Untether The Dirigible! : Adventures in Vietnamese Cookerie

I blame the constant bombardment of chilies we sustained in Thailand for forcing my taste buds into a state of shock and submission. Poor things were terrified by the time they got to Vietnam. They were numb to flavors they once reacted to, fearful of that spicy bully popping up in the most unexpected of places. Perhaps this is why the food in Vietnam has taken some getting used to.

It wasn't until we made our way South to Hoi An that we started to appreciate to the subtler flavors that make Vietnamese food famous. (It also took that long to get over our fear of street food in this country - cleanliness and food hygiene are relative concepts).

Spicy, sweet, salty and sour are still the bosses in this country. Thanks to a somewhat sordid history with the French, a lasting legacy of delicious bread exists. My limited awareness of Vietnamese cuisine was restricted to Bahn-Mi and Pho Bo, so it was definitely time for a cooking class!

Our class started with a tour of the local market and an introduction to sugar cane juice. (Made by pressing husked fresh sugar cane with a lime, serving with ice. We discovered later that it is also the perfect compliment to local rum.) En route to the class, we enjoyed a few boat rides and got to try our hands at making rice powder and rice milk. It's amazing the things you can do with rice.

We made 4 delicious dishes, including Pho, Bun Bo Nam Bo, Bahn-Xeo and fresh spring rolls. Bahn-Xeo is a Vietnamese pancake/taco, made using rice flower to make a crepe, filling it with shrimp, pork, green onion and bean sprouts, then wrapping it all up in rice paper and serving it with a spicy-sweet sauce.

Bun Bo Nam Bo is a beef noodle salad, although we're still not sure how to find it as sometimes Bun Bo Nam Bo also means soup here, but not to be confused with Pho, which seems to always be soup! Other favorites have included chicken & lemon grass satay and what I think are tim-bits (actually rice donuts filled with some kind of bean paste). The coffee is out of this world good, especially when served with condensed milk. Misses have included fried crickets, silk worms, whole squid with ink inside, and the rat that Dave accidentally ate while visiting a hill tribe in the Highlands...more on that later!

Liz