Cơm rang thập cẩm is fried rice with vegetables and seafood, made here for a Christmas meal. Before serving, you shape the rice into a Christmas tree and decorate it with stars and other shapes cut from egg, carrot and Vietnamese ham. It’s eye-catching, and your family, especially the kids, will be excited to see it. Serve it with hot soup. Ingredients 1 big bowl boiled rice 1 carrot 3 eggs 300 g fresh shrimps 1–2 fresh corn (on the cob) 1 big slice Vietnamese ham (giò lụa), from Vietnamese markets Salt, sugar, pepper, garlic, scallion, Maggi seasoning 50 g green peas (optional) Cooking oil Fish sauce (optional, instead of Maggi) A clean plastic bag How to make cơm rang thập cẩm 1. Prepare the vegetables and ham Peel the husks off the corn, clean it and separate the kernels from the core. Boil the kernels in hot water for about 10 minutes. Cut the Vietnamese ham into small cubes. Peel the carrot, clean it and cut it into cubes, then soak the carrot in hot water for 5–6 minutes and let it drain dry. Clean the scallion and slice it small. 2. Season the eggs Crack the eggs into a bowl and stir them well with chopsticks or a spoon. Add 1 teaspoon salt, Maggi seasoning and the sliced scallion and mix well. Set aside 2/3 of the egg mixture to fry with the rice. Fry the remaining 1/3 thinly, then cut it with a star-shaped cutter for decorating. 3. Fry the shrimp Peel the shrimps, pull out the black vein, clean them carefully and smash them. Heat oil in a pan, fry minced garlic until fragrant, then add the shrimp and fry quickly for about 3–5 minutes. Move them to a bowl. 4. Fry the vegetables and ham Using the same pan, add more oil. When it’s hot, add the carrot and fry it, seasoning with a little salt and Maggi to suit your taste. Fry for about 5–8 minutes. Add the boiled corn and the ham cubes and fry together over low heat. This step matters most. Fry until everything is soft, then add the shrimp from step 3 and sliced scallion, fry, and season again to your taste. You can use fish sauce instead of Maggi to give it more flavour. Turn off the heat and pour the mixture into a bowl. 5. Fry the rice Put the pan back on the stove, add oil and, when it’s hot, fry minced garlic until fragrant. Add the boiled rice and fry over low heat for about 10 minutes. Pour in the 2/3 egg mixture from step 2 and fry quickly so the rice doesn’t stick together. Mix in the vegetable and shrimp mixture from step 4, stir, and do a final seasoning to suit your taste. 6. Shape the tree and decorate Wait until the fried rice has cooled. Put it into the plastic bag and press it firmly with your hand into a pyramid shape. Cut the carrot, Vietnamese ham and the leftover fried egg into any Christmas shapes you like. Cut the bag open with scissors and set the rice on a plate. Arrange the shapes around the Christmas tree rice, using toothpicks to stick them into it. Share:
