Cooking Class: Hoi An Style

When we were in Luang Prabang, in Laos, we took a traditional style cooking class through one of the local restaurants. Although it was a really fun day-- we went to the market in the morning, and both learned to cook and ate a variety of lunch and dinner dishes in the afternoon, we wanted to do something a little different in the alleged culinary capital of Vietnam. Luckily, a chef and cookbook author we met in Hanoi recommended an organic farm that ran classes, and sounded a bit more our speed.

We were picked up by motorbike by our faithful instructor, Tran, early one morning at our hostel. We followed him through the rice paddy fields and arrived at his home, where he lives with four generations of family. He gave us the delicious lemon-ginger drink pictured above, while he told us about the history of the farm.

We then dressed in traditional peasant clothes, and he took us on a tour. He would point to a bed, we'd sweep our hand over top and be enveloped by the smell of a variety of herbs. It was amazing.

After we toured his farm, which has been in his family for eight generations, we set to work helping to plant our own bed. First we tilled, then we added a layer of seaweed, then we raked to create a border.

Once the bed was prepped, we were ready to plant!

After all the planting had been completed, we took turns watering. They don't have a drip irrigation system, so they use these watering buckets to water all their beds. They weigh approximately 100 lbs when completely filled with water, and can be quite difficult to balance.

After we finished planting, we were treated to herbal foot bathes and shoulder massages. Pretty shmancy, eh? Completely relaxed, we headed into the garden with Tran to pick lots of herbs to go into the steam pot with an entire chicken.

While the chicken steamed in herbs, Tran taught us how to make banh xeo. We were excited to learn how to make the same dish we had loved snacking on in Hanoi.

Crisping away in the pan

The finished product, delicious!

We ate our meal alongside the family-- a variety of vegetables, chicken and fish, all dishes native to central Vietnam.

The sticky rice was packaged like presents inside the grass leave boxes.

The moist, herby chicken, finally ready after steaming for 20 minutes.

It was a fantastic day on the farm, and with recipes straight from Tran, we'd love to cook a Vietnamese meal for you once we're settled in Chicago.