One of the things I was excited about doing on our return visit to Vietnam was taking a Vietnamese cooking class. When we were in Hanoi, I did a bunch of research on the various options. Most of the ones in Hanoi got mixed reviews, but there was one in Nha Trang, Lanterns, that got consistent raves. It was also very reasonable at $14 for a 5 hour class (vs. 2-4 times that price in Hanoi). So this morning we took some time off from beach bumming and arrived at 9AM for our class. There were two other attendees, a nice Swedish couple, so it was a very intimate lesson.
The day began with a cyclo ride to the local market. Though we could have walked to the market in about 15 minutes, it was fun to indulge in our first ever cyclo ride without any haggling involved.
When we got to the market our teacher, Lam, gave us a bunch of tips for shopping for ingredients. For example, cucumbers should be dark and not too soft.
Lam explaining that when buying carrots, you need to look at the core and only get ones with small stems (like the one on the right)
After we purchased rice paper wrappers, sweet soybean sauce, vegetables, fish and chicken, Lam treated us to freshly pressed sugar cane juice. On our way out we went through the fruit section, where Lam told us how to choose:
- dragonfruit – the spikes should be poking straight out and the skin should be bright fuschia
- soursop – the skin shouldn’t be spiky and they shouldn’t be too big
- mango – there are 3 different types of mangoes in Vietnam. The green ones are the prettiest and the biggest but don’t have much flavor. The yellow-green ones are a little smaller and sweeter. The best (and sweetest) are the smallest, slightly dirty-looking skinned ones. We bought two. :)
We also walked down the “big hunks of meat” section of the market, where Lam purchased some pork for the meat-eaters’ spring rolls. She pointed to some of the more “exotic” pieces on display and explained: “we eat every part of the animal. We don’t waste anything. If part the animal doesn’t taste good, we make it taste good.”
Finally equipped with all of the necessary ingredients, it was back to Lanterns to put on our aprons, roll up our sleeves, and get to work. First course: rice paper rolls.
First we sauteed the shrimp in coconut oil with ginger and shallots, and sliced them in half to make them thin enough for the rolls. Then we prepared the vegetables (shredded carrots, cucumbers sliced lengthwise, lettuce and Thai basil). The last step was the trickiest – assembling the rice paper rolls. Lam demonstrated how to wet the rice paper using a bowl of water and splashing the rice paper with your hand. Then you leave a little bit of rice paper hanging over the lip of the plate, add the veggies, roll partway and add the shrimp so that you can see them on the outside. She also taught us a flower garnish using a tomato top, basil, and hoisin sauce.
Cooking the shrimp and showing off the final product
After a brief intermission to enjoy our spring rolls, it was on to the main course: ginger chicken in clay pot.
The key thing about clay pot dishes is to allow lots of time for marinating and cooking. Usually you marinate the fish (or meat) overnight, and cook it slowly in the clay pot for 8 hours or so. We were on an accelerated schedule, so had to make some small compromises. We started marinating the chicken before embarking on spring rolls. The marination process entails putting garlic and shallots in the clay pot, followed by sliced onions, then chicken, ginger, chilies, and sauce. The sauce ingredients were 1 tbsp fish sauce, 1/2 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp stock, and 1 tbsp water.
Before we put the covered pot on the stove we added water to fill half the pot. After the ingredients cooked (about 20 minutes), we uncovered the pot so that the sauce would reduce and clarify. The richness of the sauce is proportional to the amount it reduces, so you don’t want to rush this step.
mmmm….ginger….
Lam pulled a Martha Stewart and brought out sliced vegetables and a bowl of steamed rice from the kitchen and we had a leisurely lunch. After some relaxation it was time for dessert: banana spring rolls.
Banana spring rolls are a traditional Vietnamese dessert, though the recipe can be applied to anything from vegetables to fish and chips. First you mix together flour, water, and sugar for the main batter. Then you slice a banana in half, coat it lightly in the batter and drop it into a bowl of panko. Drop it into extremely hot oil, fry quickly so that the banana stays firm, and fish it out when it’s lightly brown. Add a scoop of ice cream and decorate with chocolate sauce.
Lam showing off the proper consistency of banana spring roll batter
Dessert!
Overall, a very enjoyable experience. We left with a recipe book in hand, and by 2PM we were back on the beach!
