Vietnamese Steamed Meatloaf

There was about a half pound of ground pork in the freezer. It was wrapped in plastic inside a quart-size freezer bag. I checked. No signs of freezer burn. I thought about what I can make with the ground pork. One thing came to mind… Vietnamese steamed meatloaf (cha trung hap). This dish is often a side dish served with rice, cucumbers, and grilled pork. It is also be known as steamed egg meat pie or something along the lines of that.

Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb ground pork
1 small bundle (~4 oz) bean thread noodles

(substituted with: thin rice noodles)
1 small onion, minced
2 tbsp dried wood ear mushroom, reconstituted

(substituted with: handful of shredded carrots)
1 1/2 tbsp fish sauce

(substituted with: 1 1/2 tbsp vegetarian mushroom oyster sauce – less sodium and lighter flavor)
3 eggs (beat 1 egg and 2 egg whites together and reserve 2 egg yolks)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Directions:

Prepare the noodles: soak the noodles hot water, drain the noodles, cut into 2-3 inch pieces
In a large bowl, combine the pork, noodles, onion, and mushroom (or carrots, in my case). Add the 1 egg and 2 egg whites. Add the sauce and salt and pepper. Mix together.
Pour mixture into a baking pan/loaf pan/individual ramekins/heatproof bowl.
Steam covered over medium heat for 25-30 minutes. (Time may vary depending on the type of pan/bowl. You can check by inserting a toothpick or skewer. If it comes out clean, that’s good. Otherwise, let it steam longer.)

Beat the reserved egg yolks and pour over the steamed meatloaf.
Steam for an additional 5 minutes.

Remove from steamer and let it cool.
Run a knife along edge of the pan. The meatloaf should slide out with no trouble.

Cut the loaf into slices.
Serve with rice and your choice of dipping sauce.

I liked how the steamed meatloaf came out. The meatloaf can be served with various dipping sauces. Here’s a few suggestions – soy sauce, citrus soy sauce, fish sauce, Sriracha, Tabasco.