Hanoi Cooking Class

March 5, 2014 at 7:46 pm  •  Posted in Art, Food, Vietnam by

Given that Vietnam is one of our “home” countries, we, of course, needed to sharpen our culinary skills from this amazingly savory and spicy country.

 

With that in mind, the 3 older kids, Lisa and I got up early one morning in Hanoi to meet Anthony, our animated chef and instructor for the day. Our mission included shopping for ingredients at the street markets, learning about local flavors and traditional bites, and making some amazing regional dishes endemic to Northern Vietnam.

Shopping for ingredients!

Shopping for ingredients!

 

Banana blossoms are used in a lot of dishes….wonder if we could cook the ones we grow in Mercer Island?!

Banana blossoms are used in a lot of dishes….wonder if we could cook the ones we grow in Mercer Island?!

Don't we wish we could buy lemongrass like this at the QFC?

Don’t we wish we could buy lemongrass like this at the QFC?

While aimlessly meandering the mazes of food markets in Asia or Africa is a life experience anyone should have, it’s a whole different experience when a local chef accompanies you. As our eyes feasted on exotic fruits, bloodied meat, writhing sea life, fresh vegetables, hopping reptiles and salted insects, Anthony introduced us to many flavors and offered invaluable tips for how a truly great Vietnamese dish is born. Before every meal, Vietnamese shop for their food that will be used in that meal at a local street market. There was much to learn. For example, the chunks of meat set out on baskets with absolutely no refrigeration may seem odd and somewhat reckless, but it was killed around 4am, just 3 hours ago. Anthony can tell because he shows us that it is sticky, a sure sign of freshness. Similarly, the noodles used in our leading candidate for Best Vietnamese Dish called Bun Cha, also must be fresh and made just hours before purchasing.

 

So hard to decide!

So hard to decide!

Lots to look at in the markets in Vietnam!

Lots to look at in the markets in Vietnam!

A personal favorite, and a way to counterbalance the potpourri of conflicting smells, is shopping for local herbs. Anthony showed us many new herbs and leafy greens while snapping up fresh basil, coriander, cilantro, lemongrass, banana flower, root vegetables and morning glory vines. We also sampled local street fare, eating a surprisingly delightful fried worm cake and some barbequed, caramelized pork.

We stopped to eat some worm pancakes for breakfast!

We stopped to eat some fried worm cake for breakfast!

 

So many fresh herbs!

So many fresh herbs!

Yve, Wescott and Otto with our spoils from the market

Yve, Wescott and Otto with our spoils from the market

With ingredients purchased, we harkened to the teaching kitchen at Anthony’s restaurant, Orchid, via a colonnade of pedicabs. Upon arrival at a wonderfully roomy kitchen, each of us donned aprons and awaited instruction by our cutting board and cleaver. Our menu included:

Hanoi Spring Rolls – a fried staple of almost every street food vendor and restaurant in the city;

Yummy spring tools hand chopped, rolled and fried by us :-)

Yummy spring tools hand chopped, rolled and fried by us :-)

Bun Cha – a flavorful dish that combines the yin of caramelized pork and noodles with the yang of hot Thai chili peppers and bright, crisp cilantro;

Anthony putting the finishing touches on our Bun Cha

Anthony putting the finishing touches on our Bun Cha

Lemongrass Chicken – a flash-fried dish with a high note of lemongrass, our favorite flavor from South East Asia;

Yve with my personal favorite, Lemongrass Chicken

Yve with my personal favorite, Lemongrass Chicken

Black Rice Pudding – a sweet, sticky confection topped with fresh yogurt

This is what our black rice pudding looked like in the end!

This is what our black rice pudding looked like in the end!

Vietnamese food is all about layering several ingredients of compatible flavors together to form an ambrosial concoction. The way that happens is through an immense amount of chopping! With a quick lesson in how not to lose your fingers to rather sharp and large cleavers, we set to work on mincing, chopping and slicing all of our spoils from the morning market. We then each tried our hand at creating ground pork. No machines here, slabs of fresh pork shoulder are placed on an enormous, thick block of teakwood, and then chopped by hand with two heavy, ancient-looking cleavers. It’s a lot of work to get it into the form of ground meat… we all tired quickly, but Anthony effortlessly pounded out rhythmic beats as he prepared the meat for making pork patties for Bun Cha.

Action shot chopping up pork shoulder for bun cha!

Action shot chopping up pork shoulder for bun cha!

 

Wescott frying up spring rolls

Wescott frying up spring rolls

Otto got quite proficient at using a cleaver! #prepcookathome

Otto got quite proficient at using a cleaver! #prepcookathome

 

We had a blast learning about how our favorite delicacies are made, and with a vibrant Vietnamese community in Seattle, we’re hopeful that we can continue to refine our skills. As with other classes in other countries, the results yielded sapid, scrumptious dishes that rivaled anything we’ve eaten thus far in Vietnam. Unfortunately, the quantities we produced could have fed everyone reading this blog, so we left feeling a bit bloated. Most importantly, we all continue to love learning about food, sharing in the creation a thoughtful meal and playing as a family in the kitchen; all activities we hope will continue long after Project Equator comes to an end.

The graduates with Anthony :)

The graduates with Anthony :)

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5 Comments

  1. Rayner / March 4, 2014 at 8:58 pm /

    We miss you, Sharples family! We follow your blogs, live vicariously through you and enjoy your entries from young to old! Not that Cliff and Lisa are old! LOL

    • Lisa / March 5, 2014 at 3:24 pm /

      Thank you Rayner!!! We are having a blast but we are missing everyone back home too! Let’s have a big get together when we return and we will cook you guys some awesome italian/greek/spanish/moroccan/tanzanian/vietnemese/thai dishes :)

  2. Nancy Murphy / March 5, 2014 at 3:47 pm /

    Fried worm cake for breakfast… clearly your culinary preferences are far more adventurous than mine!

    • Lisa / March 6, 2014 at 11:54 pm /

      We just kind of “went with it” and it was fun :)

  3. Terry Aufranc / March 7, 2014 at 11:27 am /

    That looks like the perfect way to enjoy a Vietnamese banquet. Would you give me lessons. I might skip the worm cakes.

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