Hoi An - Local Markets and Cooking Class

Another beautiful morning -- fortunately, the Weather Channel forecasts of daily rain have proved total wrong, thus far.  The only moisture has been our perspiration due to the incredible humidity!  Breakfast gets better and better.  Fresh mango smoothies, Eggs Benedict, chocolate croissants, etc., etc., etc!  fortunately, the Vietnamese food has been lower calorie than the American breakfasts they've been serving us.

And, speaking of food (one of my favorite pastimes) we were in for a really fun morning.  Driving back into Hoi An, we got to participate in a private cooking class at Miss Vy's cooking academy.  A true entrepeneur, Miss Vy sold her wedding band (she did keep her husband) to finance her first restaurant.  Now she owns several restaurants in town, a hotel and has published a lovely cookbook. Two of her assistants gave us a very informative and interesting tour through the local vegetable and fruit markets.  They explained the main herbs used in Vietnamese cooking and their purpose as well as nutritional benefits.  One of my favorite dishes has been banana flower salads and I finally learned exactly where the main ingredient comes from on the banana plant.  We learned about uses for green mangoes and bananas, dragon fruit, papaya skin and many other ingredients.

Once we had completed our shopping list, we walked back through the Old Town to the Morning Glory Restaurant, one of Miss Vy's restaurants where she also has her cooking class. Miss Vy met us and escorted us to a room that had been completely transformed into a cooking class.

She began by telling us a little of her past history and the process of becoming a restaurant owner.  She explained in a very entertaining manner the nutritional value and uniqueness of Vietnamese cuisine.  There is virtually no dairy products in their diet and very little red meat, but they get their calcium and iron through plants and herbs used in their daily diets.  The class was very organized and each of us had the ingredients we needed to prepare the dish she described.  First, we made delicious wraps with rice paper, a few shrimp, very thin slices of pork tenderloin, herbs and a small, fried roll.  They were soooo good and more dishes followed. 

Next we prepared marinated boneless chicken that was then grilled by the staff (she didn't trust us with fire -- a wise decision!). Our final dish was called a crispy Hoi An Pancake and was a cross between a tortilla and a crepe filled with shrimp, pork slices, green banana and star fruit slices and topped with sweet and sour sauce.  Again, absolutely delicious.

By now it was 1pm and we had the choice of staying in Hoi An to do some shopping (great town for silk) or returning to The Nam Ha. We were all pretty warm by now, and the memory of that beautiful pool and/or ocean was too enticing.  We all returned to the resort and spent a wonderful, relaxing afternoon.

Some clouds came in about sunset and provided a breathtaking end to a wonderful day.

Dinner tonight will be at the resort, and, if it's anything like breakfast, it will be fabulous.
Sadly, we must leave this paradise and drive to Danang for a morning flight to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).  We'll enjoy Saigon I'm sure but will leave Hoi An with incredible memories.

Tomorrow from Saigon..
Linda
FYI - Not a drop of rain until I wrote about our good weather and we had to move under cover when it began to rain tonight on our dinner by the pool.  Tend to forget the power of suggestion that I have!