Vietnamese Cooking 101

One of the great things about being a foreign volunteer living in a relatively small Vietnamese city is that I get the opportunity to be a part of a variety of different and unique activities on a regular basis.

This past weekend I received a call from one of my Vietnamese friends asking if my roommate and I wanted to participate in a cooking class for foreigners that was going to air on television. Not really understanding all of the specifics, but clearing hearing that we would get to eat some yummy Vietnamese food for free, I emphatically agreed (you have all heard many times about my LOVE for food!).

When Rachael and I arrived we soon learned that we were shooting an advertorial for a new cooking class that was soon-to-be offered by one of the local tour operators in town. Along with another American and a Korean, we began the morning by driving to a famous chef's house in Hue -- a beautiful historic garden house and our location for the cooking class. Of course, our journey to the chef's house was kind of a production in and of itself as the camera crew made us stop repeatedly to take footage of us driving our bikes.

We met our chef for the morning, a cheerful older Vietnamese women wearing an au dai and a conical hat, and headed to the market -- again with the whole camera crew in tow. Then, with our many ingredients in hand, we set to chopping all of the vegetables and meat for our fried spring rolls, fried rice and sweet soup, the menu for the day.

It took quite awhile to prepare everything and it was a little strange having the camera crew filming our every move from peeling a shrimp to frying the spring rolls in the oil. Not to mention the fact that we were all asked to wear aprons and chef hats, complete with the tour operator's information embroidered on the front.

All in all though, it was well worth it as the end result was eating a bunch of yummy Vietnamese food prepared by one of Hue's finest chefs.

Have I mentioned before that I love Vietnamese food? :)

Just Another Fun Weekend In Hue

Weekends in Hue are a time to....

Go to an INGO Happy Hour with representation from over seven countries

Celebrate a friend's birthday over chocolate cake, coffee and, of course, some Vietnamese karaoke

Go for a motorbike ride to visit a beautiful scenic spot in Hue overlooking the Perfume river and a pagoda off the beaten path

Dance the night away at the local tourist/expat/Vietnamese bar, Brown Eyes, with roommates and friends

Catch up with friends over yummy Vietnamese food such as pho ga or nem lui. Then head to one of the many atmospheric coffee shops around town for ever-so-sweet coffee and good conversation

Just another fun weekend in Hue

What I Love Most About Hue

It's a shame that many foreign tourists in Vietnam breeze through the city of Hue without even touching the surface as to what this amazing city is all about. Sure, they go and see the citadel and the king's tombs and maybe take one of the many day trips outside the city, but they don't really get to experience the vibrant, culturally rich and beautiful city that I have come to love.

Here are just a few reasons why I love living in Hue, in no certain order:



Lush, Shady Streets All Around - The city of Hue is peppered with tall leafy trees that overhang into the street and provide the perfect shade when driving in the hot sun. There are also a plethora of rich green parks, offering the perfect opportunities to relax with friends over an iced coffee or fruit smoothie. Above is a picture of one of my favorite streets in Hue, that also just happens to be on my daily commute to work (lucky me!).


Plethora of Yummy Vietnamese Food - Hue is famous for its many, many, many, many varieties of savory Vietnamese cuisine. I know, I know -- I have talked about food many times, but I just can't help it. It's so good that I have to talk about it at least one more time. So, here are a few of my favorites: fresh pork grilled spring rolls dipped in sweet and spicy peanut sauce, marinated pork barbeque with fresh rice noodles and chili, savory fish noodle soup, crunchy Vietnamese spring rolls with salty fish sauce, a ton of different flavorful vegetarian cuisine, and the list goes on and on -- seriously. As a food lover, this is a great perk of living in Hue!


Beautiful Nature Around Every Bend - Hue is surrounded by absolutely picturesque countryside. It is quite common to be traveling down any given road complete with storefronts and houses and the next moment be enclosed by a rich green field of rice paddies.


Coffee, Coffee, Coffee - Hue has many varieties of coffee shops and cafe cocs (sidewalk coffee) around town. There are so many to choose from and each one has its own individual personality. The coffee shops here also offer a variety of drinks to choose from, apart from the amazing coffee including fresh squeezed fruit drinks, ice cream, sweet creamy yogurt drinks with fresh fruit, etc., etc.

Oh Hue, how I will miss you come December!

Work Trip to Hoi An

This past week I traveled with some of the Hope Center staff to Hoi An to take part in a week long product development workshop aimed at helping craft producers better understand how to create intentional, meaningful products for their given customer bases. The course focused on product design and development including trends, product life cycle, colors, textures, etc.

While the course in and of itself was useful and will certainly be of help to the Hope Center in the future, for me the best part of the trip was simply getting to spend time with my coworkers outside of the typical work setting -- working on new product designs, playing Vietnamese card games, walking around Hoi An, eating meals, telling jokes, trying to talk to one another with my limited Vietnamese and their small knowledge of English and, of course, laughing ALOT.

I am glad to be back in Hue after a busy week away and ready for some much needed rest and relaxation, but I am thankful for the time I got to spend with the Hope Center staff. I really am going to miss them when I leave in just two short months, especially their zest for life and their generous and hospitable spirits.

Getting Around the Vietnamese Way

When I first arrived in Vietnam, I was more than a little apprehensive about navigating through traffic as a pedestrian, let alone trying to be a driver. Yet, after eight months of living here and nearly seven months of driving a motorbike (well, an electric bike or se dap dien) I have gotten used to the organized chaos and I think it is a great way to get around (except of course when I am soaking wet or sweating like crazy from the heat).

Not only do I feel the cool breeze on my face as I zoom around town, but I am able to experience life from a much different vantage point. While driving a car, I am very likely to zone out and forget that life continues to take place around me. Aboard my bike however I tend to notice people much more, whether it be a street vendor trying to flag me down, young Vietnamese frequenting a local cafe or other drivers carrying all sorts of things that I never would have imagined fitting effectively on a bike -- ducks, pigs, living room furniture...an entire family!

This past weekend, some of my friends and I took a motorbike ride to visit a very picturesque pagoda situated in the mountains and a popular springs located about 60 kilometers outside of town. I will admit that my back and rear end were very sore by the end of the trip, but I had such a good time experiencing Vietnamese life, with the wind whipping through my hair and the freeing feeling I have every time I jump on a bike, that it was definitely worth the little bit of pain I felt afterwards.