Cooking Class in Hoi An, Vietnam

Red Bridge Cooking School

by Sandra Scott

The images of the beautiful scenery and friendly people have stayed with me since the first time my husband and I visited Vietnam ten years ago. Many things have changed in the past ten years. Tourism has grown by leaps and bounds but the country is still beautiful and the people are still friendly. The city of Hoi An is great for exploring, shopping, dining – and learning how to cook. On my first trip to Vietnam I developed a love for Vietnamese food. There are many places that offered Vietnamese cooking lessons but the Red Bridge Cooking School had received rave reviews - now I know why.

A group of 20 wannabe chefs met at the Hai Café at 8:15 in the morning and got acquainted over a cup of ginger tea. With Ms. Het as the guide for my group of six, we walked to the morning market where she showed us all the ingredients we would use in our recipes. She pointed out that ginger and turmeric may look alike but the turmeric is orange on the inside. She introduced us to fruits and vegetables I had never seen before such as banana flowers, dragon fruit, and bitter melon. As professional as an infomercial reporter, she showed us how to use some very unique, essential, and inexpensive Vietnamese cooking utensils, which of course, I just had to buy.

After the market tour, we boarded a boat for the 25-minute ride on the Hoi An River to the cooking school. The ride was worth the price. I loved watching the fishermen cast their nets up the water and watching life along the river. We arrived at a small town and walked to the cooking school. I was impressed with the tidy pastel-colored homes that looked freshly painted. At the school, Het continued our education by explaining about the various herbs growing in the school’s garden.

The lesson started in an open-air pavilion next to the river. We were given clipboards, the recipes, and a pen to take notes. Chef Thanh, always ready with a quip, pointed to the mirror strategically placed about his table, “We call it Vietnamese TV. You can see everything. If you pay good attention you will make a good lunch. If not you have do it again – but at home!” e watched as Chef Thanh deftly sliced the papaya, mango, lotus root, banana flower, carrots, cucumber, and onions for the Seafood Salad while telling us what can be substituted if we can not get the traditional ingredients. He added the sliced shallots, shrimp, squid, crushed ginger, and black pepper. In the end everything was tossed together. “Ok, Now you try! Go to your cooking stations.”

Each cooking station had a gas hotplate with all the ingredients and utensils laid out for us. The lesson continued in that manner. Chef Thanh demonstrated, then we cooked. We made Vietnamese Eggplant in Clay Pot. “Back to your seats. I will demonstrate how to make rice paper. Watching a clay pot is very boring.” The hardest thing of all to master was the art of making Fresh Rice Paper. I love Fresh Vietnamese Spring Rolls, but I doubt I will ever be able to make the rice paper from scratch. It isn’t just preparing the rice batter that is the problem. A scoop of batter is placed on a piece of thin white cotton above a pot of boiling water, then covered. The trick is knowing exactly when the rice paper was ready. Only a few of us ended up with a perfect one! The kitchen helpers made sure we all had one perfect one even if they had to make it for us. I filled mine with the veggie and shrimp mix but could not roll it so it looked professional. Takes practice for sure!

The Hoi An Pancakes were much easier. It was back to our frying pans at our cooking stations. We started with two capfuls of oil, “Vietnamese teaspoon,” Chef Thanh explained humorously. “It is hot enough when you can smell it. If it smokes it is too hot and you could turn into a human pancake!

The last lesson dealt with food decorations. I will need more practice for this, too. Try as I might I had trouble slicing the cucumber thin enough to curl into a Vietnamese Fan. When one would break because it was too thick, Thanh said, “Eat your mistakes!” I ate quite a few!

We watched, we cooked, we sampled, and then, to my amazement we went to the dining area and had Vietnamese Eggplant in Clay Pot, which I had forgotten all about! It was finally ready but by that time we were all quite full!

It was a wonderful morning. Sated and relaxed I enjoy the boat ride back to Hoi An with a new appreciation for the Vietnamese food and the skill it takes to prepare. Hoi An’s Red Bridge Cooking School is one of the best value tours I have ever taken… a market tour, boat ride, cooking lesson, and a complete meal for $18!

For more information check www.visithoian.com. For luxurious all-villa accommodations that offers a free shuttle to Hoi An, check Nam Hai, www.ghmhotels.com. For accommodations within walking distance of the historic section check Vinh Hung Resort, www.vinhhunghotels.com.vn, and Life Resorts, www.life-resorts.com