Trứng chiên rau thơm (Vietnamese herby green eggpancakes)

Dorothy Porker

Herby green egg pancakes from Andrea Nguyen's Ever-green Vietnamese cookbook

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 10

Course Dinner, Lunch, Main course, Snack

Cuisine Vegetarian, Vietnamese

Servings 4

2 C lightly packed cooked leafy greens I used savoy cabbage, Andrea suggests kale, chard or collards for example
1 C packed chopped fresh herbs I used dill, cilantro and chives, Andrea also suggests garlic chives, Vietnamese shiso or wild pepper leaves
1 T fish sauce vegan store-bought fish sauce or soy sauce are also fine
2 T corn starch
1 t black pepper freshly ground preferred
pinch salt optional, to taste
6 large eggs
4-5 T neutral oil sunflower, canola or peanut for example

If you bought fresh leafy greens for this and aren't using left-overs, be sure to prepare these first. I cut up a few leaves of savoy cabbage and cooked them for 5 minutes in salted boiling water before draining thoroughly. If using any other leafy green please use Google to find the best way to prep them.

Pour of any cooking liquid from your 2 C of pre-cooked leafy greens, they don't have to be completely dry just make sure they're not swimming in liquid.
Chop the greens into medium small pieces and place them into a medium-sized bowl with 1 C of chopped mixed herbs, season with 1 T of fish sauce and some good grinds of black pepper, taste and season with salt if necessary. There should be a mild savouriness to the mixture. I found the salinity from the fish sauce was enough to provide that and didn't add any salt.
Mix in 2 T of corn starch until dissolved.
Add 6 eggs and mix to coat everything evenly.
Preheat a 12" or 30 cm ⌀ frying pan and add 2 T of neutral oil to lightly coat the bottom.
Once the oil starts to ripple, use a 1/4 c measuring cup or serving spoon to scoop the egg mixture from the bowl into the pan, depositing 3 to 4 scoops into the pan to create separate pancakes. Spread them out slightly with the bottom of your scooper. Some of the egg should drizzle out to crate frilly edges.
Pan-fry the pancakes and flip after a minute or 2 or when the edges look golden brown and crisp, and cook for another minute or so on the other side. Move to a platter or rack. Add some additional oil to your pan until you've used up all the batter and have a nice stack of trứng chiên rau thơm.
Serve with rice or on some bread with sriracha, hoisin sauce, Viet-chili or chili-garlic sauce.

Andrea's herby green egg pancakes will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Just let them get back to room temperature before briefly refrying them to get those crispy edges back.
If you like, according to the recipe, you can also add a spring onion cut into thin rings.
While researching what trứng chiên rau thơm are supposed to look like (there is no photo in the book), I saw some people make one big pancake and cut it up into wedges, so if you are so inclined that's an option too.
I think if you change the herbs, for example to basil, thyme, oregano, sage and the like, and maybe nix the fish or soy sauce (or not even because they are stellar seasonings) you could end up with a lovely Mediterranean affair on your plate.

Keyword easy vegetarian, savory pancakes, vegetarian vietnamese