This French-leaning dish may seem a bit weird with the addition of fish sauce, but the cold crunch of lettuce counterbalanced by hot, salty egg and the buttery, full-bodied sauce paired with asparagus works perfectly.
Ingredients
- Eggs 4
- Dark Soy Sauce 40 ml
- Vietnamese Premium Fish Sauce 40 ml
- Butter 120 g, diced
- Juice of 2 limes
- Asparagus 12 large and thick spears, or 20 thin
- Vegetable Oil 2 Tbs
- Iceberg Lettuce ½, quartered
Cook It
- Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and set aside a bowl of ice water. Add the eggs to the pan and boil for 8 minutes, then refresh in the icewater bath. Peel them under water the water helps separate the shell from the white, making them easier to peel. Then slice the eggs thinly and evenly, keeping the yolk and white together, place in a shallow dish and cover with the dark soy sauce.
- In a saucepan over a medium low heat bring the fish sauce and 80 ml (2½ fl oz/1⁄3 cup) water to the boil, then remove from the heat and whisk through the butter and the lime juice. Set aside, but keep it warm.
- Arrange the asparagus in a large frying pan and drizzle over the oil. Put over a high heat and semi-burn them on one side. Remove from the heat and season with salt. Chop the asparagus into small pieces then mix through the egg.
- To serve, lay the iceberg down on the plate. Spoon the egg and asparagus mixture all over the lettuce, then pour over the fish sauce butter.
Excerpted from The Atlas Cookbook by Charlie Carrington (C) 2019 Reproduced by permission of Hardie Grant. All rights reserved.
