I couldn't get a good after pic worthy of displaying as the first pic for this recipe. Seriously though, I can't believe I haven't made these before. And for those reading, I have a special treat for you: the filling for these tomatoes is...wait for it...the same as the filling for my Vietnamese egg rolls! Ta-da!!
Really though, this is another one of those very traditional Vietnamese dishes that you'll very rarely find in a restaurant. And, ugh, I always feel lame typing this, but if you skip the bean thread noodles like I did, this is a paleo-friendly dish.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1/2 lb the cheapest (smallest) raw shrimp sold at the seafood counter
- 1 tsp fish sauce (and add'l to taste)
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 tsp ground pepper
- 2 tbsp diced shallots
- 1/4 cup woodear mushrooms, dried (sometimes labeled in Asian grocery stores as "black fungus")
- 1 bunch of bean thread noodles
- 4 large beefsteak tomatoes
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
DIRECTIONS
1) Fill two separate bowls with warm water. In one bowl, place the dried mushrooms. In the other, place the dried bean thread noodles. Here's a pic of what the dried mushrooms look like before and after they've been re-hydrated.
2) Coursely chop the shrimp and place in a bowl.
3) Add pork and all other ingredients except the tomatoes and garlic into the bowl with the shrimp. (If you wanna splurge, feel free to substitute with crab meat here!)
4) Mix with your hands until ingredients are blended. (Get messy!!) Set aside.
5) Cut the tomatoes in half horizontally, and core out the insides, placing the pulp in a medium sized bowl.
6) Using a potato masher, mash the tomato pulp so that there are no longer any large chunks. Set aside.
7) Scoop the pork meat into the tomatoes so that they heap over the tomato just a bit (less than a centimeter. See very first picture.)
8) In a pan, toss in the oil and garlic and sauté two minutes.
9) Place the tomatoes in, meat facing down so that it browns first. Pour in the tomato pulp around the edges of the tomatoes. (I had some extra meat that wouldn't fit into a tomato so I just cooked it like a meatball.)
10) Cook on medium high for about 15 minutes, covered.
11) Flip the tomatoes ONCE (carefully) and continue to cook for another five minutes, uncovered.
12) When the meat is done, remove the tomatoes and continue to reduce the sauce until a decent layer covers the back of a spoon.
13) when the sauce is done, spoon some on top of the tomatoes and serve!
