Vietnamese Cooking Class

So if you haven't noticed already (we have tried to lay out there for you), we are totally eating our way throughout Southeast Asia. And not only do we want to just eat it while we are here, we want to be able to bring it home to our family and friends. So of course, one of the very first activities that we booked for our trip was a cooking class in Hoi An. We wanted an experience that taught us traditional, good ol' homecooked Vietnamese food and Green Bamboo Cooking School was exactly what we are looking for. Van, the owner, was incredible...I can't count how many times I turned to Kyle and said "she is adorable/awesome/amazing/<insert compliment here>".

The setup of the class was exactly what we are looking for. 10 lucky individuals select a meal of their choosing from a list of over 50 Vietnamese traditional meals. You all go to the local market together to get all of the ingredients and go back to Van's house to make the magic happen. Everyone does the prep work side by side and then each person cooks his/her meal in front of everyone else (no pressure) and then you eat. So cook, eat, cook, eat...repeat 10 times and end with a wheelbarrow to push you home.

So our day started with a trip to the local market and in true, complete tourism form, we all had to wear the Vietnames triangular hats (super attractive, I know). Kyle and I have visited quite a few of the local markets during our time in Vietnam but half the time we just walk through not having a clue what we are looking at or in all candidness, being slightly terrified. Having Van there to explain everything to us and answer all of our many questions was beyond perfect. We were able to sample some of the local herbs, fruits and even taste the fresh coconut that we later used to make our very own coconut milk! The meat and seafood section is by no means for the faint at heart. Van taught us all of the tricks of the trade like how to pick the freshest fish (the eyes should be clear, not milky and the gills should be bright red/pink...now you know too for the next time you buy a whole fish). The market was a wonderful way to start the day.

After a quick coffee break, we all put on our aprons and started chopping away! The variety of meals that people chose was absolutely perfect. Kyle and I both chose two of our favorites meals in Vietnam: Bun Bo Nam Bo and Banana Blossom Salad. Bun Bo Nam Bo is the dish that we had every single day while in Hanoi and Banana Blossom Salad was actually something we tried for the first time in Hoi An. We had never seen Banana Blossom before and it was quite interesting making it. You use the entire blossom except for the baby bananas...oh yes folks, you read that right...baby bananas. I think the fact that I saw baby bananas and hearing Van say "baby" over and over again in Vietnamese (it is adorable) made my day.

So after we all finished our prep, we all took our turn in the hot seat (get it, we were cooking at the stove, I'm hilarious, I know). It was actually quite nerve racking cooking in front of everyone especially since we were using chopsticks for everything but everyone was so nice and all of the dishes turned out beautifully (or brilliant as our Irish cooking friends would say). Some of favorites included ours (of course!), grilled fish wrapped in banana leaves, chicken curry and stuffed squid (seeing the squid prepared was crazy!).

The entire day was perfect...we met great people, ate amazing food and totally left with a food coma and food babies! And to top it off, we bought some of the incredible knives we cooked with for $12/each! We were already sending things home...so why not! The cooking class, all thanks to Van, was more than we could have hoped for. And thanks to her awesome recipe book she gave us, we know have plenty of recipes to share with all of you...we will even cook it with our long cooking chopsticks!