VIETNAMESE EGG MEATLOAF
Here’s a meatloaf with a difference.
Vietnamese egg meatloaf also known as Chả Trứng Hấp – is filled with the expected minced meat (pork in this instance) but has the additional ingredients like black wood ear mushrooms & mung bean thread noodles to give it a more interesting texture than the usual western meatloaf dish – which always reminds me of burger meat.
This dish is bursting with flavours from the fish sauce & various seasonings plus topped off with an egg yolk glaze to give it a lovely finish. As it is steamed the meatloaf keeps it’s moisture.
The Vietnamese egg meatloaf can be sliced into thin portions or just placed in the middle of the dinner table with a spoon for your guests to dig into.
It’s perfectly seasoned so no need for additional sauce. Just serve with a bowl of steaming jasmine rice & maybe a side of stir fried vegetables.
This is a great dish for the coming cold weather.
Vietnamese Egg Meatloaf
Serves: 4 ppl
250g minced pork
- 5 large king prawns
- 10g dried shredded wood ear mushrooms/fungus
- 25g dried mung bean thread noodles (also known as glass vermicelli)
- 1 large shallot
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp chicken powder
- 1/2 tsp freshly grounded black pepper
- 2 egg yolks
- spring onions to garnish
METHOD:
Soak 10g dried shredded wood ear mushrooms in hot water for 30 minutes.
After soaking, drain, rinse and leave to the wood ear mushrooms to air dry whilst you get the rest of the ingredients ready.
Soak 25g dried mung bean thread noodles in warm water for 15 minutes. Make sure its not too hot as the noodles will get soggy. You just want to soften the noodles. Use a colander to drain, rinse and leave to dry.
Peel and finely dice the shallots.
Devein the king prawns by slicing the back of the king prawns and remove the vein. If you don’t do this you’ll end up with a slightly grainy texture to your prawns. Flatten the prawns with your fingers along the back of the prawns – this will breakdown the texture of the prawns a little. Finely sliced the king prawns so you get small chunks of the prawns.
In a shallow (approx 20cm x 5cm) bowl add 1 tsp of vegetable oil and spread the oil evenly inside the bowl – this will stop the meatloaf from ticking to the bowl.
In a large mixing bowl add 250g minced pork, sliced shallots, thinly sliced wood ear mushrooms, prawns, mung bean thread noodles, 3 eggs, 1 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tbsp fish sauce, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 tbsp chicken powder, 1/2 tsp ground black pepper and mix all ingredients together. I prefer using my hands to do this instead of using a spoon as I find the ingredients mix together much better this way.
Transfer the mixture to the oiled plate and spread the ingredients out evenly.
Place plate in a steamer, cover and steam for 20 minutes on a high heat. Whilst the meatloaf is steaming separate the yolks of 2 eggs into a small bowl and beat the yolks with a fork. You can use the left over egg whites for another dish.
After 20 minutes of steaming the meatloaf, brush the top with the beaten egg yolk – so you should have a layer of orange on top of the meatloaf. Cover and steam for another minute.
Garnish with a little spring onions before serving.
(This recipe should take just over an hour to make – includes the 30 minutes to rehydrate the dried wood ear mushrooms & 20 minutes to steam the meatloaf)
FYI – sometimes crab meat is added to this dish and various other ingredients. I can imagine water chestnut would be great in this dish, giving it that extra crunch. Have fun making this or creating your own Vietnamese egg meatloaf 🙂
