Cooking Course

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Come rain....

Oh well I'm picked up in a taxi and taken to the local market. We meet the rest of the group, 3 lads from New Zealand, 2 ladies from Australia, a mum and a daughter from south Africa (daughter working as a teacher in south Korea) the guide hands out ponchos, think I've come well prepared with my waterproof jacket, but he hands me one anyway. He then hands out some weaved shopping baskets, this is what well be collecting the ingredients in from the market.

First stop for the shrimp (still alive : s ), we then make our way round all the vegetable stalls and get given some herbs to smell, lemon basil wow is that nice and cinnamon leaf. Next stop the meat, the whole indoor of the market is filled with female butchers, one lady hacks up some bones for our stock. Lastly we pick up the freshly made rice noodles.

All ingredients collected we jump on a boat that takes about 45minutes to get to a small pier, from here we get given the traditional Vietnamese hats and jump in a small rowing boat that takes us through the little canals of the coconut groves. A short walk to a small hut where we are shown and asked to join in the process of making rice milk (this is then used to make the rice paper and rice noodles).

The rice comes in husks, to get them out they are poured into a mill type contraption that has a long handle, you push and turn at the same time and the two stop being together breaking up the husks and rice, this then gets transfered to a large, flat, circular basket which with a very precise technique the rice is flicked and the husks fly out leaving the rice behind, looked really hard.

From here the rice is soaked for 24hours, with habit of a blue peter trick she showed us the next process with some rice she had prepared earlier.... The rice is poured into a stone basin with a hole in the middle, a lower stone is turned and it pulls the rice through the hole, grinding it at the same time. This is repeated until its only liquid left and here is your rice milk. Well just buy ours from Tesco's I think!

Round the corner is where the cooking will start, its a lovely little hut with herb gardens surrounding it, appearing to be tin the middle of nowhere, very peaceful.

So to get down to business, we all have our own work stations set up with the essential ingredients, salt, pepper, fish sauce, soya sauce and sugar.

To start we have to get into pair and get the stock on the go for the beef Poh Bo. That sizzle away form the next 2 hours.

The next is to make the peanut dipping sauce for the fresh spring rolls, wow is its this good and I'm not normally a fan of peanuts, but this stuff is gooood! The fresh spring rolls amaze me at how simple but delicious they are, will definitely be trying these out when we get home, any volunteers for Guinea pigs??

The next is the beef salad with vermicelli noodles. Again very simple but delicious.

The day is finished off by the traditional Poh Bo, I have to say by this time I'm flagging, my stomach is almost at screaming point and for me that's serious! I do manage to squeeze in a few mouth fulls but I know were meeting Marie and George for dinner tonight so I don't push it! After the cooking is all finished we are given a set of cooking chop sticks as a souvenir along with the recipes and sent back in taxis. I must say the day has been brilliant, although the chief coiuldnt speak English she certainly had a sense of humour and that speaks a thousand languages.....

By the time I arrive back its only 1.30 and Richard is engrossed in his writing, as the rain has subsided I decide I need to do something to burn off about off this food I've had if I've got any chance of eating later. So hiring a bike from across the road from the hotel I head in search of the beach.

Its not really beach weather but its nice to have a walk down and watch the waves its definitely surfer weather, but of course there's always the one Muppet that thinks they can take on the waves swimming even with the 'no swim' flag up (come to think of it I think that was me last time I went travelling, oh how times have changed!).

Time to head back and go for a fitting of my tailored shorts, even more glad for the bike ride now!

Shorts back in for alterations we head off to Ganesha Indian restaurant again for a meal with Marie and George who are quickly becoming very good friends.

Another lovely meal and we have to say our good byes, as we are off to Hanoi and they are off to Kuala Lumpa in a few days.

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