This is the last post of my mom's cooking for a bit. I am writing back at home, where I have to cook for myself... However, my mom may come for a visit in a few weeks and I'll try to get her to cook up some more things then.
Cà tím dồn thịt (stuffed eggplant with meat) is one of my favourite dishes to eat with rice. I like the pieces of eggplant stuffed with meat. I like the soy sauce that I can drizzle on my rice. When I visit my mom, I usually get a Tupperware (well, not real - that stuff is expensive!) full to take home with me and this visit was no different!
Like bánh củ cải, this is a dim sum dish that I never order at dim sum. I have eaten a very similar dish in my alleyway in Vietnam; they were various vegetables, such as khổ qua (bitter melon), tomatoes, eggplant and tofu, stuffed with a meat filling in a sweet sauce.
Cà Tím Dồn Thịt (Stuffed Eggplant) My mom first fries the eggplant stuffed with meat, makes the sauce and then combines everything. This is not really a healthy recipe; eggplants absorb a lot of oil. Check Wandering Chopsticks' healthier version that is steamed! She also uses shrimp only! The pork and shrimp mixture is my mom's standard mixture for many Vietnamese dishes that require stuffing.
* 100 g ground pork * 100 g shrimp, chopped * ½ small onion, chopped * salt and pepper, to taste * 2 Japanese eggplants, sliced on the diagonal, 1.5" thick and then sliced more than halfway again to make a "sandwich" - see picture below * 2 cups water * 1 Tbsp dark soy sauce * 3 Tbsp sugar * oil * 1-½ tsp salt
Combine the first four ingredients into a food processor until you get an even mixture. Stuff the eggplant pieces with a teaspoon or so of the filling. (I did a lot of this growing up. If a piece of the eggplant breaks off, just stick it to the meat. That's what I did...) Fry eggplant "sandwiches" on each side and set aside - it does not have to be cooked through because it will continue cooking in the sauce. Remove the fried pieces and set aside. Once all the pieces are fried, add the water, dark soy sauce, sugar and salt to make the sauce. Bring to a boil and add the eggplant "sandwiches" back in the sauce. Lower heat to simmering and leave for half an hour. Serve with rice. Tada! (And hope for leftovers!)
Meat and shrimp mixture.
Stuff each eggplant "sandwich" with meat filling.
Eggplant "sandwich".
Eggplant "sandwiches" ready to be fried.
Eggplant "sandwiches" back in the sauce.
It does not look great but it's SO good. To be fair, this was microwaved when I got back to my home.
I ate rice nearly every day growing up at home. At least weekdays for sure. On weekends, my mom would make more time consuming dishes, like phở. Typically with our rice, we had a protein dish, a vegetable dish and often a canh (Vietnamese soup). Since I have moved out, I have not eaten much rice regularly and so have not been eating any of these dishes either. I decided I would change that and learn the recipes.
Most of the dishes accompanying rice are not too time consuming. My mom would leave me instructions to prep vegetables and cook rice when I got home from school. So when she got back, she would just have to cook the ingredients.
Trứng Hấp (Steamed Eggs) Trứng hấp is a steamed egg dish with ground pork, salted duck egg and century egg. Century eggs are not for everyone, but I like them! It's actually a recipe that my dad's family had, so it's Chinese. I like this dish but have not had it for a number of years since my mom only cooks "special" dishes when I visit and not "regular" ones like this.
* 100 g ground pork * green onions or onion, chopped small * 2 eggs, beaten * 2 salted duck eggs (yolks only), sliced * 2 century eggs, sliced * 1 tsp salt * garlic powder and pepper, to taste * ¼ cup milk
Place all ingredients in a dish that will fit everything. Mix the beaten eggs in with everything else. Steam for 20 minutes; let a bit of air in - my mom leaves a chopsticks between the lid and steamer. Tada!
All the raw ingredients in one dish.
Beaten eggs and pork mixed together
Steamed eggs. It does not look all that appetizing but it's good, I swear!
