Vietnamese Cooking Class
When I learned much more than recipes
🎬 Sometimes the story keeps writing itself even after it ends – A behind-the-scenes moment is waiting at the end of this post, for The Secret Journey members only.
📍Hoi An, Vietnam
One of the most popular attractions in Hoi An, and Vietnam in general, is a Vietnamese cooking class, because Vietnamese food is simply excellent by all accounts. You can find various prices depending on the package you choose - from simple classes by the riverside to luxury workshops with 50-dish menus that can cost up to $50 per person.
I admit I was tempted for a moment by such a luxury course because I saw air conditioning in the background of the photos, but I really wanted to do the famous coconut boat ride. So I let go of the air conditioning for a moment, hoping I wouldn't regret it.
I didn't regret it for a moment.
This is a unique experience - combining local market, river rides in coconut boats, and of course the cooking itself. This way you get to know behind the scenes of Vietnamese cuisine, hear explanations about the differences between types of noodles, and all the butcher workers in the covered market area are women - an insight that the vegetarian girl on our tour was the first to notice - maybe she was looking for something else to focus on besides the red meat around us.
After the market tour we reached the river and boarded the famous coconut boats. Some might say it's a tourist gimmick, but I think it's a really cool experience.
I got on the boat with a charming Canadian girl who's been traveling here for a month. It turns out she knows how to count to 100 in Vietnamese, which I discovered when she started talking to the elderly man who rowed us. He doesn't know a word of English, but was so happy and excited that she understood his Vietnamese, and they counted together to 100 out loud.
How such basic and simple communication can make someone happy and create a real bridge between cultures. This was far beyond numbers - it was a statement of "I care enough to learn your language." It moved me to see this from the side and definitely gave me inspiration and motivation to learn more myself.
What else amazed me on this cruise was that I got to see the most remote office in the world - in the middle of the river, a guy sitting on a boat with a laptop. All I could think about was how introverted do you have to be to isolate yourself like that? It was really funny.
We reached the busy area of the river, where something that looked like an amusement park ride in the middle of the river was revealed to me - circles of coconut boats gathering around one boat where a tourist sits and a man spins the boat at crazy speed.
I'd seen this in tons of social media videos and knew it was something I wanted to try. I added 100K dong (~$4) and got on. I filmed all this with my smart glasses, and the moment you see the video you'll understand why it's called 'water luna park'.
Recommended to watch before eating 🥴
Beyond the popular video everyone has - someone filming from another boat - I also have a special video from the boat itself that shows exactly how it feels to be on the boat during the crazy spins. It was really fun as I expected, but after a full minute I asked them to stop because I felt completely dizzy. Lucky I hadn't eaten anything yet.
Later in the cruise we stopped by trees growing out of the water, and pulled out fishing rods. The guide called it "crab fishing," but to me it felt more like participating in a show that's been running here twice a day for a decade.
The first crab took the bait with the enthusiasm of a new actor who just got a leading role - maybe it was his first day. He was caught, of course, and put in a small box.
Seconds later, the real star arrived: a larger crab, with purple claws, who looked like someone who signed a contract with Vietnam's maritime ballet. He slipped from the hook, landed directly in our coconut boat, and brought with him a whole scene of drama - screams, panic, heart palpitations - and then the guide caught him at just the right moment, as if it was part of the script.
Both were placed in the same box, and there, instead of fighting, they started circling tiredly, like two actors who returned from rehearsals and don't even have the energy to pretend. Occasionally, small bubbles rose from their mouths, and I swear I heard the following conversation:
– "Really, again the scene with the hook?" – "Yeah... new tourists. Go with the flow." – "You mean do the bubble thing again? That's so 2021." – "What do you want? That's what the audience loves." – "I need to talk to my agent."
"They'll release us soon, right?" – "Of course. Just smile for the photo and don't pinch anyone, I'm tired of the complaints."
A few minutes later, they were released back into the water, probably to their backstage area among the mangrove roots, to change costumes and wait for the next group. And I, for a moment, wondered if this wasn't a trap - but a deal: they get a meal on the house, and we get interactive entertainment with a happy ending for everyone. What's called: win-win.
I know most of you aren’t packing your bags for Vietnam right now, but if you're curious about what’s waiting on the other side of the screen, here’s something I found that might light up a new corner of the world for you.
Bamboo workshop, leather crafting workshop, coffee making workshop, wood carving workshop, Jewelry workshop, embroidery workshop, knife making workshop, pottery workshop, painting workshop, traditional hat making workshop, perfume blending workshop, cocktail mixing workshop, traditional lantern making workshop (the most popular one!), and even a buffalo riding workshop.
We reached the open kitchen on the riverbank, and I understood that no air conditioning could replace this atmosphere. The breeze from the river helped a bit, but mainly, there was a special atmosphere there.
First, we learned the behind-the-scenes of Vietnamese cuisine - the processes of making rice milk and the famous pancakes made from it, and we experienced everything ourselves. From grinding rice as raw material to turning it into milk, everything of course by hand.
Our lovely chef spoke English very good English and was clear and kind. She explained how to make each dish, and it was a bit stressful - I remembered the first instructions easily, but instructions for a whole dish were already too much for me. Like me, many faces looked confused and answered "no" when she asked if we remembered everything.
"Don't worry, I'm here with you" she said and reassured us.
On the tables were perfectly arranged all the ingredients - spices in a row, carrots, and all the tools. It was so convenient and easy, and interesting to understand that the things we eat are made from a few simple ingredients.
I learned a technique that will stay with me forever: don't soak rice paper in water! This was a complete surprise. Instead, the chef advised to dip only the edges of the round rice paper in a circular motion like a wheel, place it on the work surface, and wet the palm and with it lightly wet the rice paper on both sides. It was convenient to work with!
We started with the famous spring roll, and it was so easy! But the star of the course was undoubtedly the amazing peanut-butter-soy sauce. I didn't think a sauce could be so delicious - and its secret is crushed and lightly fried garlic. Yummy!
Garlic is the main ingredient in Vietnamese cuisine, and maybe that's why I eat Vietnamese food with such an appetite. It's hard to find Vietnamese dishes without garlic, and maybe that's why they're healthy people.
In the background, we also made pho soup with meat - the first thing we did was let the meat cook for a long time with apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper and fish sauce.
The chef added: "It's very healthy for the body, but don't smell it", and said "Today we'll cook the meat for an hour and a half because of the course time, but when you cook at home, give it at least 5 hours." I wondered if I'd ever cook something for 5 hours.
We learned to work with long chopsticks for cooking, and even how to jump meat so flames come out of the pan. Others succeeded nicely, but I wasn't patient enough to wait for my pan to smoke, and put the meat in too early. No flame, unfortunately.
We also cooked Vietnamese crepes that looked like a taco, and noodles with meat and vegetables that were simply excellent. Everything was so fun and delicious! We left very full.
At the end of the course, we received a file with all the recipes we made so we could do it again at home, and a set of long chopsticks for cooking as a gift.
The complete recipes with all the details are waiting for you in the behind-the-scenes section.
I left there with a full belly, new chopsticks, and a feeling that this was one of the best days I've had here.
Peanut-butter-soy sauce: see you soon! 🥢
This video was captured with my Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses – my favorite way to share the world through my eyes and take you along for the ride.
If you're curious about them, here's the exact model I use.
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