Page 240 - WDT INTERACTIVE

our bowls of pho (Vietnamese soup), shrimp-filled eggrolls,
and turmeric-infused rice pancakes.
A fierce morning sun was bearing down on us when we
returned to the school to waiting glasses of iced ginger
tea. Before climbing to our classroom on the second floor,
we grazed in Ruby’s wake taking in the enticing aromas
of star anise and coconut emanating from cauldrons of
bubbling broth, and sampling eggrolls retrieved from pans
of sputtering oil. I couldn’t quite make myself sample the
spicy frog roti (?), duck egg embryos, and silk worm salad.
Fortunately, Ruby’s insistedI sit on my haunches and try my
hand at cranking out flat rice noodles from a vintage pasta
machine.
She then led us to our cooking stations in the aircondi-
tioned classroom, to assemble shrimp soup with cabbage
rolls, grated green mango salad, and crisp rice pancakes
infused with turmeric powder, Hoi An’s claim to fame.
According to our instructor, these light-as-air pancakes
must cook “no more than 30 Vietnamese seconds on one
side,” (meaning 1 minute). Our efforts were rewarded with
a bowl of fresh lemongrass ice cream.
There is water, water everywhere in Hoi An, and for
my next culinary experience, I crossed one of the city’s
many bridges to reach Tra Que island for a farm-to-table
lunch. Tidy rows of Asian greens, purple basil, and fresh
spearmint spread out before the family’s thatched veranda
that doubled as an al fresco “restaurant.” Rows of mesclun
lettuces, purple basil and dark green spearmint, as well
as the more esoteric pea shoots and sweet potato leaves
covered the family plot. A soft breeze kept us cool, as the
lady of the house offered us fresh papaya salad and the
ever-present fresh ginger tea made all the more unusual
with the addition of basil seeds.
In addition to its miles of waterways, Hoi An is also a
beach resort on the edge of East Sea (also called the South
China Sea) and staying at a beach resort a few miles from
the restored city center will provide a welcome respite from
the intense heat of the busy Old Quarter.
Fresh herbs for sale at Hoi
Kitty Morse’s career as cookbook author, bilingual food An market. Right: Family farm
and travel writer, and tour organizer, spans close to 30 growing produce for farm-to-table
years. She has authored ten cookbooks, five of them lunch in Hoi An
on the cuisine of Morocco. Her memoir, Mint Tea and
Minarets: a banquet of Moroccan memories, focuses
on Dar Zitoun, her family riad south of her hometown of
Casablanca. The book was selected as Best Book Arab
Cuisine by the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. The
French version, Le Riad au Bord de l’Oued, is due out in
summer 2019. www.kittymorse.com.
240 WDT MAGAZINE WINTER 2018