Shared recipe · Vietnamese
Vietnamese Crispy Bacon, Chilli-Garlic Fried Eggs & Nuoc Cham Toast
Serves 2 · 30 min · from William Gay
Slow-rendered bacon until deep golden and shatter-crisp, eggs fried in the bacon fat with garlic and chilli, then finished with a sharp sweet-salty nuoc cham and hot buttered toast — a bright, light Vietnamese-leaning breakfast that uses up your bacon without any scramble or avocado.
Ingredients
- 1 pinchBlack pepper
- 15 gButter
- 2 tspCaster sugar
- 1 tspEast End Crushed Chilli
- 1.5 tbspFish sauce
- 2Garlic cloves
- 1Ocado Lemons
- 1 pinchSalt
- 8Streaky bacon rashers (already have)
- 4Thick-sliced white bread or soft bloomer
- 4 eggslarge eggs
Method
- 1Make the nuoc cham first so the flavours marry: in a small bowl whisk together the fish sauce, juice of 1 lemon, 2 tsp caster sugar, 2 tbsp warm water, the finely grated garlic clove and a good pinch of crushed chilli until the sugar dissolves. Taste — it should be bright, salty-sweet and gently hot. Set aside.
- 2Pat the bacon rashers dry with kitchen paper. Lay them in a single layer in a cold non-stick frying pan or cast-iron skillet (no oil). Place over medium-low heat.
- 3Cook the bacon gently for 8–12 minutes, turning every couple of minutes, until the fat has fully rendered, the edges are deep mahogany and the rashers are evenly crisp. Do not rush on high heat or the fat will scorch before the meat crisps. Transfer to a warm plate lined with kitchen paper and keep somewhere warm. Pour off all but about 1 tbsp of the rendered fat into a heatproof bowl (keep the rest for another day).
- 4While the bacon cooks, toast the bread in the toaster until golden. Spread lightly with butter while hot and keep warm.
- 5Return the pan with the reserved bacon fat to medium heat. Add the remaining crushed garlic and a pinch of crushed chilli; stir for 20–30 seconds until fragrant but not browned.
- 6Crack the four eggs straight into the pan, spacing them apart. Season the whites lightly with salt and a grind of black pepper. Cook undisturbed for 2–3 minutes until the whites are fully set and opaque at the edges but the yolks are still glossy and jammy. For firmer yolks, cover the pan for the last 30 seconds.
- 7Divide the hot buttered toast between two plates. Top each with half the crispy bacon, then slide two fried eggs alongside or on top.
- 8Spoon the nuoc cham generously over the eggs and bacon so it pools into the toast. Finish with a final tiny pinch of crushed chilli if you want more heat. Serve at once while the bacon is still shatter-crisp and the yolks run.