Ane Klaassens, owner of Aa Haan Restaurant

Saturday 8th October at 12:30 Ane Klaassens owner of Aa Haan Restaurant.

Ane is from Thailand and is passionate about her native cuisine. Her restaurant has an open plan kitchen so diners can watch their delicious meal being cooked.

Good food has always been an important part of Ane’s life since she was a little girl. She is passionate about creating authentic Thai recipes using of local ingredients without losing the original authentic flavours. She enjoys sharing her healthy, balanced and uplifting food with everyone so she decided to open a Thai restaurant. Ane uses the restaurant as a base for private catering functions, cookery lessons for individuals, groups and also company team building. Ane also works as a private chef,

Thai food has a reputation for being spicy but is not always. Ane will adapt her recipes for those who can't eat spicy food. Thai cooking places emphasis on lightly prepared dishes with strong aromatic components and a spicy edge. One distinctive aspect of Thai food is the use of fresh herbs and spices. It is based on a balance between different flavours including spicy, sour, sweet, salty, and bitter. This goes beyond simply combining the flavours within an individual dish. The contrasting flavours are incorporated between two or three different dishes. This is one reason why Thai people share meals and eat family style.

There are regional variations in what is typically considered Thai food. This is due to the influences of neighbouring countries, such as China, Laos, Burma, and Malaysia. Thai food has an intricacy and attention to detail. Texture, colour and taste and the use of ingredients with medicinal benefits are important, as is good flavour. Thai cooking not only pays attention to how a dish tastes, it is also concerned with how it looks, how it smells and how it fits in with the rest of the meal. This is what makes Thai cuisine one of the most popular cuisines in the world.

One of Ane’s favourite dishes is Pad Thai. It is a balanced meal of stir fried rice noodles commonly served as street food or at casual local eateries in Thailand. It is made with rice noodles which are stirred friend with some vegetables and can be either vegetarian or with meat and is combined with egg and tamarin sauce. Pad Thai is served with a topping of chilli, ground peanut and fresh lime juice. Pad Thai was made popular in Thailand during World War II and has since become one of Thailand national dishes.