Hanoi Cooking Class

In Hanoi, we took our very first cooking class of the entire trip. Right when we walked into the charming courtyard full of glowing lights, I knew I’d seen this place. However, I’d never been to Vietnam before... Well, before I left home, I watched a video on how to make phở and it was set in this courtyard. Cool, right?

I really do love these lights. It’s wonderful how lights can completely transform a room.

Shrimp rolls were very first dish we made. The instructor was enthusiastic with a capital E. Hopping from side to side he threw up his hands and yelled “These will be the BEST SHRIMP ROLLS EVER.” I was convinced.

The recipe was basically lettuce, bell pepper, cucumber, shrimp, and rice noodles. It was good. But there’s no substitution for enthusiasm, which took this recipe from a six to a nine. Do I sound like a judge on Dancing with the Stars? That would be such a fun job right? You get paid to judge other people! Living the dream 💃🕺

Next up was banana blossom salad. Actually, I’d tried a banana flower salad once before, at a Thai restaurant in NYC called Uncle Boons. The salad was spicy, the beer was served in frozen slushie form, and the theme was “Thai boxing.” Such a good combo. This class, however, was different. I wasn’t at all sure that our banana flower recipe would be quite as tasty as something turned out by a professional chef. I was pleasantly surprised though - it was good!

Out of curiosity I tasted the raw banana flower. Unsurprisingly, it tastes like banana peel. This makes sense, since the flower is essentially surrounded by dozens of undeveloped baby banana buds. It’s the kind of tart “green” tasting fruit that makes your mouth pucker. Don’t recommend it.

However, if you thinly slice and blanche the flower, it completely changes. Gone is the green peel taste. And, once topped with a sweet-savory vinaigrette, it tastes even better. Besides banana flower, the salad featured peanuts, cilantro, shallots, sliced pork, and cooked shrimp.

I soon learned that “salad” had a malleable definition in Vietnam. In the same way that Midwesterners allow large quantities of mayonnaise, cookies, and marshmallow fluff into their “salads,” Vietnamese (and Thai) cooks think heaps of meat is permissible. Is it actually a salad? Eh, who’s to say. In this case, I’d say yes. As long as there are visible green things (i.e. cilantro leaves) swimming in between the chunks of pork and shrimp, it qualifies as salad in my book.

Showing off our finished product. And our guns 💪

Another thing I appreciate about Vietnamese cuisine is its ability to use all parts of the plant, no matter the stage of development. For example, I’ve always thought of bananas as edible if and only if I’m eating a fully grown yellow-colored fruit. Now, I realize there’s an entirely different way to consume this plant - the flower! Another underripe fruit I’d come to know and love is green mango. Again, I always considered ripe mango as the only edible iteration of this fruit. However, after trying several delicious green mango salads that showcase how tart, refreshing, and crunchy the fruit can be, I have a newfound appreciation for mango’s many uses.

Also, how cute are these baby bananas?! 🍌🍌🍌