True immersion in local culture, the experience starts with a stroll in the local market accompanied by the Chef, to discover Vietnamese ingredients. Here you will be dazzled by the bright colours of the fruits and vegetables and smell the sweet and not so sweet smells as you’re guided around the market. Watch the locals pick their daily food and haggle over the price. Feel free to join in the process and have a go at haggling with the help of your chef. This is followed by a cookery demonstration in the kitchen where everyone plays an active role. The typical dishes you will have the chance to make include : spring rolls or grilled chicken with lemon leave. After class, lunch is served to sample the different dishes prepared during the demonstration. Of course, you may not expect to become an expert after just few hours, yet good fun and top value for money is always guaranteed.
ABOUT VIETNAMESE CUISINE
Vietnamese food has long been appreciated in France, yet, it was the U.S residents who discovered its fine features. Vietnamese chefs like to refer to their cooking as "the nouvelle cuisine of Asia." Indeed, with the heavy reliance on rice, wheat and legumes, abundance of fresh herbs and vegetables, minimal use of oil as well as treatment of meat as a condiment rather than a main course, Vietnamese food has to be among the healthiest on the planet.
Cuisine in the country with more than 70,000,000 people differs strikingly between the north, south and central regions, but two key features stand out.
Firstly, rice plays an essential role in the nation's diet as it does throughout Southeast Asia. Humorous speaking, Vietnamese is noodle-crazy. You have seen regularly the appearance of noodle in their breakfast, lunch and dinner, in homes, restaurants and at roadside stands. Noodles are eaten wet and dry, in soup or beside soup, and are made in different shapes and thicknesses of wheat, rice and mung beans such as bun cha, Cao Lau, Hue beef noodle, bun rieu…Rice is also a main ingredients for making banh chung, banh bao, banh xeo, banh beo, xoi…
Secondly, no meal is complete without fresh vegetables and herbs. Thanks to the tropical climate, fresh vegetables are available all the year round. As the result, dishes with fresh vegetable become familiar with every family, especially with poor people in the old days. Some popular dishes are canh, goi ngo sen, nom du du, rau muong, ca phao…Vietnam can also be considered as a tropical paradise of dessert and beverage with che, sugarcane, fruit smoothies, bubble tea…
With different cooking methods, different dishes were made, extremely enjoyed and gradually popularized in the country. A key portion of every meal from the North, the Central to the South is a platter containing cucumbers, bean threads, slices of hot pepper, sprigs of basil, coriander, mint and a number of related herbs found principally in Southeast Asian markets.