Chả Trứng Hấp Recipe (Vietnamese Steamed Egg Meatloaf)

Chả Trứng Hấp recipe, I used to eat a lot because it was simple to prepare, and it was the food my mother grew up eating. It is a Cha Trung Hap can be described as a steaming egg meatloaf stuffed with ground pork, eggs green onions, wooden ear mushrooms. It’s incredibly simple to prepare. Place everything in a dish to steam, then you’re accomplished! It’s not one of the most beautiful dishes , but it’s fantastic. It’s the definition of delicacy that is ugly.

What exactly is Cha Trung Hap?

Cha Trung Hap or Vietnamese Steamed Egg Meatloaf is typically served as an omlette dish of rice like Com Tam Bi or just with rice. It’s distinguished by its spongy texture that is packed by ground beef (usually pork) and the wood-ear mushrooms cellophane noodles. It also has an attractive yellow top that is comprised of egg yolk. There are many variations to this dish and it’s among those recipes you can create yourself. When my mom cooks it, she makes her lazy version . This means she doesn’t use that golden-yellow top and she may not make use of ground pork based on the ingredients in the refrigerator. Other protein options I’ve seen include shiitake mushrooms as well as crab meat.

Ingredients, Substitutions, and Adjustments

• Ground Pork is the traditional protein for the cha trung hap recipe. You could also make use of various other meats ground, mushroom as well as crab meat.
• Cellophane noodles (glass noodles) – These are the clear, thin noodles that are sold in Asian supermarkets. If you are unable to find these noodles, I’d simply take them off.
• wood ear mushrooms add a pleasant flavor and texture to meatloaf. If they aren’t readily available I’d suggest substituting them with any type of mushroom.
• The green onions and the cilantro These herbs are a good way to balance the heavyness in the remaining ingredients. Choose one or both for the meatloaf. I like a mixture of both.
• Eggs The main ingredient of this dish.
• Food coloring adds a pleasant umamiand salty taste in the meatloaf. I only add 1 tablespoon of fish sauce however, you are able to add more if you wish.
• Salt, black pepper and sugar to season
• Sesame oil adds a smokey flavour to your meatloaf.
• Water The mix is quite dense because of the various ingredients you add to it, and water can help thin the mix.

Making cha trung hap recipe

Start by preparing an 8×4 loaf pan, by coating it in neutral oil. After that, combine all of ingredients in the bowl with the exception of one egg. With the other egg take the yolk from egg white. Then, mix the yolk and egg white into your bowl. Mix all the ingredients together, then put them into the loaf pan. Place the loaf pan aside as well as the egg yolk.

Make sure your steamer is ready. Bring water to a boil and then add the steamer attachment to the top. Place your loaf pan into the steamer. Be sure to lift the loaf pan off the steamer once it has finished cooking. Sometimes, I place an upside-down bowl in the base of my steamer to make an edging to place my bread pan on. This makes it much easier to take it off. It is recommended to steam for 40 minutes.

After 40 minutes After 40 minutes, poke holes into the meatloaf in order to see if it’s done. If liquid escapes from the meatloaf, cook it several minutes more until there is no liquid left. Whisk the egg yolks in step 2 and pour it onto the meatloaf, spreading it in an evenly-spaced layer. The steaming process continues for another 5 minutes to harden the yolk of eggs. Take it off the stove and allow it to sit at least 20 minutes prior to cutting it. Serve with rice, pickled vegetables (Đồ Chua), as well as Nước Chấm.

Tips for making your perfect Cha Trung Hap

What do you do when your meatloaf has become not cooked properly?

This is a frequent occurrence. There are numerous factors that could affect your cooking time. 1.) The steamer’s temperature isn’t an adequate temperature.
2.) The shape and size of the bowl could influence the cooking time.

If the meatloaf you’ve cooked is not done and you’re unable to return it to the steamer, place it into the microwave and cook for couple of minutes until it’s cooked to perfection. The water will escape from the center if the meatloaf isn’t cooked to perfection.

You can make use of other containers but you must adjust the cooking time.

It is possible to use any container you like, but the cook time will differ due to the different dimensions and shapes. I’ve cooked in the bowl previously and it took me around 30-minutes to prepare. This recipe is made using an 8×4 loaf pan that takes about 40 hours to prepare. The best way to tell when your meatloaf has been cooked is by poking the loaf. When you poke the meatloaf several times and nothing comes out, then you’re well.

Do not slice into your meatloaf until it’s boiling hot

When you slice into the meatloaf when it’s still hot, it’ll fall into pieces. Allow it to cool down some time before cutting into it.

Did you cook this dish?

If you have made this dish, I’d be interested to see the results!

Some other Vietnamese dishes with rice that you may like:

• Canh Khổ Qua – Stuffed Bitter Melon Soup
• Beef Fried Rice & Pickled Mustard Greens
• Bo Luc Lac – Shaking Beef
• Sườn Nướng – Pork Chop