Vietnamese Cooking Class in Hoi An with Red Bridge Cooking School
There was one thing I knew I was not giving up during my trip to Vietnam, and that was a cooking class where I could learn some of the country’s most iconic dishes. I always try to learn how to cook a few dishes of new destinations I visit, but Vietnamese food is one of my favourites in the world so there was NO WAY I would leave without a Vietnamese cooking class. After some research, I decided to take the cooking class during my stay in Hoi An, which I think is a foodie paradise in central Vietnam (have a look at some of the food and restaurants you can visit in the city!). I decided to take the Vietnamese cooking class in Hoi An with Red Bridge Cooking School, one of the schools in the city with the best reputation. Keep reading to find out how it went!
Travel tip: I took the Deluxe Day Tour for 59$, which included more dishes and activities, but there are other options on their website.
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Post Contents
1. Meeting at Hai Café in Hoi An
The tour started with a brief meeting at their restaurant in Hoi An’s Old Town, Hai Café. There they offered us a drink and we waited for the whole group (in our case it was only our group of three and a French couple, so only 5 “students”) and they gave us an overview of the program. Just a heads up, the classes start very early, at 8 in the morning, but it is completely worth it!
2. Getting Herbs at Tra Que Vegetable Garden
The first activity was a visit to the Tra Que Organic Village, a local community initiative where local farmers have access to a piece of land that they can use and sell the products that they grow. It is only a 10 minute ride from Hai Café. The field is really beautiful, surrounded by the houses of the farmers and organized in rectangular portions with different vegetables growing.
The local farmers use traditional methods, so there are no automatic machines here! We picked fresh herbs that we would use later on for our recipes, such as Thai basil, sawtooth coriander, green papaya and Vietnamese mint. The guide explained us what each of the herbs was used for and what interesting flavour it gave to the dishes. One of the local families then hosted us for a nice tea with fresh fruit.
3. Buying Groceries at a Real Vietnamese Market
The next stop was a visit to the local village market, that is quite different than the touristic Central Market in Hoi An. In this case, it was much more chaotic and busy, making it a much more authentic experience. We bought some ingredients that we needed, such as star anise, black cardamom, banana leafs and blossom or the wonderful lemongrass. We took advantage of the knowlede and connections of the guide to buy some stuff to bring home at local price, such as cooking tools, local coffee or spices.
4. Cooking Class at Red Bridge Cooking School
Then we moved on to the main part of the tour, the cooking class at Red Bridge’s restaurant in the riverbank. The setting is absolutely gorgeous, surrounded by a palm garden, with a private swimming pool (that you can use), open but covered dining spaces and the famous red bridge.
The Red Bridge Chef was conducting the class and showed us four traditional Vietnamese recipes:
- Pho: the famous Vietnamese beef noodle soup, which includes learning how to make the broth and the fresh noodles.
- Tom Nuong La Chuoi: lemongrass shrimp grilled in banana leafs.
- Goi Hoa Chuoi Ga Nuong: grilled chicken and banana blossom salad.
- Cha Ca: clay pot fish stew with turmeric and dill.
All the dishes were delicious, although I wished the broth of the Pho had been cooking for longer (they told us upfront that typically you would cook it overnight, but we didn’t have the time). All alergies or dietary preferences are met when you tell them and the chef is really nice and knowledgeable. After cooking the dishes we enjoyed our creations together with what seemed to be an unlimited amount of wine.
5. Boat Ride to Hoi An
After the delicious food (if I say so myself), some wine and some exchange of stories and laughs, we headed back to Hoi An in a beautiful scenic boat ride along the river. It was included in the price and it took us about 25 minutes.
Closing statement
Learning these recipes at Red Bridge Cooking School was one of the best experiences we had in our trip in Vietnam. It fit perfectly with the sleepy pace of Hoi An. It was not only the cooking class itself, but the whole day at the vegetable garden, the local market, the boat ride, learning and sharing a meal with fantastic people all in the hands of friendly and professional people. If you happen to be in Hoi An, I recommend 100% that you visit Red Bridge Cooking School. Treat it as if it was one of the monuments that you need to see.
If you enjoyed this post, you will probably like these:
→ 10 Must-Try Hoi An Restaurants
→ Hoi An food guide: 7 must-eat dishes in Hoi An
→ Thai food: Miss Chel’s thai cooking class in Phuket
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