Flying in the face of French cuisine

Simply delicious : The Blue Butterfly restaurant offers straightforward no-fuss food - that goes down a treat. The squid dishes are delicious! A culinary masterpiece: Stir-fried chicken with lemongrass and chilli - and a dash of magic. — VNS Photos Truong Vi Blue Butterfly Address: 61 Hang Buom Tel: 04-3926-3845 Hours: Open every day until 10.30pm Price per person: Cooking class starts at 3pm at US$20 per person Comments: With classes sometimes available in the morning Discounts if you go eating there a few times

As a French girl in Ha Noi who prefers noodle soup to boeuf bourguignon and frogs legs, what could be a better thing to do than taking a Vietnamese cooking class?

I heard about a 20-dollar-lesson at Hang Buom Street's Blue Butterfly restaurant. So off I went with a friend on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

Whilst drinking a glass of iced tea – offered on the house – we met Andre Richtering, a Dutchman visiting Ha Noi to see his children and grandchildren. The three of us walked with Nguyen Doan Tinh, our chatty class translator, to Nguyen Thien Thuat Street, to the right of Dong Xuan Market, well-known to restaurant owners for its food stalls.

There, Tinh bought shredded carrots and green papaya for us to make green papaya salad, the first recipe of a three course menu.

Back to the restaurant with its soft lighting and bamboo decor, our work station was ready for us, with cutting boards, knives, aprons and big, white, cartoon like cooking hats.

The green papaya salad did not take us long to make: chopped coriander, mint and marjoram blended with peanuts and sesame seeds and then added to the papaya and the carrot. Afterwards, we made the sauce – a mix of chopped chilli, garlic, vinegar, sugar and salt. To finish, we placed dried spicy beef on top as garnish.

Blue Butterfly chef Nguyen Van Binh, then brought some see-through round sheets to the work area – the rice paper! It was time to learn the secrets of the famous, ubiquitous Ha Noi spring roll. After preparing the stuffing and the dipping sauce, Binh taught us the difficult art of folding the stuffed rice paper. When done, we could clearly see the difference between Binh's spring rolls and ours… his were nice, regular looking, ours were long and somewhat shapeless. But as Andre said, "It's the taste that counts."And they were good!

Once the Ha Noi spring rolls were crossed off the to-do list, the preparation of the final dish arrived: the stir-fried chicken with lemongrass and chilli. This part of class taught me a lot of useful little things. For example, it is advised to engrave two slots along the length of a carrot before slicing it. "It allows the different flavours to mix better once in the pan,"explained Tinh, the translator.

To enhance the taste of lemongrass, you should cut it on the diagonal. The lemon leaves must only be placed in the pan once the meal is ready to be eaten. Finally, the chilli seeds must always be extracted. "They're no good for your health,"Tinh claimed.

When the lesson came to an end at about a quarter to six, the best part of the afternoon arrived: savouring what we had washed, pealed, sliced, hashed, stirred and cooked. My extreme hunger at this point was no doubt triggered by the smell of the spring rolls slowly cooking in the pan.

Without hesitation, the dish I enjoyed most was the stir-fried chicken. I was impressed by how little was needed to add to the chicken to get such a rich and multi-layered flavour. And the lemongrass… superb!

I will definitely try the recipe back in Paris, despite the ingredients being more difficult to find. (No Nguyen Thien Thuat Street over there!)

Funnily enough, the trickiest part of the cooking class was the decoration of the plates. Transforming a tomato into a flower is delicate work. The fruit must be pealed in one go so that a long piece of skin remains attached to it. Then, it is twisted up and abracadabra, the tomato transforms into a lovely rose.

