This is not a Vietnamese (or even a “Vietnamese-inspired”) recipe, but it is a variation of a theme observed from my recent trip to Vietnam. While I surely just scratched the surface of this cuisine, a standout observation was that fresh stuff mixed with crispy stuff mixed with rice stuff—preferably prepared such that all of the above can be experienced in one bite—pretty much always leads to wide-eyed satisfaction. I’ve been back for a few weeks now and was craving some texture.
If anything, this is a Los Angeles recipe, for I first experienced crispy rice salad at SQIRL, a sceney spot that put Virgil Village on the radar of gentrifiers near and far, and was one of the few spots I’d wait in a comically long line to get into. At the counter, I’d swat away temptations of whatever seasonal jam-smeared pastries or left-fielded brunchy mains that were scrawled on the chalkboard, always returning to the crispy rice salad: a bowl of deep-fried fancy rice mixed with herbs and other musings, topped with an egg. The first bite was one of those moments of pure culinary chemistry—like a big fat crush, the kind where you're overcome by premonitions of nostalgia while being truly surprised and delighted at the same time.
I dutifully pre-ordered their cookbook when it came out in 2016 and flipped straight to the crispy rice recipe. I should note that the cookbook does have some great things going for it (for one, it was one of the first aspirational portrayals of restaurant life I’d seen, long before the Bon Appetit test kitchen went viral or The Bear was a twinkle in FX’s eye). That said, the crispy rice salad recipe was…not great. Their method—cooking rice, drying it overnight, then deep frying—works for restaurant-scale production, but in my home kitchen, it resulted in rice so hard I nearly chipped a tooth. After several failed attempts, I determined that crispy rice would have to be reserved for Virgil Village pilgrimages.
UNTIL! I stumbled upon one of those “sometimes you have to eat a whole cucumber” TikToks showing crispy rice baked—not fried—in the oven. Duh! In my restorative yoga class that night, I did not succeed in quieting my mind, instead plotting the comeback of my crispy rice crush before rushing home to chop, roast, fry, and stir until I created something that made me consider never going back to Los Angeles again (sorry Dad!).
This salad is very much open to interpretation. The only essentials are supremely crispy rice, plenty of frizzled shallots and garlic, and a variety of crunchy raw vegetables. This version was very what-I-have-in-the-fridge forward, but I’d also love to get an avocado in there, and lots of fragrant herbs like mint, basil, and cilantro would punch things up too. You could use leftover takeout rice instead of making a fresh batch (a very good idea). The world is your crispy salad!
Ingredients (makes two big portions):
2 shallots
4 cloves garlic
1-2 cups avocado oil (or other high heat-friendly oil)
1 cup basmati rice (any rice will do, probably)
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
½ block firm tofu
⅓ cup roasted peanuts
3 Persian or English cucumbers
1 watermelon radish
Herbs, sprouts, avocado, or anything else fresh and crunchy
¼ inch fresh ginger
1 lime
2 eggs
Instructions:
Start the rice: Cook the rice according to the ratio of whatever rice you’re using, either in a rice cooker or on the stovetop. Let the rice cool down and preheat the oven to 375°F while you start the next step.
Prep the alliums: Use a mandoline (or a knife and a lot of patience) to thinly slice the shallots and garlic.
Fry the alliums: Heat the avocado oil in a wok or a deep and small pot over medium heat. Add a tester shallot sliver - if it sizzles right away, add the rest of the shallots and garlic. Stir them around a bunch so everything cooks at the same time. Once they start to turn golden, use a slotted spoon to remove them and lay them out on a paper towel-lined plate. Reserve the oil.
Make crispy rice: Pour the fish sauce, sesame oil, and soy sauce into the cooked rice and fluff it up to combine. Spread the rice out onto a parchment or silpat mat-lined baking sheet. Put that bad boy in the oven and check it after 15 minutes. If the edges are browning, use a spatula to rearrange the rice on the baking sheet. If it’s looking too dry, drizzle a little oil over the top. Rotate the sheet. Check the rice every 10 minutes until it’s toasted to your liking, probably about 40 minutes total. Let it cool slightly, and then scoop the crispy rice into a big bowl. Leave the oven on.
Make the tofu: Use your fingers to smoosh the tofu block into feta cheese looking crumbles directly onto the same baking sheet. Drizzle some of the reserved shallot garlic oil over the top and use your fingers to toss and coat the tofu in it. Bake for 15-30 minutes, depending of level of crunchiness you like.
Prep the remaining ingredients: Slice the cucumbers in half longways, and then into ¼ inch slices and add them to the big bowl with the rice. Thinly slice the watermelon radish and add it to the bowl too. Chop up any remaining green things like herbs, avocado, or sprouts and, you guessed it, add them to the bowl. Finely chop the peanuts but DON’T put them in the bowl yet – gotcha! Squeeze the lime into the bowl, and grate the fresh ginger in there too. Add a bit of sesame oil. Stir everything up and taste a cucumber – a little extra fish sauce may be in order.
Fry the eggs in a bit of the shallot garlic oil to your preference. I’m a sunny side up gal.
Assemble: Add the tofu crumbles, a generous handful of crispy shallots and garlic, the peanuts, and a bunch of sesame seeds. Toss it all together and add whatever it might be missing - maybe some sesame oil, possibly some soy sauce, perhaps even more fish sauce! Serve it up in two bowls and top with fried eggs.
Notes:
I would probably not recommend this one for leftovers as the crunch factor is an essential component to the experience and is a fleeting thing – I would hedge against this turning into a sad desk lunch and eat it all right away.
This recipe makes extra crispy shallots and garlic and extra shallot garlic oil. Save that stuff and use it for something else, please!