Ingredients
| 1 tablespoon palm or raw sugar | |
| 3 tablespoons rice vinegar | |
| 4 tablespoons fish sauce, plus 2 teaspoons extra | |
| 2 chillies, sliced | |
| juice of 2 limes | |
| 2 carrots, cut in julienne (fine strips) | |
| ½ cucumber, cut in julienne (fine strips) | |
| 1 cup bean sprouts | |
| 3 tablespoons plain oil | |
| 2 shallots, thinly sliced | |
| 1 cup cooked jasmine or long-grain rice | |
| 1 tablespoon soy sauce, plus 2 teaspoons extra | |
| 150g silken tofu, roughly cut, or firm tofu, cut into ½cm cubes | |
| 350g crisp lettuce leaves (I like baby cos) | |
| 1 cup fragrant herbs, such as Thai basil, coriander, mint, Vietnamese mint | |
| 8 eggs |
Lettuce cups make a fun, hands-on meal and omelette is a perfect filling. You can make all the filling in one lot, but make the omelettes one at a time, so they stay warm. I like to use silken or soft tofu for the texture, but firm tofu also tastes good. If you don’t have a good non-stick frying pan, you can line the bottom of your pan with baking paper to stop the omelette sticking.
View the recipe collection here
Instructions
| 1. | To make the nuoc cham sauce, whisk together the sugar, vinegar and 4 tablespoons fish sauce in a bowl until the sugar has dissolved. |
| 2. | Spoon half into a small bowl and mix in the chillies and lime juice and set aside. |
| 3. | Add the carrot and cucumber to the remaining sugar/ vinegar/fish sauce mix in the bowl and toss to coat. Set aside, tossing once or twice. |
| 4. | Put the bean sprouts in a colander and pour over boiling water to blanch. Refresh with cold water and set aside. |
| 5. | Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a wok or frying pan over medium-high heat. |
| 6. | Add the shallot and stir-fry for 2 minutes, then add the rice and 1 tablespoon soy sauce and stir fry for about 2 minutes. |
| 7. | Stir through the bean sprouts for 1 minute then fold in the tofu. Set aside. |
| 8. | Arrange the lettuce leaves, herbs, cucumber and carrot and nuoc cham on serving dishes on the table. |
| 9. | Heat a little more oil in a large to medium-sized frying pan over a medium heat. |
| 10. | Whisk 4 eggs together with 1 tablespoon water and 1 teaspoon fish or soy sauce and season with a little salt. |
| 11. | Pour into the frying pan, swirling so the egg completely covers the surface. |
| 12. | Using a spatula, gently bring the cooked egg to the centre so the omelette cooks evenly. |
| 13. | When just done (still a little runny on top) spoon half the tofu filling over one side of the omelette and fold in half. |
| 14. | Gently slide onto a warmed serving plate and cut into 8 pieces. |
| 15. | Wipe the pan clean and make another omelette in the same way. |
| 16. | To serve, put a piece of omelette into a lettuce leaf with some cucumber and carrot and some herbs, then spoon over the nuoc cham. |
Recipes & food styling Fiona Smith / Photography Aaron McLean / Styling Fiona Lascelles