Continuation of my travel blog series about Vietnam: Part 3/6.
Let’s be honest, food is one of the main reasons why we travel. We go to Italy for a real pizza and pasta, we are dreaming to try an original onion soup in France, paella is Spain, a beetroot soup in Russia and New Zealand steak...etc.
An easy rule to make any of your experiences memorable: it must involve all your senses
Or at least all the physical ones:
- 👀 We want to see and admire the landscapes of the new places,
- 👃we have to smell the freshness of new continent,
- 👂we need to hear the noise of that little village in our way,
- ✋we should touch several hundred years old buildings
- 👅we MUST taste the local cuisine
Let's talk about food.
Eating is an essential ritual of a daily routine for every single person in the world
Our bodies need food to function. Over the centuries humans happily evolved from just consuming food to survive to the level of enjoying and having a privilege to choose what and when to eat. Independent development of cultures around the globe opened an amazing opportunity to travel thousands of miles by visiting a neighbourhood restaurant which will let you taste Italy or Japan within less than an hour of you making this decision.
Thank you, globalisation!
“So is there a need to travel if I can taste any cuisine by just visiting a restaurant?”
Of course, because the full experience consists of the combination of all five senses.
And for me, one of the best ways to learn about the country is to attend a local cooking class. Even if you don’t stay long in one country/city or even if you don’t usually cook I’d strongly encourage to invest your time in this cultural immersion.
5 reasons why you must attend a cooking class when you travel
I’ll be happy to share all of them with the example of my most recent cooking class in Hoi An, Vietnam.
⭐️#1 Groceries shopping like a local
Learning about new ingredients from the local markets with the guide who will give you tips and tricks for shopping is an exciting experience! Especially in the era where we can get anything and everything from the supermarket with a click of a delivery app. That’s why I love visiting local markets and little shops where owners and farmers can give you good products at a no-touristy price, explain what’s the best way to identify the freshness, taste and ripeness. (When I moved to Malaysia, it took me a dozen of local fruit market visits to learn about things). So if you are going to an absolutely different from your culture and geography place, have a person who can properly explain you the names and purpose of the new ingredients.
Usually, any cooking class will start with the tour to a local market. And if it doesn't, check other options ;)
⭐️#2 History of the nation through cooking
That’s my favourite part. I love learning about the evolution of cooking, special for the region. Some of the dishes have a fascinating journey. Sometimes created from very limited resources and options of ingredients they become an iconic feature of the country. It may have started as the most simple and affordable nutrition option for locals or something that was accidentally brought by immigrants from another part of the world. That's how I learned about the importance of the rice culture in Vietnam. 75% of daily calories of the population are met by rice even today and local came up with dozens of ways how you can cook it to introduce the variety to their menu.
For example, by attending the cooking class in Hoi An let us experience a traditional way of cooking a rice paper from a mix of white rice flour, tapioca flour, salt, and water.
The hoianecocookingclass.com reproduced the old way to demonstrate what it took in old days to prepare a dinner for the family. Check the video to see how it looks >>
After several rounds, you will start appreciating your comfort and food today way more :)
⭐️#3 Cook with no book but real teachers
Expert chefs and their assistants will be happy to guide you through the process and answer all your questions (the cookbook usually doesn't). They will make you feel confident even if you are not a professional kitchener and maybe never even followed the recipes. Clear instructions and support of the group will make you believe that you were born to be a chef. What's more satisfying than eating what you cooked yourself but never thought of being capable of?
I also love that within 2-3 hours of fun guided activities you manage to accomplish from 4 to 6 dishes of different complexity! (I never cook so many things at once unless it's a big celebration but usually it's pretty exhausting).
Your teachers will also help you to find a replacement for the ingredients which you may not take as the dietary restriction and not to compromise on a taste at the same time.
⭐️#4 Every dish deconstructed
What seems to be a hardcore recipe or a really famous but “no idea” where to start dish is magically cooked by YOU. No fear to do it yourself later and a very pleasant way to learn the recipe.
And they usually give you the recipe in the end. So it's easy to remember how to replicate the same thing when you are back home.
For example, I had no idea what's the secret ingredient of famous Pho (Vietnamese soup consisting of broth, rice noodles, a few herbs, and meat, primarily made with either beef or chicken) and how it is different from other soups.
During the cooking class I found out that you have pan fry for 20 seconds 2 star anise, a piece of cinnamon and sliced ginger and add it to the boiling broth. That's what gives Pho its aroma and special taste.
The same way I learned how to quickly make Vietnamese sweet and sour fish sauce for the spring rolls and first time ever tasted and cooked a banana flower salad.
That's how the flower looks like. Original source
The base for the salad after you cut the banana flower
⭐️#5 Unexpected discoveries
The best way to enjoy travel and experiences is being open to learn and wander around. Because you never know what the cooking class might bring to you besides cooking.
For us, the wow effect was that before we started the class, we went on a boat tour around the local river to observe the fishing techniques and learn about Vietnamese round basket boats which history is going back to the French colonial era. When French arrived in Vietnam, they began to tax pretty much everything and everyone, including a tax on the ownership of boats. Most of the poor Vietnamese fishermen who depended on boats for their livelihood could not afford to pay the taxes, so they invented a new type of boat: the thung chai, made from bamboo. The fishermen who built them argued that these were not boats at all but baskets – and therefore couldn’t be taxed.
Food brings all the people and cultures together
You know what's the best part after the class? You enjoy eating what you have cooked sharing your lunch with the people you have just met and learning about their discoveries, gathering new travel tips and just enjoying yourself after a rewarding experience.
An amazing souvenir to bring back home from your travels: new skill of cooking which can always remind you of a great destination and easy to share with the people you love. 🍲❤️
Within 3-4 hours of a cooking class you may learn so much more than you could expect. Just give it a try next time you are visiting a new country and let yourself be surprised. :)
P.S. Don't forget to use all your physical senses to experience the best of what the new place has to offer: observe, smell, listen, touch and taste! Trust the process and you will be rewarded.
Have you ever attended a cooking class? How was the experience for you?
If you haven't where and what would you like to cook if you had a chance?
Can't wait to hear from you. Thanks for reading!
Love,
Vika
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