Day 13 - 19/04/2018 - Hoi An - Cooking Class and Markets

Today we did a Vietnamese cooking class, first stop was to the markets to buy the fresh ingredients for the dishes we would be cooking. We were each given a shopping bag.

Silk worms

Isaacs bag with the meat.

The prawns were still alive sometimes jumping out of the basket, very fresh ingredients!!

We then went on a boat along the river for about half an hour then transferred to a smaller boat.

This is a rice mill, used to grind up the rice into a paste, these are not really used anymore people now buy rice flour and mix with water for the same result. It was hard work turning towards the end as the rice and water thickened.

 

Time to cook :)

First dish rice paper rolls with a peanut sauce

Each dish was demonstrated by our guide and chef Hon, we would then go back to our own tables and make the dish ourselves.

Next up were Vietnamese pancakes. The batter uses the rice we milled at the start and is a crispy pancake with pork and prawns, you then fill it with lettuce and herbs and fold with rice paper.

Flipping the pancake

Isaacs dish just before the plate fell onto the floor, within seconds someone had rushed over and given Isaac the one the chef cooked for him to eat.

Cooking the beef for the noodle salad

Final dish was Beef Pho

 We had a great day cooking with Hon, delicious food and lots of fun

Hoi An night markets. They have traditional games set up that you can participate in, Malayah had a go of the pot breaking game, your face is covered with a mask so you cannot see and then you have to walk forward and smash the pot with the stick in only one hit. Unfortunately she swung a little bit to the left of the pot and missed.

So many beautiful lanterns everywhere

Mango, yum

Each night when we return to our hotel there is a Vietnamese story left on our bed with a small treat, rice crackers or lollies, it has been fun to come home and read these together each night.