Vietnamese Cooking Class...Pho-nomenial

Michelle, Brandon, me, and Jess ready to cook...watch out Emeril

On Wednesday we decided to take a cooking class at a restaurant in Hoi An. We picked a great day to do it, because it was rainy that day and didn't rain any other day. The tour started out by going to the market to see what to buy and get explanation of food used in Vietnamese cooking.

Getting ready for the market tour

It was very interesting to see that Westerners use the biggest of everything and the Vietnamese use the small size of everything. Our tour guide explained that the smaller vegetables and fruits are more potent and have more flavor. We laughed because in the West the bigger the better, that is evidently not the case.

Fresh Chilies...these suckers are HOT!

A woman at the market

Fresh fruit...the bottom right are called "China Plums"

Noodles anyone? Each type was specific for the meat you were using (ie fish, beef, chicken)

So many eggs...pickled, aged, chicken, quail, and more I can't remember...

Fresh fish every morning

The top left is a banana leaf...I had never seen one before.

Yummy fruit

Another thing I noticed is how they do not waste anything. I have seen this in almost every country I have visited. Seriously they eat/use everything. Made me a little self-conscious about my "usage".

All of these sauces and spices went into the marinade...I was a happy girl

Cooking up some food

After the tour of the market we came back to the class and the owner of the restaurant began. She talked about the philosophy of Vietnamese food and cooking. They are very healthy and want their food with lots of flavor and texture. Nothing is processed and all the fruits and vegetables are organic. No wonder why they are people in good shape.

Marinating the chicken

We then began our dishes. Our menu was: spring rolls, crispy pancake, chicken marinated in a hand-made marinade, and mango salad. Each dish was amazing. There are so many ingredients in each dish. Mrs. Vy (the owner) told us that the Vietnamese don't eat dessert, they just include sweetness into their food. I was appalled by this, until I tasted our food and then completely understood. It was full of flavors and left a sweet taste in my mouth.

Preparing the spring rolls

Crispy pancake with shrimp and pork

Mango Salad...peeled the mango and all.

Entree-mango salad with marinated chicken

Overall, the class was awesome and it was really good food. The best part was that we made it! We also each got recipes for all the dishes we made and more. We also got a Vietnamese knife to take home (basically two knives welded together to peel stuff, but so much cooler). So if you're ever in Hoi An and want to go to a cooking class stop by Morning Glory.

Me and Jess