During our time in Hoi An, we had so much yummy Vietnamese food that Meg decided we needed to go on a cooking class to unlock the mysteries of pho and other culinary delights.
The day started early with a visit to an organic veggie farm, where we sampled an array of pungent herbs and collected some ingredients for our lesson.
On to the local market to collect more ingredients, we saw vast piles of veg and herbs, every cut of fresh meat you can imagine, fish and seafood galore, and a few live ducks sat in amongst the melee observing it all.
Then it was on to the school for a refreshing dip in the lovely pool before our chef instructor Phi (like fee-fi-fo-fum, as he put it) got us suited up in our Red Bridge Cooking School aprons.
We made beef broth for pho (key- barbecue all ingredients before adding to pot) and then proceeded to make our own rice noodles by hand. Even Mark got in on the action, especially when the time came to slice the noodles up with a giant cleaver!
Other dishes, which we all ate for lunch, included lemongrass shrimp grilled in banana leaf, clay-pot fish and chicken and banana flower salad. As we relaxed in the pool after our delicious lunch, we reflected that although we were confident we could reproduce the noodle making feat (how hard can it be?), finding a banana flower stockist in London may prove more of a challenge.
That evening we went out for a few local beers with our new cooking friends Steph and Jon to celebrate our achievements, and had a rather later start the following morning in consequence...
You got some great pics of the cooking day! Do you reckon you could send us a copy of the one of all four of us! Hope you enjoy halong bay as much as we did. Heading to HCMC tonight which involves the last of ourmammorh overnight buses in Vietnam! Can't wait!!
ReplyDeleteHiya
ReplyDeleteThat cooking day likes really good fun, hope you are going to dish up some of that when you're back - try Soho for the banana leaves.
Got to tell you this about the boss, went for post England victory drinks in the City with the sales team and he kept on about 'will your husband mind you getting home late etc' and after a few glasses of Chablis I said 'I'm divorced and over it' - he was so apologetic and guilty that I'd worked for him for a year and he didn't know. My friend at work Annu and I had a right old laugh about it yesterday.
Anyway, will be cheering England Sunday, don't know if I can stand the stress...
Lots of love Mum xx
Man, the very idea of learning the cuisine of a country you are visiting, thats amazing :) u guys sure did have a seriously good time !!
ReplyDelete