After the meal and a cold beverage, my friend and I said goodbye to Andre who spoke of his "nice experience". We thanked Binh and Tinh. When I asked them why the restaurant had begun organising cooking lessons three years ago, Tinh replied: "To spread Vietnamese cuisine all around the world", an idea I absolutely encourage…

Going out of the restaurant, feeling I must say, somewhat heavier than a blue butterfly, I was proudly holding on to a piece of paper… my Blue Butterfly Certificate, attesting I had attended a master class in traditional Vietnamese cuisine. — VNS

Flying in the face of French cuisine

Simply delicious : The Blue Butterfly restaurant offers straightforward no-fuss food - that goes down a treat. The squid dishes are delicious! A culinary masterpiece: Stir-fried chicken with lemongrass and chilli - and a dash of magic. — VNS Photos Truong Vi Blue Butterfly Address: 61 Hang Buom Tel: 04-3926-3845 Hours: Open every day until 10.30pm Price per person: Cooking class starts at 3pm at US$20 per person Comments: With classes sometimes available in the morning Discounts if you go eating there a few times

As a French girl in Ha Noi who prefers noodle soup to boeuf bourguignon and frogs legs, what could be a better thing to do than taking a Vietnamese cooking class?

I heard about a 20-dollar-lesson at Hang Buom Street's Blue Butterfly restaurant. So off I went with a friend on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

Whilst drinking a glass of iced tea – offered on the house – we met Andre Richtering, a Dutchman visiting Ha Noi to see his children and grandchildren. The three of us walked with Nguyen Doan Tinh, our chatty class translator, to Nguyen Thien Thuat Street, to the right of Dong Xuan Market, well-known to restaurant owners for its food stalls.

There, Tinh bought shredded carrots and green papaya for us to make green papaya salad, the first recipe of a three course menu.

Back to the restaurant with its soft lighting and bamboo decor, our work station was ready for us, with cutting boards, knives, aprons and big, white, cartoon like cooking hats.

The green papaya salad did not take us long to make: chopped coriander, mint and marjoram blended with peanuts and sesame seeds and then added to the papaya and the carrot. Afterwards, we made the sauce – a mix of chopped chilli, garlic, vinegar, sugar and salt. To finish, we placed dried spicy beef on top as garnish.

Blue Butterfly chef Nguyen Van Binh, then brought some see-through round sheets to the work area – the rice paper! It was time to learn the secrets of the famous, ubiquitous Ha Noi spring roll. After preparing the stuffing and the dipping sauce, Binh taught us the difficult art of folding the stuffed rice paper. When done, we could clearly see the difference between Binh's spring rolls and ours… his were nice, regular looking, ours were long and somewhat shapeless. But as Andre said, "It's the taste that counts."And they were good!

Once the Ha Noi spring rolls were crossed off the to-do list, the preparation of the final dish arrived: the stir-fried chicken with lemongrass and chilli. This part of class taught me a lot of useful little things. For example, it is advised to engrave two slots along the length of a carrot before slicing it. "It allows the different flavours to mix better once in the pan,"explained Tinh, the translator.

To enhance the taste of lemongrass, you should cut it on the diagonal. The lemon leaves must only be placed in the pan once the meal is ready to be eaten. Finally, the chilli seeds must always be extracted. "They're no good for your health,"Tinh claimed.

When the lesson came to an end at about a quarter to six, the best part of the afternoon arrived: savouring what we had washed, pealed, sliced, hashed, stirred and cooked. My extreme hunger at this point was no doubt triggered by the smell of the spring rolls slowly cooking in the pan.

Without hesitation, the dish I enjoyed most was the stir-fried chicken. I was impressed by how little was needed to add to the chicken to get such a rich and multi-layered flavour. And the lemongrass… superb!

I will definitely try the recipe back in Paris, despite the ingredients being more difficult to find. (No Nguyen Thien Thuat Street over there!)

Funnily enough, the trickiest part of the cooking class was the decoration of the plates. Transforming a tomato into a flower is delicate work. The fruit must be pealed in one go so that a long piece of skin remains attached to it. Then, it is twisted up and abracadabra, the tomato transforms into a lovely rose.

After the meal and a cold beverage, my friend and I said goodbye to Andre who spoke of his "nice experience". We thanked Binh and Tinh. When I asked them why the restaurant had begun organising cooking lessons three years ago, Tinh replied: "To spread Vietnamese cuisine all around the world", an idea I absolutely encourage…

Going out of the restaurant, feeling I must say, somewhat heavier than a blue butterfly, I was proudly holding on to a piece of paper… my Blue Butterfly Certificate, attesting I had attended a master class in traditional Vietnamese cuisine. — VNS