Here’s something you might not know about me: I love, love, love to cook.
Back in Spain, when I wasn’t out eating tapas, I was at home cooking. Homemade salmorejo, lentejas, tortilla, gazpacho…you name it, I cooked it! Fast forward to my current life in Vietnam: I’m downright CLUELESS in the kitchen. When I walk into the veggie section at the local market, I’m dumbfounded. And those unfamiliar spices? Even if I knew what they were…what the heck do I do with them? It all seemed so daunting. I was stuck frozen in my kitchen with a neglected soup pot and a rice cooker. Until…
Da Nang Home Cooking Class came to the rescue! Watch the video:
Here’s the background story:
Started by two best friends who grew up in Da Nang, Elly and Lani have always had a passion for cooking. With the belief that Vietnamese cooking and hospitality is the soul of the Vietnamese culture, two years ago they opened up their home to launch their cooking class. Their goal? To do more than just give step by step directions on how to cook, but share family recipes passed down from generation to generation and give deep and meaningful insight into local life. They take you to the farm where the produce grows, the market where the ingredients are bought, and finally, their home kitchen. In their words, there’s no better way to understand Vietnamese culture than through its hospitality, warmth and food!
What did we do?
First thing’s first. CAFFEINE. We began our day at a local coffee shop, where we had some delicious ca phe sua da (Vietnamese coffee) and met our lovely cooking classmates! Accompanied by 4 others from Hong Kong and another blogger couple from Greece (who write the blog Where on Earth), fully caffeinated and ready to go, we were then off to the market!
Our wonderful tour guide Ai, showed us where to buy the local ingredients and how to buy it (which is something I had been really struggling with – it’s harder than it looks!) After buying a big bag full of tropical fruits and bargaining with some of the fish and meat ladies, we were off to the big leagues…
To the kitchen! We cooked 4 dishes:
Crispy spring rolls, green papaya and pork salad, Vietnamese spiced chicken wings and pineapple fish soup (called “canh chua ca” aka sour fish soup). Everything, needless to say, was finger lickin’ delicious.
If you didn’t already, watch the video!!! 
*NOTE: The day of my tour, it was a typhoon (darnit rainy season) so we had to skip the trip to the local farm. However, if you go in nice weather, they will take to a local farm where the produce is grown!
In Da Nang and want to do a cooking class? Visit the Da Nang Home Cooking Class website to sign up!
Oh. And a HUGE thanks to Cindy, Ai, Trang and the rest of the Da Nang Home Cooking Class team! Now, I have the full confidence to try out some of these Vietnamese dishes at home! Wish me luck…
What do I think???? I think I should be the first one to dine on your Vietnamese cooking!!!!! I not only adore the food – but your cooking will make it taste even more superb!!!!!