Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Vietnamese Cooking Class.
We have just returned from a really fun day out, we went on a cooking class! The day began early in the morning at 7:30am, we were taken to the market to meet the other people in our class. The group was small with only twelve people in it so it was easy to follow what was going on. There was one chef and a guide, the guide handed each of us a shopping bag which the chef filled with ingredients. The guide went through each of the items, telling us the names and how they would be used. The market was filled with all sorts of fruit and veg, herbs and spices, the smells were amazing. We walked through the meat section, everything was raw and unfrozen, but fresh. It's a good job they took us out early! Some stalls kept their meat on cardboard on the floor, I was glad when they bought our meat from a 'cleaner' looking stall. Then we walked through the seafood section, again everything was unfrozen. They had every fish you could think of and sharks, two small female ones :-(
The market was really busy, old lady's shoved past us, they wouldn't stop for anybody! Give them a trolly in Sainsburys, they would probably run you down! There were even shoppers on motorbikes making their way through the tiny paths beeping at anyone that stood in their way. There wasn't just food at the market, there were also lots of clothes and jewellery stalls. We had to go back after our cooking class finished!
Once we had all our ingredients we all made our way to the river to catch a boat over to an island nearby. We passed traditional fishing boats and nets, it was very peaceful away from the busyness of the market. When we reached the island we dropped off our ingredients and were given traditional Vietnamese cone hats to protect us from the sun, it wasn't very sunny but it was still fun to wear them anyway. Then we took a smaller boat to a little village where we were shown how they separated rice from its shell and how to make rice milk without using machines. We all had a go at turning the wheel, it wasn't easy and seemed a lot of work for the small amount made!
Then we continued on to meet one of the men on the island, he showed us his magic turning table. He asked us to place both hands very lightly onto the wooden table then ask it to turn left or right, speed up or slow down and watch it move all on its own! At first we were convinced it must be a trick, but as it began to move we were all really confused! We all kept our eyes on the mans hands to see if he was moving it but he took them both off and it was still moving! Then when it stopped he took it apart to show us there were no wires or tricks inside. Very strange, we have no idea how it worked.
Then we stopped to try crunchy rice milk crackers. They were really nice, I loved the way everyone was too polite to take the last big peice of cracker so Chris grabbed it and split it with me lol. All the time there was a bird in a cage barking at us! Yes barking, it was imitating all the dogs on the island. Which reminds me, I asked the guide about the dog meat on the food menus in Vietnam. I wanted to know if dogs were bred on farms for eating like chickens and cows. She said no, not all restaurants agree with eating dogs because they are considered as pets but the ones that do usually just buy a dog then kill it, or if they have they will kill their own pet. They believe it's very good for pregnant women to eat. Chris still wants to eat dog but I'm still in two minds about it.
We got back on the boat and taken back to where we would begin our cooking lesson. By now we were all really hungry and couldn't wait to start. We were in a beautiful setting outside surrounded by large ponds. The area looked like it had been abandoned, it was so quiet with only us around.
We each had our own cooking stations, first the chef showed us what to do and our guide translated everything so we could understand. Then it was our turn, for our first course we made Fresh Rice Paper Salad Roles with Pork, Shrimp and a Tangy peanut Hoisin Dipping Sauce. For the second course we made Sizzling Vietnamese Crepes filled with Pork, Shrimp, Bean Sprouts and Green Onion. Served with a fresh salad with herbs and Nuoc Cham - Traditional Dipping Sauce. For the third course we made Herbed Salad with Rice, Vermicelli and Sautee Beef.
For the last course we made Beef Rice Noodle Soup. We had to boil a whole chicken head for 'extra added flavour!'
Chris almost set himself on fire when his pan went up in flames and I ate my crepe so quickly I forgot about using the sauce I made, which everyone laughed at! Chris had a lady shouting at him in Vietnamese every time he did something wrong and I managed to get through five gas stoves! They worked for everyone else!
Our guide was hilarious, she was so clumsy dropping things all the time, the whole experience was great fun and we were given a pair of cooking chop sticks! We were also given the recipes, simple ingredients were used to make four tasty dishes which we will definitely try at home.
We finished eating at 1:30pm and got dropped back at the market where we started. We thanked the chef and guide then decided to walk around for a bit. We headed straight to the clothes stall so Chris could buy some vests and shorts. He was so happy because they had his size and the clothes were really nice! We already knew a vest would cost around £3 so when the lady tried to charge Chris £45 for only three vests he laughed! We knew the lady would try to charge us more but she was taking the piss! Chris barted hard with her and managed to get the vests for just over £2 each! Not without the lady chasing him through the market first though lol. Then he bought two pairs of Billabong shorts from another stall for only £3.50 each, he's getting very good at his bartering.
We spent the rest of the afternoon in our room then went out for dinner and booked tickets for the bus going to Hue tomorrow. We didn't bother visiting the beaches here, it's too cold and windy. A couple of people said its even colder up north. Chris still insists on having the air con on though, I slept with two puffy duvets last night!
Anyway, I'm tucked under them right now, we need to get an early night tonight because we have to be up before 5am to go see the My Son Temples as the sunrises tomorrow. Chris isn't i'll anymore so we have no excuse to lay in bed this time lol.
Charlotte & Chris
- comments