"Wanna eat pho?" Common question, don't you think? Sure, I enjoy steaming, hot, brothy soups, but it is not my first choice when enjoying a quick meal. Blasphemy you say? Ha, I disagree!
The grilled pork chop and rice platter remains my standard in any Vietnamese restaurant. For an extra charge, one can add a fried egg and/or a Vietnamese style meatloaf/quiche, also known as Cha Trung. Do not skip out on the additions as the cost is still low for the amount of food. Once eating this amazing treat, I set out to learn how to cook the Vietnamese style meatloaf/quiche.
Basically, it is a combination of a meatloaf with eggs poured on top, giving it a nice layer of fluffy goodness and a beautiful look. It is much lighter than an American meatloaf and can be simply eaten with rice or vermicelli. Add some nuoc mam, and you will have a great lunch!
Cha
Trung- Meatloaf
1lb. ground pork
1 bundle vermicelli, soaked
in warm water 8-10 minutes
1/2 cup dry fungus,
soaked in warm water 20 minutes
4 large eggs
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp fish sauce
In a large mixing bowl, combine pork, vermicelli, fungus, 2 of the eggs, salt, and fish sauce. Mix well and pour into a pie pan or loaf pan. Beat the reserved eggs and pour on top of the meat mixture.
If you do not have a bamboo steamer, place a grate inside of a pot and add some water to create a stovetop steamer. Steam for about 30-40 minutes. Alternatively, bake in a water bath at 375 for about 45 minutes. Let it cool, then remove and slice.
In the pictures below, I show one with the pie pan, then the finished product was in a loaf pan. Both work very well.
