and loved them). Did they offer any vegan / vegetarian options? My fave Malaysia dish is laksa! <3
They did have some vegetarian options from memory, and were really approachable and flexible. I don’t eat seafood, so they taught me a vegetarian option for the entré dish. It was such a fun day and I’d be tempted to do another class there if I’m in Kuala Lumpur again. I’d love to do classes in Thailand too!
I love traveling and eating, but honestly, I feel lazy to learn all tasty dishes I love. I cook few of them but not all.
Haha I love cooking, so for me it was a great experience!
I love reading recipes as well as attending cooking classes when I travel! Did a few in Vietnam and now I am planning to hit some schools in Thailand.
How did you find the cooking classes in Vietnam? I definitely want to go back to Thailand and do some cooking classes there. I love Thai food so much! Have a great time!
Like you, food is also a big part of my travels. I have only been to one cooking school so far, which is in Thailand. I would definitely love to make it a part of my travels next time. the ingredients definitely looked interesting. This is the first time I have seen and heard of the black chicken! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Thanks Darlene! I would love to do some cooking classes in Thailand! I love Thai food, so I hope to go back to Thailand in the future and learn to make some of my favourite dishes. And the black chicken was so odd! I had never heard of it or seen it before either!
I also love cooking classes such a fun way to explore a place. One of my favorite ever was in Cambodia. I think learning to cook some of the delicious food of Malaysia would be amazing – there are so many great dishes there! (BTW, that black chicken is so fuzzy!)
Haha The black chicken was so fluffy, and really noisy! Every now and then he’d make a screaming noise that surprised all of us! I would love to visit Cambodia! What is their cuisine like?
I love Malaysian food, and this cooking school looks fantastic. I have pinned it for future reference. Very interesting about the black chickens!
I’m glad you liked the post! I love Malaysian food too 🙂 Definitely visit LaZat cooking school if you are headed to Kuala Lumpur; it’s such a great day out!
I keep saying it over and over, I really want to do a cooking course the next time we travel. I like the class that LaZat offers because they carry you to the market so you can learn about the ingredients. This is really important I think because if you know what each ingredient does you can really cook a tasty dish. You can even incorporate some of the spices in your meal back home. That right there is the bonus.
So true! Visiting the market was interesting and a great way to learn about some ingredients I’d never heard of before. Plus, you can get advice on buying some spices to take back home too. If you are headed to Kuala Lumpur, I highly recommend LaZat!
Interesting. I’ve never heard of black chicken and am intrigued about it’s medicinal qualities. While I like eating a lot more than cooking, this sounds like a great way to get to know the culture.
Yes, I’d never heard of it before either! I was told that they don’t eat the chicken, but boil it down and make medicine from the stock. Very interesting nonetheless! And I’m the same as you Carol, I love eating! But cooking is a great way to continue the eating journey 🙂
Well you learn something every day, I had no idea that there was a variety of chicken with black flesh, he is adorable. We love to incorporate market and cooking activities on our travels too and LaZat looks like one we’d definitely enjoy cooking and eating 🙂
Thanks Toni! Yes, I’d never heard of the black chicken before either! I was so shocked to see how black the skin was! I think I’m hooked on cooking classes now and want to try to incorporate them more into our future travels! 🙂