This is an easy side-dish that every Viet kid has grown up eating. It's a bright yellow steamed egg meatloaf stuffed with cellophane noodles, crunchy wood-ear mushrooms, and juicy morsels of pork. Serve with hot, fluffy rice.
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Growing up, this Cha Trung Hap (Vietnamese Steamed Egg Meatloaf) was one of those staple meals my mom would make when she was short on time. And no wonder, because its SO simple to make. Just mix a few eggs, pork, noodles, and mushrooms. Then, steam it. Done!
What is Cha Trung Hap (Vietnamese Steamed Egg Meatloaf)?
Cha Trung Hap is basically just a steamed egg-based meatloaf. You can also think of it like a steamed quiche, which shows off the French influence has on Vietnamese cooking (e.g. Banh Mi, Flan). It had chunks of juicy groundpork and cellophone noodles. It also has a unique crunch/chew thanks to thinly sliced wood-ear mushroom. The top layer is bright yellow because a final layer of just egg yolk is poured on top as the finale, giving it a pretty look!
Cha Trung Hap is commonly served as a side dish to fluffy, hot rice and grilled lemongrass pork chops.
Ingredients to Make Cha Trung Hap
- Eggs
- Cellophane noodles
- Sliced wood-ear mushroom (you can buy this at any asian grocery store)
- White pepper
- Fish sauce
- Sesame oil
Expert Tips to Make Perfect Cha Trung Hap
Let it cool before slicing
This step is key because letting it set makes it easy to cleanly cut it into slices. If you don't wait, you're going to get crumbly pieces. It's like when you make a lasagna, you normally wait for it to cool down before cutting.
Don't let too much condensation drop it
When steaming, the lid will collect condensation and will eventually drip on the meatloaf. Keep an eye on it and wipe away condensation before it forms huge pools of water on the cha trung hap. This prevents it from getting soggy and discoloured.
You know it's cooked when the centre is firm
If it's jiggly, it's undercooked. Just put the cha trung hap into your steamer for a few more minutes until the centre feels firm to the touch (but NOT rubbery).
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Recipe for Cha Trung Hap
Cha Trung Hap (Vietnamese Steamed Egg Meatloaf)
Ingredients
- ½ cup dried shredded wood ear mushroom
- 2 small bunches cellophane noodles
- 6 eggs (reserve two egg yolks)
- ½ cup lean ground pork
- 1 teaspoon white pepper
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ⅛ cup fish sauce
Instructions
- Soak mushrooms and noodles in hot water for 5 mins. Lightly rinse, then drain.
- Mix all other ingredients in a large bowl, reserving two egg yolks on the side. Mix in mushrooms and noodles. Ensure ground pork is broken up into even-sized chunks.
- Grease the sides of a loaf pan with oil or line with parchment paper. Pour meatloaf mixture into the pan and place into steamer. Let steam for 30 minutes.
- At the 30 minute mark, mix the two egg yolks well and pour on top of the meatloaf to form a yellow top layer. Cover, and let steam for another 15 minutes ot until centre of meatloaf is firm and bouncy. Remove from steamer.
- Let meatloaf cool before slicing.
