Di An Di has made several pandemic-related pivots to keep Greenpointers well-fed, most recently opening a new spacious sidewalk seating area for restaurant guests. Now, yet another addition to the Vietnamese restaurant will satisfy Greenpointers’ palates: Cooking Classes.
Starting in September, Di An Di’s sous chef, Quan Ngo, will be holding virtual cooking classes where he’ll walk students through the steps of making a homemade Vietnamese meal. The first at-home dinner will center around a staple sauce in Vietnamese cooking, nước màu (caramel sauce) which has an amber-rich hue and adds a sweet, lightly smoky profile to savory-caramelized dishes. Participants can choose if they’d prefer to braise, grill or glaze in their one-hour private cooking class taught via Zoom on Sundays at 6:00 p.m.
Classes cost $200 and include a pantry box with custom ingredients for the students’ specified menu. Every box will also include extra ingredients for students to practice their skills in future meals after class. Chef Ngo will also include time for kitchen Q&A, to talk through the contents of the pantry box items and different ways the ingredients supplied in the box can be used. Detailed recipe sheets will also be included, to make the class easy to follow along. Menus include entrees like suon ram (glazed pork ribs), thit kho (braised pork belly) and nem nuong (grilled Vietnamese pork sausage), along with several sides.
