Ca Chua Nhoi Thit (Vietnamese Stuffed Tomatoes)

Well today the President is in town and traffic will be horrible, makes me so glad I live and work on the east side (the better side) ;)  Today is also my older brother's birthday so I will be attending his comedy show tonight at Curious Comedy Theater, it is a pretty fun spot if you are into improv.  This weekend is pretty low key with a date night to Kachka on Saturday night and mother's day on Sunday.  This makes me happy because I really need to relax and catch up on my sleep after Tuesday night's late night show.  Yesterday was a really long day that felt like it was never going to end and all I wanted to do was go home and cook.  So after the gym when I finally got home I adapted this recipe and was very happy with the results.

Serves 2

The Ingredients
1/2 lb of ground pork
1 tsp of fish sauce
1 tsp of sugar
1 tsp of fresh ground pepper
1/2 tsp of salt
2 tbs diced shallots
1/4 cup cremini mushrooms, finely chopped
4 large ripe tomatoes
3 green onion, thinly diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Olive Oil


The Process
1.  In a large mixing bowl, mix together the pork, fish sauce, sugar, pepper, salt, shallots, and mushrooms.

2.  Next using a melon baller empty out the membranes of the tomatoes and set aside.  Now you’re ready to stuff the tomatoes.

3.  Stuff just to the top of the tomatoes, leaving a flat surface for even cooking.  In a large sautee pan, heat olive oil and garlic on medium high heat. Add the stuffed tomatoes with the stuffing side down first. Also add the cored tomatoes around as well.

4.  Cook until the meat is nicely golden brown and flip once. The cored tomatoes will also soften and turn in beautiful sauce. Cook until tomatoes start to soften and the pork is fully cooked (about 5-7 minutes).  Serve with a side of rice or vegetables.