Vietnamese Stuffed Tomatoes (Tomates Farcie/Cà Chua Nhồi Thịt)

One of my favorite meals growing up was my mom's stuffed tomatoes (more commonly referred to as "Cà Farcie" in our household).  The dish, while Vietnamese, is inspired by France's longstanding influence and relationship with the country (hence "Tomates Farcie"). Usually this is something I eat when going home for a casual family dinner, but this week I finally decided to make it myself!

Shopping for the ingredients was very simple: about a pound of ground pork, 3 beefsteak tomatoes (you could probably use vine-ripe or other tomatoes, but I liked beefsteak for their size, which made them easier to stuff), and one yellow onion. All the seasoning I already had in my pantry: salt, black pepper, nuoc mam (Vietnamese fish sauce) and sugar (this is Kim's tip - to offset the tartness of the tomato!).

First, dice the onion into small pieces and add it to the pork in a large bowl. Then season the meat with salt and pepper. If you like, you can add other ingredients to the meat at this step -- other recipes/versions of this dish include cellophane noodles, mushrooms and other seasoning.

Next, halve the tomatoes and remove everything inside, leaving only their shells. Set the filling (seeds, juice, chunks of tomato) aside to use for the sauce.

Fill the tomato halves with the seasoned meat. Heat a large skillet with oil, then cook the tomatoes, meat-side down, over medium-high heat for about 5-10 minutes until meat is browned.

As the stuffed tomatoes are cooking, heat the tomato filling in a pot over low heat until the tomato chunks become soft. Depending on how saucy you like your food, you can add a can of tomato sauce (or whole tomatoes, if you prefer a chunkier sauce) at this stage. Add salt, pepper, about a teaspoon of sugar and a few dashes of nuoc mam to the sauce and season to taste.

Flip the stuffed tomatoes once they're cooked, then pour the sauce over them and simmer everything over low heat for another 10 minutes or so.

Serve over white rice* and be sure to scoop enough sauce! For maximum deliciousness, break the stuffed tomato up into bite sized pieces and mix it well with the rice. Trust me, it's worth it.

*The white rice isn't really in line with my healthy eating, but for a dish like this, you really can't skip it. In fact, I scarfed down two bowls before I knew it... oops.

More images on Flickr.