Vietnamese cooking class in Cologne

What to expect at the Vietnamese cooking class in Cologne:

Since Vietnam opened up to tourism, Vietnamese cuisine has also become increasingly popular and popular here. Join us on a culinary journey through a fascinating country!

Vietnam, the sprawling country in Southeast Asia with its colorful landscapes and beautiful beaches, offers truly unique culinary treasures. Colonization and trade relations left their mark on food culture. However, Vietnamese cuisine did not simply adopt this, but cleverly incorporated the ingredients into its own dishes. For historical reasons, the dishes are heavily influenced by Chinese cuisine, in the south of the country more by Thai, Khmer and Indian cuisine. Even baguette (bánh mì), croissant and coffee, introduced by the French, were adopted in modified form.

Vietnamese cuisine is light, aromatic and perfectly suited to European tastes. Vietnamese dishes require only a few ingredients (typical 3-component dishes consisting of meat, vegetables and rice or rice noodles), but these are combined in a tasty way. That is why Vietnamese cuisine is one of the simplest Asian cuisine. Many dishes contain heat and cold at the same time, as well as sweet and sour components. Spices and fresh herbs also play a central role. It is therefore a particularly varied, young and fresh cuisine.

The staple foods in Vietnam include rice, rice noodles and a large number of different vegetables (bitter melon and cucumber, water spinach, pak choi, etc.) as well as sprouts, bamboo and, of course, fresh and dried spices (lemongrass, ginger, coriander, Thai basil, cinnamon, anise). Even though fish and meat play a minor role, there are delicate combinations — but less spicy than in Thai or Indian cuisine. The universal seasoning is fish sauce, which is used in sauces and dips.

Vietnamese dishes are typically prepared exceptionally hot but briefly fried on pans with a high open fire (wok). They are usually roasted on the surface and cooked internally. Almost all solid foods (pasta, vegetables, fruit and meat) can be roasted, fried or briefly sautéed.

Soup bases and broths are added to the supplements very hot (bubbling and boiling). There are many types of noodle soups that are eaten with vegetables, pieces of meat, fish, or eggs. Watery broth is often added to the ingredients in these soups just before consumption, which is why the soup served is varied, firm to the bite and versatile on the table. These rich, aromatic soups are served all day long. A typical morning delicacy in Vietnam is Pha, a beef broth with rice noodles, with thin slices of beef as Pha Bò or with chicken as Pha Gà.

Vietnam is primarily known for its spring rolls. They are eaten raw, fried, or fried. The fillings vary regionally and seasonally and range from sweet to spicy and savory. Rolling ingredients on the table into rice dough leaves is a popular way of eating: herbs, lettuce leaves, rice noodles, vegetable strips, grilled fish or pieces of meat cooked in a kind of hot pot are among the ingredients. The “conviviality” value of such methods of preparation and the popularity of these “home-rolled” spring rolls give an idea of the importance of eating together in Vietnam.