Every culture has a meatloaf or steamed egg dish. Vietnam has our steamed egg and pork meatloaf or chả trứng thịt hấp that most people will recognized as part of a very popular grilled pork chop dish at most restaurants. This dish is very easy to make and can be eaten alone or as part of grilled meat dish and salad. The steamed egg and pork meatloaf also refrigerates well so you can make one and pack it for lunch or dinner for the week.

Ingredient:

6 eggs

1 lb. of ground pork

1 cup of minced woodear mushroom

1 cup of glass noodles cut into 3 inch segments (This is a clear vermicelli noodles and not the rice vermicelli noodles that most people are familiar with and can be found in most Asian supermarkets.)

1 cup of shredded carrots

1 and 1/2 teaspoons of fish sauce

1/2 cup of diced onion

1 tablespoon of chicken bouillon powder

1 teaspoon of ground pepper

1/2 teaspoon of salt

2 teaspoon of sugar

olive oil

Glass or clear vermicelli noodles versus the rice vermicelli noodles that most people are familiar with

a typical mushroom that you would find in an Asian mart

Directions:

Soak the glass noodles in a bowl of warm water until the noodles soften. Pulse the glass noodles 2-3 times in a food processor or you can cut the noodles into 3 inch segments with a knife. Set aside.

Soak 1 cup of dried wood ear mushrooms (approximately 3-4 large dried pieces) until softened. Thinly slice the mushrooms and then mince the mushrooms. You can use the food processor to make it quicker.

after soaking

after soaking

Minced after the food processor

In a bowl, combine the following:

6 egg whites and 3 egg yolks, 1 lb. of ground pork, 1 cup of minced wood ear mushrooms, 1 cup of glass noodles, 1 cup of shredded carrots, 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of fish sauce, 1/2 cup of diced onion, 1 tablespoon of chicken bouillon powder, 1 teaspoon of ground pepper, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 2 teaspoons of sugar, 1 teaspoon of olive oil

Separately, beat 3 egg yolks together and set aside.

Steaming (35 minutes total):

Heat a steamer large enough to fit a 6 inch round pan or any heat proof pan. Grease the pan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Fill the pan with the meat filling and steam for 15 minutes.

At the 15 minute mark, open the lid to allow for some of the steam to escape. Close the lid again and allow to steam for another 15 minutes (total 30 minutes from the start of steaming at this point).

After steaming for a total of 30 minutes (from the start), quickly spread the egg yolk mixture over the omelet (while it’s in the steamer) and allow to steam for another 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the meatloaf cool before removing it from the pan.

Fully cooked egg and pork meatloaf

Put a plate on top of the pan and flip the plate and the mold over. Use another plate to re-flip the meatloaf so the yellow side is on top.

Sauce (optional):

You can pour this sauce over the slice of egg and pork meatloaf and rice before eating for more flavor.

Combined 1 tablespoon of fish sauce, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 2 tablespoons of coco rico soda and 1 teaspoon of minced garlic and chili.

Enjoy this dish with a side of salad and pork ribs. Click here for the pork ribs recipe.

For more recipes, visit the EAT page or the Recipe Index

Authors: Susan Tran, Ly Le and Chau Hoang