Cooking Classes in Hoi An: Tra Que Farm, Basket Boats, Cao Lau and White Rose, and Which Class to Book

Three styles exist. Market-plus-class: a walk through the central market for herbs and rice paper, then a restaurant kitchen in the old town, three hours. Farm class: a bicycle ride to Tra Que, the herb village between the town and the beach, where you pick from the beds, sometimes water them with the shoulder cans, then cook in a garden kitchen, four hours. Basket-boat class: a ride through the Cam Thanh coconut waterways in a round bamboo boat, then a class in a village house, five hours with the boat. The third is the most fun with children, the second the prettiest, the first the most efficient.

Hoi An's own dishes make the menu different from Hanoi's or Saigon's: cao lau, the thick noodles said to need water from a particular well, with pork and croutons; banh bao vac, the white rose dumplings that one family in town supplies to every restaurant; mi quang turmeric noodles from the province; banh xeo crepes; fresh spring rolls; and a green mango or banana-flower salad. Most classes do four or five, and you eat everything you make.

Half a day with a market and a kitchen suits a first visit and a tight schedule. The Tra Que farm class is the one to book if you have a full morning and want the countryside; go early, the beds are in full sun by 10:00. The coconut-village class is a family day. Home classes in a local house, for two to six, cost slightly more and end with a family lunch. Read whether the class is hands-on at your own station or a demonstration; both exist and the price is similar.

Vegetarian and vegan menus are standard, halal chicken or seafood versions run at a few schools on request, and fish sauce swaps for soy on notice. Children from six take part. Wear closed shoes for the farm and sunscreen for the bicycle ride; the boat class gets you damp. Morning classes end with lunch, afternoon classes with dinner, and the old-town ones can be joined straight after the ancient town walk.

USD 25 to 35 for a market-and-kitchen class, USD 35 to 50 for the Tra Que farm class with bicycles, USD 40 to 55 for the basket-boat format, private classes from USD 70 for two. Everything eaten is included and most give a recipe booklet. The tailoring guide explains how to fit a fitting around a morning class.