A simple omelette packed with fresh herbs and served with a classic Vietnamese dipping sauce
Diana Henry The Telegraph's award-winning cookery writer
Diana Henry is the Telegraph’s much-loved cookery writer. She shares recipes each week, for everything from speedy family dinners to special menus that friends will remember for months. She is also a regular broadcaster on BBC Radio 4, and her journalism and recipe books, including Simple and How to Eat a Peach, are multi-award-winning. A mother of two sons, Diana can satisfy even the fussiest of eaters.
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The first thing I ate in Vietnam, straight from the frying pan at a street stall. You could add more ingredients – minced ground pork, for example – but I like the pureness of this. This makes more of the dipping sauce than you need but it keeps well in the fridge (you can leave it for a week) and can be eaten with chicken, pork and spring rolls or rice paper rolls.
Overview
Prep time
5 mins
Cook time
15 mins
Serves
1
Ingredients
For the nuoc cham sauce (optional)
- 1 red bird’s-eye chilli
- 4 tbsp caster or soft light-brown sugar
- 3 tbsp lime juice
- 5 tbsp fish sauce
- ½ small carrot, cut into small matchsticks
For the omelette
- 2 large eggs
- good pinch of caster sugar
- 2 tsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp chopped dill
- 1 tbsp chopped coriander
- ¼ - ½ tbsp groundnut oil
- 2 shallots, peeled and finely sliced
- 1 garlic clove, grated to a purée
To serve
- red chilli, finely chopped
- ¼ lime, for squeezing
- sea-salt flakes mixed with ground black pepper
Method
Step
To make the sauce, cut 1 red bird’s-eye chilli into thin rings.
Step
Set aside a third of them for a garnish and put the rest in a mortar with 4 tbsp caster or soft light-brown sugar and pound with the pestle.
Step
Transfer to a bowl and add 3 tbsp lime juice, 5 tbsp fish sauce and enough warm water until you have a dipping sauce with a consistency you like.
Step
Stir to help the sugar dissolve, then add the reserved sliced chilli and ½ small carrot (cut into small matchsticks).
Step
Set aside for 10 minutes before serving (the longer this sits, the hotter the sauce will get).
Step
Gently beat 2 large eggs with a good pinch of caster sugar, 2 tsp fish sauce, 1 tbsp chopped dill, 1 tbsp chopped coriander and some freshly ground black pepper.
Step
Heat ¼-½ tbsp groundnut oil in a frying pan and gently sauté 2 finely sliced shallots until they are pale gold and a little soft.
Step
Add 1 grated garlic clove and cook for another 30 seconds, then pour in the egg mixture.
Step
Tilt the pan a little, scraping in some of the egg that has set at the edges, to help more of it come into contact with the base of the pan. When it seems set enough for you to lift it, put a spatula under the omelette and turn it over.
Step
Cook on the other side until golden. Serve with the accompaniments and some nuoc cham, if you like.