The next day, I head south past Ho Chi Minh City and into the Mekong Delta, a fertile region crisscrossed with hundreds of waterways. It is home to a floating food market where I am heading to learn a Vietnamese classic that is essential to my culinary education. Inside this market, there is a legend who has not had much success with her brats. If I'm going to get up to speed quickly within a week about Vietnamese cooking, I need to start with the broth, known as the harpy or broth Queen, Mrs. Z hai.

Mrs. Z hai is a veteran who has been selling her soup for 40 years and today I am rolling up my sleeves to work with her and morning chef Luke noon. She is a master of Roth's, which means she is a master of making this specific type of soup. The only way to do it is to get in there and do it yourself, and that's exactly what we're going to do. I'm going to fill out the order form with the ingredients needed for this dish, including banana blossom, bean sprout, shredded water spinach stems, and vermicelli noodles.

The original recipe for this soup comes from a woman who just eats on the street at these little stalls. She trains her palate to make it the best that she can on this floating river here. As we sort out the ingredients, I'm getting an idea of what goes into making this dish. We're using hot water to cook the ingredients quickly, and then we'll assemble everything in seconds to ensure it retains its Vietnamese crunch.

When it comes to Vietnamese cuisine, the broth is key. It may look like it doesn't have much flavor at first glance, but when you take a sip, it's just right. The trick is to put the dish together quickly so that the flavors can meld together and retain their unique character. As I taste the broth for the first time, I'm impressed by its complexity.

Today, Mrs. Z hai takes me to her stand where she needs to sell 60 bowls of soup to break even and serve 80 bowls per day to make some money. We estimate that each bowl will cost less than $1, or about 50 cents. She needs to work hard to sell this many bowls each day because the price is so low.

As we get ready to start serving customers, Mrs. Z hai sings out to advertise her dishes in a beautiful melody. The room fills with the sound of durian fruit being sold and people calling out to buy breakfast. We're going to serve 80 bowls today, which means we need to work quickly to meet the demand.

Mrs. Z hai has spent most of her life working on this patch of land, and she's worried that if I were to ruin her reputation in just one morning, it would be too much for her to handle. But luckily, a kind customer arrives, and Mrs. Z hai is able to sell some bowls without too much trouble.

After making so many soups, Mrs. Z hai realizes that she still needs to work out the timing of everything because we're getting something tainted into one little spot here by cooking without moving around. It's an incredible feeling when we finally get the soup made correctly, and it's a triumph.

Later in the day, I tell Mrs. Z hai that I'm a chef from the UK and have never sat still for so long while cooking before, which would be quite funny if someone were to watch me. When she asks if cooking is hard work, I say yes, but not as hard as cooking in London restaurants where we serve Ross and soups.

