Crispy fried sprouts with fish sauce dressing

Photo: Hungry Huy

Fried until the outer leaves are nearly black and shatter, then tossed in nuoc cham-style dressing and topped with fried shallots. The restaurant appetizer, at home.

From Huy Vu at Hungry Huy · @hungryhuy

Frying is the only way to get those paper-thin, crackly leaves, and the sweet-sour dressing soaks into them.

You need

• 2 lb (900 g) small Brussels sprouts
• Neutral oil with a high smoke point, for frying (about 1 inch / 2.5 cm in the pot)
• For the dressing: 100 ml (scant 1/2 cup) fish sauce
• 80 ml (1/3 cup) water
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) rice vinegar
• Juice of 1 lime
• 60 g (1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp) sugar
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• For the fried shallots (optional): 1 shallot, thinly sliced

How to make it

1. Pull off the outer leaves and trim the dry stem end, leaving enough stem to hold the leaves together. Halve the sprouts, rinse them and let them sit in a bowl of water 5 minutes to loosen grit, then dry them completely on a towel: wet sprouts make the oil spit and won't crisp.
2. Fried shallots (optional, do these first): heat 1 inch of oil in a heavy pot to 325°F (160°C). Fry the shallot slices, stirring, until light golden, 2 to 4 minutes; they darken after you lift them out. Drain on paper towels.
3. Make the dressing: shake the fish sauce, water, rice vinegar, sugar, garlic and lime juice in a jar until the sugar dissolves. Taste: it should be salty, sweet and sour at once.
4. Heat the same oil to 375°F (190°C). Lower in 6 or 7 sprouts at a time and fry until they shrink a little and the outer leaves turn dark brown, almost black, 2 to 3 minutes. Lift onto paper towels and repeat, letting the oil come back to temperature between batches.
5. Toss the hot sprouts with a few spoonfuls of dressing in a bowl, taste and add more, then top with the fried shallots. Serve at once, with extra dressing on the side.

Written in our own words from Huy Vu's recipe, with their quantities. The original: Crispy fried sprouts with fish sauce dressing, Hungry Huy.

Follow Chef on Pinterest for every list as it lands.

More from the list