Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Juicy and Savoury Vietnamese Stuffed Tomatoes


The stuffing is always the best part of stuffed vegetables, whether it be stuffed cabbage, stuffed zucchinis, stuffed bell peppers or stuffed tomatoes. I love this pork stuffing in this traditional Vietnamese dish because I grew up with it and am an avid meat eater. It's incredibly easy to prepare and can please dinner parties of 4 to 6 people.

I don't have any special story behind this tasty stuffed tomato except that I have been sharing it with a few of my friends. It's so easy to make (I know I already mentioned that) that even my brother who isn't fond of cooking, loves making them. Kids and dogs also love them too. Our dog has been snatching some of our food when left on a coffee table, low enough for him to smell and sneak a taste, and the stuffing of this tomato is not an exception. Of course, after he's done, you're left with the tomato shell alone on its plate.

Preparation time : 10 minutes, Cooking time : 15 minutes

Recipe "au pif":4-6 big ripe tomatoes
1/2 lb ground pork
1/2 of a large yellow onion, chopped in cubes
1/4 cup cooked brown basmati rice
1/3 cup black mushrooms ,
soaked in warm water for 5 minutes (water discarded)
1 tbsp fish sauce (or 1/2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste)
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 egg
1 tbsp of canola oil

Cut the tomatoes in halves, remove the flesh from the tomatoes with a small scooper, and put the tomatoe flesh aside for sauce preparation.

Mix the pork, chopped onion, rice, mushrooms, fish sauce, egg and pepper in a medium sized salad bowl. Mix well with your hands until all ingredients all well incorporated.

With a table spoon, fill in each tomato half with the pork mixture up to the rim of the tomato. Add in a little more stuffing if desired. Repeat until you filled all the tomatoe halves. If you have stuffing left, you can use it in the sauce.

In a large deep sauce pan, heat oil on medium-high heat for about 2 minutes. Add in the stuffed tomatoes face down so that the stuffing browns first. Add 4 at a time if your pan is not large enough. Or add them all at once. Brown them for about 3-4 minutes. Then add the tomato flesh (and remaining stuffing if any left) to the pan, while continuing cooking the stuffed tomatoes. Lower the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer for about 7-10 minutes, or until the pork is completely cooked.

Serve with rice and vegetables.

Serves 4-6 people.

Share and enjoy.

2 comments:

  1. Your photo makes me want to dive into them!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks onehotbeyond, for the fun comment! Great analogy ;)

    ReplyDelete