Vietnamese Cooking Class - Hoi An

Jan. 23, 2010

This morning we attended at cooking class at one of the local restaurants. We arrived a little before 10 a.m. and we started preparing several dishes. It was just the two of us and the instructor, who spoke good English. We started off by making Garlic & Lemongrass fish wrapped in banana leaves. Kristin actually cut the whole raw fish and prepared it, and they had us slice up the various different ingredients and smash them in the mortar and pestle. We had to wrap the fish up in the banana leaves and then grill it for about 20 minutes.

We also made fried vegetable spring rolls, garlic-onion spinach, fried squid with lemongrass, garlic and chili, and our favorite, the fried wontons with the tomato and pineapple sauce. She did use a couple of ingredients that we don't normally use in the states, like choko (a cucumber-like potato), for the spring rolls but she told us that we could use sweet potato instead at home. She was also helpful in telling us how to make the fresh spring rolls, which just use a different kind of rice paper and you steam the paper and vegetables before rolling it up.

As we were making the wontons, she brought out some pre-made wontons. We asked her if she makes these and she told us that there is only one family in the Hoi An area that makes these and they then supply to all the eateries; then each restaurant just makes their own sauce. She said this is the same with the special noodles used for the Cao Lau dish as well. My guess is that those families are pretty well off if they are the only ones making those specialty type foods.

Since we started a little early we were done cooking by 11:00 and could then enjoy our creations. At that point we were wishing that we hadn't ate breakfast that morning because there was so much yummy food sitting in front of us! However, between the two of us we managed to eat most of it. But we definitely won't have to eat very much the rest of the day...

Since we were there in the morning we also were able to watch them prepare for the day. Each of the vendors would stop by and drop off their different items. One man stopped off with the bag of fresh vegetables and another with the bottles of beer. It is pretty amazing what they can do with such basic utilities and food. The kitchen is so basic and they just have a hot burner attached to a gas tank to cook and their grill is one of the small ones people would use back home for camping with charcoal inside. They use pans of water to wash the dishes in as well. In some senses it is very primitive. Luckily they shared the recipes and the instructions with us so we can make the delicious recipes when we get home!

This afternoon we're catching a flight to Hanoi for $36, which we're excited about because it is only an hour of transportation compared to 16+ hours on either the bus or train. Plus, it is roughly the same price for both options as well, but the hostel we booked at in Hanoi will also pick us up at the airport for free since we are staying 2 nights. Can't beat those cheap prices for airfare!