By Andrea Nguyen
It was not so much nostalgia as a yearning for somethingdeliciously Vietnamese that led me to whip up these scrambled eggs today. Mymom taught me how to make scrambled eggs – after she let me prepare rice for the family. We’dhave the eggs for lunch with bread. At the time, I didn’t realize how genius itwas.
There were just a handful of ingredients involved: shallotor yellow onion, tomato, eggs, fish sauce, and black pepper. If things gotfancy, green onion was added for color. Making the Viet scrambled eggs got methinking about the brilliance of simple cooking.
For example, gently sauteing shallot turns it fragrantlysweet. Rush it and it can be harsh and hard. Go too far and it can dry up andcaramelize, which is good for some dishes but not others. My mom mostly usedyellow onion because it was cheaper in the U.S. than shallot. In Vietnam,shallots the size of boiling onions are the workhorse of the kitchen; yellow onionsare their pricey kin. I go back and forth between onion and shallot.
Tomato lends color, umami savory flavor, and a vegetablecomponent to make the scrambled eggs a somewhat complete meal. We always seededthe tomato to reduce its moisture content but we never peeled them. In general,Vietnamese people are not tomato peelers; maybe they sensed that the skin was asuper source of lycopene? These days, I use Roma tomatoes, letting them ripe atroom temperature before using them, skin on.
Combining eggs, black pepper, and fish sauce is a nifty wayto mimic the briny richness of crab tomalley (fat) — the yellow-green stuff youscrape out of the shell when you pickcrab. My friend Celia Sack, owner of OmnivoreBooks in San Francisco, recently reminded me of the culinary magic of thattrifecta of ingredients. She picked up on the idea after making the mien xao cua crab and cellophane noodlestir-fry recipe from Into the VietnameseKitchen. In the recipe, there’s a workaround for the tomalley that involveseggs, pepper, and nuoc mam. Like a good cookbook reader, Celia read between thelines. She’s been employing the eggy sauce in other noodle dishes whenever shewants that rich briny effect.
The key to maintaining eggy richness is to gently cook itover medium-low heat. Some people like dry scrambled eggs but my mother taughtme to enjoy them soft.
In fact, and here’s the real brilliance: After pouring thebeaten eggs into the pan, my mom kept the bowl near the stove. When the eggswere done, she took the skillet off heat and poured the residual raw egg overthe cooked scrambled eggs to finish them with a bit of richness. Maybe thattechnique developed from a desire to use up every bit of egg (protein hasalways been precious in Vietnam) but Viet scrambled eggs with fish sauce wasalways and still is a fine little meal to have.
Are you an egg andfish sauce lover? Or got a scrambled egg secret to share? Do tell!
RECIPE
Scrambled Eggs,Tomato and Fish Sauce
Yields 2 servings
Ingredients
- 3 large or extra-large eggs
- 3 healthy shots of fish sauce
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground preferred
- 1 small green onion, green part only, cut into thin rings
(optional) - 1 ½ to 2 tablespoons canola or other neutral oil
- 1 medium shallot or ½ small yellow onion, chopped
- 1 ripe Roma tomato, seeded and cut into thumbnail-size
pieces
Instructions
- In a small bowl, beat together the eggs, fish sauce, andpepper. You should be able to smell the brininess of the fish sauce. Otherwise,add a little more. Add the scallion and set aside near the stove.
- Heat the oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat.Add the shallot and gently saute for 4 to 5 minutes, until soft and fragrant.Add the tomato and cook, stirring, until heated through and slightly softened,about 2 minutes.
- Lower the heat to medium-low, pour in the egg mixture. Keepthe bowl nearby. Gently stir and fold to scramble the ingredients. When done,remove from the heat and drizzle on the egg leftover in the bowl. Dividebetween two plates and serve with baguette.
Related posts:
- Cooking and Life Lessons from Our Moms
- Premium Fish Sauces to Try: Red Boat, Megachef, IHA
- Egg Foo Yung Recipe (flash from the past!)
- North Indian Egg Curry (another brilliant way to treat eggs, tomatoes and onions)
More Asian Food Culture
- Viet-Cajun Seafood Boil with Garlic Lemon Butter Recipe
- Keeping Moon Cake Traditions Alive
- My Asian Mom’s Lovable Kitchen Quirks
- 2022 Year of the Water Tiger Lowdown
Reader Interactions
Comments
Charles Curran
Does it matter what type of 'Fish Sauce' that you use?
Minnie
I love that you wrote about this wonderful Vietnamese comfort food. In our house we call it Vietnamese Eggs Caviar & Rice because if you scramble the eggs really fine and use a healthy dose of fish sauce it could be the poor man's caviar.
Andrea Nguyen
Charles, do you mean a brand of fish sauce? If you do, I reached for the Megachef yesterdday, but you may prefer Red Boat, Three Crabs or a different brand. There are other kinds of 'fish sauce' but what's used here is the amber, briny liquid. Thanks for asking!
Andrea Nguyen
Love that name. Tee hee.
Mike
What's a shot of fish sauce? Is that a shot glass worth? Is it a "glug" from the bottle?
Quyen
I was just about to comment that some poor soul was going to read that instruction of a "shot" as a literal shot glass. No, she means a small glug of fish sauce. I would say around 1.5 teaspoons of fish sauce for 3 eggs,
stein
I think the best way to scramble eggs is in a double boiler. I use a small skillet that fits onto the top of a pot with a few inches of simmering water in it. Yes it takes longer. Okay, a lot longer but I think you get the softest scrambled eggs ever that way.
For this recipe I'd do the shallots and tomato over direct heat, then go to the double boiler. I really think the results are worth the extra time.Andrea Nguyen
Ha, a glug Mike. About 1/2 teaspoon per Quyen's suggestion.
If you like fish sauce, then I suppose a shot would do...Andrea Nguyen
Scrambled eggs in a double boiler is nice, Stein. Today I scrambled in a cast iron skillet with lots of butter and medium-low heat. I cracked the eggs right into the pan and heated it up from cold. I remember an MFK Fisher recipe where you add cream too. As the eggs set, I gently stirred. Your suggestion and method sounds divine Mr. Stein!
k
My mother used to make this for me. I find it so comforting. I make it sometimes when I find myself missing her.
stein
I've done that cream thing, too. If it's the recipe I'm thinking of she also puts in toasted croutons -- very nice. I've never thought of starting with a cold pan. I'll try that next time.
David
'Beaton' eggs are not 'scrambled eggs'. Scrambled means the two components, the white and the yellow, 'scrambled' together so that you can see the two colours. If you beat eggs they cannot any longer be 'scrambled'.
Andrea Nguyen
Eggs are beaten and then the cook process involves scrambling the mixture in the pan. That's the standard method. Alton Brown whisks his eggs -- which combines the yolk and white. https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/perfect-scrambled-eggs-recipe-2107541
There are a few recipes that call for putting the eggs in a skillet with butter and some cream and then slowly heating things and stirring. M.F.K. Fisher had a recipe. Maybe you're thinking of that?
