Vietnamese Lemongrass & Pork Scotch Eggs

So far life in Vietnam has been pretty good, a few little tummy hurdles which is to be expected when you are sampling all the good street food on offer, it is so hard to resist! but now I am focusing on getting out of holiday mode and getting back into cooking and exploring new recipes. I was given a challenge by Yvonne over at Life, Love & Paleo who I met over on Instagram (it is such a wonderful community and I have met so many other like minded food enthusiasts! I definitely recommend getting on there if you aren’t already and don’t forget to say hi to me <3)

I owned up to Yvonne that I have never made Scotch Eggs before when I saw her breakkie post about 2 weeks ago. So she emailed me the basic recipe and a few variations and set me this challenge, I got pretty excited seeing the variations as to be honest I kind of felt that Scotch Eggs looked a little boring, but I shouldn’t have thought that as I never had one before (sorry!). I teamed up all the typical Vietnamese flavours I grew up with but using clean ingredients with no refined sugar or msg. Pork, eggs, lemongrass, garlic, fish sauce and an assortment of herbs. You can never go wrong with this combo!

Vietnamese Lemongrass & Pork Scotch Eggs

Yvonne’s looked much better than mine! I ended up with a few split eggs, I think I need to use more mince around the egg next time as it kind of thinned out on the flat part where they were sitting, but once they ended up in my mouth it made no difference at all if they were flat on one side or split!

• 500gm pork mince (organic/free range is possible)
• 3 tbsp minced lemongrass (approximately 1 stalk)
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1 eschalot minced
• 6 + 1 eggs (59g approx)
• 1 tbsp good quality fish sauce (I use Red Boat brand)
• 1/2-1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2-1 tsp ground pepper
• 2 tbsp coconut oil melted
• Assorted Vietnamese lettuce and herbs

For the dipping Sauce:

• 1 tbsp good quality fish sauce (I use Red Boat brand)
• 1 tbsp white vinegar
• 1 1/2 coconut sugar
• juice of one lime
• 1 tbsp water
• Mix all ingredients until the sugar dissolves

Method:

• Fill a pot with enough water to be able to cover the eggs, bring to boil
• Once boiling, add 6 eggs gently (careful not to crack them) and allow to cook for about 5 mins or to your liking
• Drain the eggs and sit them in some cold water to cool down
• While you wait for the eggs to cool completely, make the dipping sauce and wash and spin dry the lettuce and herbs
• Combine the pork mince, lemongrass, garlic, eschalot, salt, pepper & 1 egg and set aside

Combine the ingredients in a bowl

• Once the eggs are cooled, pre-heat the oven on 180c degrees and line a baking tray with baking paper
• Divide the pork mixture into 6 even portions. I do this in the mixing bowl by flattening the mixture evenly then scoring the portions evenly

Divide into 6 equal portions

• Roll each portion into a ball, then flatten slightly and make an indent where the egg will sit, then carefully close the mince up over the egg. Moisten your hands with water to help prevent the mixture from sticking

• Pour the 2 tbsp of coconut oil on the baking tray, then gently add each scotch egg to the tray gently rolling them evenly in the oil
• Bake for 12 mins, then turn and bake for another 12 mins or until golden brown
• Serve with the Vietnamese lettuce, herbs and dipping sauce

Hope you enjoy! May xx