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30.10. Cooking Class

Publisert: 31.10.2018

Sometimes there is nothing better in the world than food. And every culture has its own recipes and views about this special pastime that we engage in several times a day. We wanted to learn more about it and experience what it's like to cook in Vietnam, as this country is currently providing us with its cuisine.

After a relaxing morning at the beach, we took our bikes to the starting point of a cooking class. The beginning involved strolling with our teacher through the Central Market and listening to what she could tell us about the masses of products. We were fortunate to be the only ones registered, so we had a private cooking class and the full attention of our incredibly nice teacher. She told us a lot, so much that I unfortunately can't write down much afterwards; it would have been too much anyway... In addition to many exotic fruits that we could now try, we also learned a lot about the different departments of the Central Market. There were departments for fish, fruit, vegetables, everyday items, and souvenirs, but in the afternoon it was very quiet everywhere, as the vendors took a nap or played cards. The daily market opens at 4 o'clock and has its busiest phase in these first hours of the day. It would be so crowded that you couldn't really walk freely anymore, as at this time all the restaurants and local market owners would be buying their goods for the next day, such as fish. Besides the fruit, we also tried a bean shake, which didn't look very tasty because it was made from several bean sauces and varieties mixed together, but it was simply delicious, and sweets wrapped in banana leaves.

Fruits of the market
Fruits of the market
The bean shake
The bean shake
The cooking school is called Grandmas' Cooking Class, and after the market tour we went to the island where our teacher spent her childhood with her grandmother and learned to cook from her. Said grandmother is still alive and is now 94 years old, but she still welcomed us on the island and showed us how to separate rice from the chaff. The small island was beautiful and far from Hoi An, but it only had an elementary school and no hospital.

After a welcome drink and more nice conversations with the teacher, we started with the first course: grilled pork wrapped in rice paper and salad. After being shown how rice milk is made, we made our own rice paper in the traditional way and then marinated and grilled our meat on it.

Rice paper production
Rice paper production
Before
Before
In between
In between
After
After
As soon as a course was finished, we ate it immediately, and this grilled marinated meat in rice paper was incredibly delicious. We cooked outdoors, so it slowly became dark around us and we could hear the insects of the night. After the first dish, we had a papaya salad made mainly from green papaya, carrot, chili, and shrimp. A nice contrast to the savory meat.
Before
Before
After
After
The third course was a rice pancake. The pancake consisted mainly of rice flour, which is often used for cooking here, as the flour we use in Europe is only used for baking here. The dough was enhanced with various spices, garlic, onions, and a piece of pork and shrimp. The finished pancake was then wrapped again with rice paper and salad and eaten.
Before
Before
After
After
The last dish we prepared was a tuna, which sizzled in homemade sauce made from caramel and fish sauce, pepper, brown sugar, onions, garlic, and chili, and then eaten with rice. Like all the dishes, this fish was delicious, even though I'm not usually a big fan of fish. We were also served a sweet pumpkin-peanut cream and lotus tea, and it ended with a dessert made from mashed and sweetened black beans.
Before
Before
In between
In between
After
After
Dessert
Dessert
We were really full after that, so we took the boat home at 8 o'clock and then went through the night Hoi An back to our hostel one last time.

This cooking class will definitely be one of the highlights of this trip. Andra and I had a lot of fun cooking and talking with our teacher. In addition, homemade food always tastes the best, and you are proud to have prepared a 4-course meal. Tomorrow we will continue on the motorcycle to Hue over a beautiful pass over the mountains with a view of the sea.

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