Now that summer is here, I’m trying to incorporate more fresh vegetables into our meals. I came across these beautiful on-the-vine tomatoes at the grocery store (and they were on sale) and immediately thought about the Vietnamese dish called cà chua nhội thịt (stuffed tomatoes). Cà chua means tomatoes, and nhồi thịt means stuffed with meat.
What is cà chua nhồi thịt (stuffed tomatoes)?
This is definitely one of my favorite comfort food, because my mom made it for me often when I was growing up in Vietnam. It contains ground meat mixed with garlic, white onion, green onion, salt, pepper and dried mushrooms, then stuffed inside a tomato.
Making the stuffing
I used 50% ground beef and 50% ground pork for the stuffing. But you can use just ground beef or ground pork. Traditionally dried mushrooms, chopped garlic, chopped yellow onion, chopped green onion and vermicelli gets mixed in to the ground meat. However, I didn’t have any vermicelli on hand, so I didn’t add it. The key with using dried mushrooms and vermicelli is to soak them in warm water to soften first. This makes them easier to handle. If you love dried mushrooms and vermicelli like I do, check out my egg rolls and egg meatloaf recipes.
Cutting the tomatoes
In order to stuff the tomatoes, you have to remove the inside. The best way to do this is to first cut the top off. Then use a small, but sharp knife to cut a circle in the middle of the tomato to remove the inside. Save the insides for the sauce.
Making the sauce
The sauce is simple to put together, using the cut outs from the tomatoes. I added some seasonings and a cup of Rao’s marinara sauce and used it as a base for the stuffed tomatoes. This way, nothing goes to waste.
What to do with left over stuffing?
If you have left over stuffing, you can make egg meatloaf out of them. Click here to see my egg meatloaf recipe. Or of course, you can make Vietnamese egg rolls with left over stuffing too.
How to serve stuffed tomatoes?
Traditionally it’s served with rice or a side of baguette to soak up all the fresh tomato sauce. But you can also serve it with spaghetti noodles as well, as I found out. When I made this, my son insisted that he have it with spaghetti noodles, which I’ve not tried before, but it tasted delicious.
How to store left over stuffed tomatoes?
There are no special requirements for storage. Put them in an air tight container and they will be good for a few days in the fridge. These are similar to soups and stews in that they taste much better the next day as the ingredients have time to melt together.
Cà Chua Nhồi Thịt (Stuffed Tomatoes)
Ingredients
Ingredients for the stuffing:
- 1 chopped white onion
- 2 stalks of chopped green onion
- 1 tbsp chopped garlic
- 2 pounds ground beef and pork mixture
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp pepper
- ½ cup dried mushrooms soaked in water for 8 minutes to soften. Then coarsely cut it into smaller pieces.
- 20 on the vine tomatoes
- 1 tsp butter
Ingredients for the sauce:
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 cup good quality marinara sauce I used Rao's.
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- All of the tomato cut outs
Instructions
Instructions for stuffing the tomatoes:
- Take the tomatoes and cut the top off.
- Use a small, sharp knife to cut out the middle of the tomato. Don't discard the middle because that will be used for the sauce.
- Set the hollowed tomatoes aside to prepare for the stuffing mixture.
- Add the meat, soaked mushroom, garlic, white onion, green onion, salt, pepper in a bowl. Mix well to make sure all the ingredients are combined.
- To make sure the meat mixture is seasoned to your taste, fry up a small patty on the stove. If needed, you can adjust the salt amount here.
- Spoon the seasoned meat mixture into the hollowed tomatoes. Continue until all the tomatoes are stuffed. Set the stuffed tomatoes aside and prepare the sauce.
Instructions for preparing the tomato sauce:
- Place all the tomato cutouts into a pan, and add salt, pepper, garlic powder, sugar, marinara sauce, and fish sauce.
- Let sauce simmer on medium heat while you cook the stuffed tomatoes.
Instructions for cooking the stuffed tomatoes:
- After all the tomatoes are stuffed, add 1 tsp butter into a pan.
- Place the tomatoes meat side down and let it cook until the meat is brown.
- When the meat is brown, turn the tomatoes over, add the tomato sauce and let them simmer on medium heat for 30 minutes with the lid on.
- Sprinkle more chopped green onions on top before serving.
So the next time you see on-the-vine tomatoes at the grocery store, grab some and give this recipe a try. If you like this post, feel free to share it on Facebook by using the button below.
