Lau Nam Chay (Hot and Sour Vegetarian Mushroom Hot Pot), Made with Monk Fruit Sweetener

Name: Lau Nam Chay (Hot and Sour Vegetarian Mushroom Hot Pot), Made with Monk Fruit Sweetener
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 3 servings
Cuisine: Nationwide
Ingredients: Coconut water 1.3 liters; kOBE Monk Fruit Blend 90g; tamarind paste 150ml; vegan fish sauce 100ml; chili sauce 100g; vegetarian seasoning powder 50g; dried sate chili 15g; olive oil 2 tablespoons; bruised lemongrass 30g; bruised galangal 15g; bruised chili 10g; tomato 1, cut into wedges; kaffir lime leaf 5g; shiitake mushroom 50g; king oyster mushroom 50g; mushrooms and greens for dipping, including enoki mushroom, white beech mushroom, brown beech mushroom, straw mushroom, oyster mushroom, napa cabbage, silken tofu, Thai basil and leek

Vietnamese dishesHot PotsNationwide45 minutes

A vegetarian meal for a crowd often starts with lau nam chay chua cay. The broth is built on coconut water, so the sweetness comes on its own. The difficulty is balancing sour, hot, sweet and salty so that none of the four takes over.

A 20 minute soak in lightly salted water followed by a rinse clears the raw edge from the mushrooms. Kaffir lime leaves need a good crush before they go into the pot to give up their perfume.

This batch weighs about 2.1kg, at roughly 82 calories per 100g.

Nutrition (this recipe makes 3 servings)

81.5kcal

2.4gprotein

5.3gfat

3gsugar

The sweetness here comes from kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and fruit. There is no added refined sugar.

Estimated from raw ingredients; the real numbers shift a little depending on how you cook and what you buy.

This batch makes 3 servings. The pot holds about 1.5 liters of broth, enough for 3 people to dip mushrooms and greens.

Ingredients for the batch

Coconut water 1.3 liters
kOBE Monk Fruit Blend 90g
tamarind paste 150ml
vegan fish sauce 100ml
chili sauce 100g
vegetarian seasoning powder 50g
dried sate chili 15g
olive oil 2 tablespoons
bruised lemongrass 30g
bruised galangal 15g
bruised chili 10g
tomato 1, cut into wedges
kaffir lime leaf 5g
shiitake mushroom 50g
king oyster mushroom 50g
mushrooms and greens for dipping, including enoki mushroom, white beech mushroom, brown beech mushroom, straw mushroom, oyster mushroom, napa cabbage, silken tofu, Thai basil and leek

Method

Trim and clean the mushrooms: carve the shiitake, cut the king oyster into lengths, halve the straw mushrooms and tear the oyster mushrooms. Soak them all in lightly salted water for 20 minutes, then rinse.
Cut the napa cabbage into lengths, seed the tomato and cut it into wedges, cube the silken tofu, slice the leek and pick the Thai basil leaves.
Heat a pot with 2 tablespoons olive oil and fry 30g lemongrass, 15g galangal and 10g chili, all bruised, until fragrant.
Add 1 tomato and stir fry until it softens and gives up its red color.
Pour in 1.3 liters coconut water and bring the pot to the boil.
Once it boils, season with 150ml tamarind paste, 90g kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, 100ml vegan fish sauce, 100g chili sauce, 50g vegetarian seasoning powder and 15g dried sate chili, stir until dissolved and taste again.
Crush 5g kaffir lime leaves and drop them in with 50g shiitake and 50g king oyster mushroom, and cook until the mushrooms are done.
At the table, bring the broth back to a simmer, scatter over fried leek and chopped Thai basil, and dip the mushrooms and greens.

Tips

Soak the mushrooms in lightly salted water for 20 minutes before cooking to clear their raw edge.
Taste the broth before it goes to the table, all four notes of sour, hot, sweet and salty should be there.
Add the silken tofu last and dip it gently so the cubes stay whole.
Bruise the kaffir lime leaves first, since whole leaves give up no perfume.
Fry the bruised lemongrass and galangal until the edges turn golden, since a rushed fry leaves the broth flat.

Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?

The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.

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