As I spend more time learning about Vietnamese food, I realize that it's a lot harder to understand than any other country's cuisine. Vietnamese food has its unique flavors, ingredients, and techniques that make it stand out from the rest.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthe next day I head south past Ho Chi Minh City and into the Mekong Delta this fertile region is crisscross with hundreds of waterways it's home to a floating food market where I'm heading to learn a Vietnamese classic that's essential to my culinary education inside this market is a lady he's a bit of a legend she hasn't a reputation for her brats and if I'm gonna get up to speed quickly within a week about Vietnamese cooking the broth is the harpy the broth Queen mrs. Z hai is a veteran she's been selling her suit for 40 years and today are rolling up my sleeves to work with her morning chef Luke noon is here to help too so she's a master of Roth's she's the master of broth so let's go check it out there the only way to do it is to get in there and do it yourself I'm gonna fill in that boat you are and I am as well it's true it was a bit rocky Jesus right see I thought was the equivalent of a market cafe and a suit recipes the ultimate in fast food and now she's gonna teach me how to make it so the broth where did the original recipe come from is it from a mum just from eating she eats on the street eating these little stores and she trains a pallet to make it the best that she can on this floating river here yeah what's she sorting out there so we've got banana blossom there yeah bean sprout yeah and it shredded water spinach stems yeah and try some vermicelli noodles behind you yeah so here we just got some hot water hot water just gonna be a laptop okay so she cooks it very very quickly now in Vietnamese cuisine the clearer with the broth the bitter right I mean looks like it doesn't have much flavor but you're sipping it's just yeah very complex see highs trick is to put the dish together in seconds to ensure it retains its Vietnamese crunch quickly thank you well now is delicious and the fragrance of the herbs at the end as well yes love that coriander the sweep as a texture balance of flavor lightness vietnamese cuisine in a nutshell there for you there's no more time for me to practice today I take mrs. Z highs place serving her regulars she needs to sell 60 to break even 60 volts young 80 bowls to make some money okay so roughly she'll make around how much they go for less than a dollar less than little in a dollar so we're looking at fifty pence we get to work this is how she advertises a dish he sings it out so she's saying both dishes but she sings in this melodic tune it's quite beautiful to this room durian me how far southern in the morning singing for your breakfast Hotel hotel sixty portions a day Milioti we're gonna do 80 today let's make us some money look at them rushing no one portion soldier lazy to go what mrs. Z I spent most of her life working this patch but I could ruin her reputation in just one morning thank God for that customer okay all right finally bean sprouts no no no she's a bit more be morning bit more so let's say a regular person yeah no no thank you don't want to first one of the day hotel boom-boom Jesus huh trouble why there was a PID she once Jesus come real come on wake up sit it's been testing she's happy this is serious drafting beyond belief incredible where we sold 20 portions yet and not just a speed you've got to work out but I'm being something tainted all into one little spot here cooking without moving I've never known making sink to be so difficult these broth is a triumph and I'd like to do it justice thank you no Chile thank you what do you think okay no very quiet is she's seen a customer that's it someone's called her over excuse me this is hot hard work and I only managed to sell a fraction of what Zi serves up every day please enjoy thank you tell her I'm a chef in the UK and I've never sat still and had to cook in one place for so long a bang-bang would hear quite funny doing a bake car she said do you think it's hard work this yeah this is this is beyond hard work I've been to lots of it means restaurants in London yep and the Ross and the soups absolutely fine but nowhere near as delicious as this yes your are amazing lady a few days into my adventure and I've got a brand new respect for Vietnamese food he was right mastering this cuisine in a week is gonna be a tall order I'm nervous because I wasn't blase but I I thought Vietnamese food was similar to Thai but it's completely different so I think it's gonna be harder to understand than any other country I've ever visitedthe next day I head south past Ho Chi Minh City and into the Mekong Delta this fertile region is crisscross with hundreds of waterways it's home to a floating food market where I'm heading to learn a Vietnamese classic that's essential to my culinary education inside this market is a lady he's a bit of a legend she hasn't a reputation for her brats and if I'm gonna get up to speed quickly within a week about Vietnamese cooking the broth is the harpy the broth Queen mrs. Z hai is a veteran she's been selling her suit for 40 years and today are rolling up my sleeves to work with her morning chef Luke noon is here to help too so she's a master of Roth's she's the master of broth so let's go check it out there the only way to do it is to get in there and do it yourself I'm gonna fill in that boat you are and I am as well it's true it was a bit rocky Jesus right see I thought was the equivalent of a market cafe and a suit recipes the ultimate in fast food and now she's gonna teach me how to make it so the broth where did the original recipe come from is it from a mum just from eating she eats on the street eating these little stores and she trains a pallet to make it the best that she can on this floating river here yeah what's she sorting out there so we've got banana blossom there yeah bean sprout yeah and it shredded water spinach stems yeah and try some vermicelli noodles behind you yeah so here we just got some hot water hot water just gonna be a laptop okay so she cooks it very very quickly now in Vietnamese cuisine the clearer with the broth the bitter right I mean looks like it doesn't have much flavor but you're sipping it's just yeah very complex see highs trick is to put the dish together in seconds to ensure it retains its Vietnamese crunch quickly thank you well now is delicious and the fragrance of the herbs at the end as well yes love that coriander the sweep as a texture balance of flavor lightness vietnamese cuisine in a nutshell there for you there's no more time for me to practice today I take mrs. Z highs place serving her regulars she needs to sell 60 to break even 60 volts young 80 bowls to make some money okay so roughly she'll make around how much they go for less than a dollar less than little in a dollar so we're looking at fifty pence we get to work this is how she advertises a dish he sings it out so she's saying both dishes but she sings in this melodic tune it's quite beautiful to this room durian me how far southern in the morning singing for your breakfast Hotel hotel sixty portions a day Milioti we're gonna do 80 today let's make us some money look at them rushing no one portion soldier lazy to go what mrs. Z I spent most of her life working this patch but I could ruin her reputation in just one morning thank God for that customer okay all right finally bean sprouts no no no she's a bit more be morning bit more so let's say a regular person yeah no no thank you don't want to first one of the day hotel boom-boom Jesus huh trouble why there was a PID she once Jesus come real come on wake up sit it's been testing she's happy this is serious drafting beyond belief incredible where we sold 20 portions yet and not just a speed you've got to work out but I'm being something tainted all into one little spot here cooking without moving I've never known making sink to be so difficult these broth is a triumph and I'd like to do it justice thank you no Chile thank you what do you think okay no very quiet is she's seen a customer that's it someone's called her over excuse me this is hot hard work and I only managed to sell a fraction of what Zi serves up every day please enjoy thank you tell her I'm a chef in the UK and I've never sat still and had to cook in one place for so long a bang-bang would hear quite funny doing a bake car she said do you think it's hard work this yeah this is this is beyond hard work I've been to lots of it means restaurants in London yep and the Ross and the soups absolutely fine but nowhere near as delicious as this yes your are amazing lady a few days into my adventure and I've got a brand new respect for Vietnamese food he was right mastering this cuisine in a week is gonna be a tall order I'm nervous because I wasn't blase but I I thought Vietnamese food was similar to Thai but it's completely different so I think it's gonna be harder to understand than any other country I've ever visited\n"