Turning Vietnamese Episode 4 - Cha Trung Hap

Hey Cast Iron Therafans, today we pay tribute to one of the most versatile of proteins, the egg. Boiled, an ingredient in baked goods, fried in all manner of ways, the egg is very broad in its ability to satisfy cravings. In this post, the treatment is a distinctly Vietnamese manner, steaming. This isn't necessarily the traditional way, as I doubt that in olden times Vietnamese farmers had Corelle dessert-cups, but hey use what you've got!

Cha Trung Hap is basically a Vietnamese meatloaf, with a slightly higher emphasis on eggs, cooked through a steaming method, rather than an oven. There's a fried variant as well, but let's pretend this is a healthier version.

The recipe is at the end, but first the picture breakdown.

This is the true base of the dish, a mixture of ground pork, garlic and onion is marinated with a healthy dosing of fish sauce. Yes, fish sauce is in everything in Vietnamese cooking. I suppose you could use salt if you're a coward.

Rice vermicelli is soaked in hot water until it is soft.

And chopped up into little pieces about so. I guess roughly 3/4 of an inch but it's hardly an exact science.



Mix into the pork.

Start cracking some eggs and beating them roughly. We don't want them blended too well here.

The pork is incorporated into the egg gently. I found that using two forks and smashing the pork between the tines to break it apart.

Set the corelle or other durable bowl into a larger pot and set into some water, and bring to a rolling boil, then lower heat to a gentle boil. This will cook for at least 20 minutes.

Here it is not quite done yet. You want the eggs to be fully cooked and set. A stab with a chopstick will not result in yolk coming out.

And here it is. Scoop out onto rice and enjoy.

Perhaps with some of the mustard pickles, mentioned in an earlier post. 

The rough and ready recipe:

1/2 pound ground pork.

1/4 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, smashed.

4 tablespoons and 

4 tsp. fish sauce.

4-5 eggs

1 bundle of rice vermicelli (Not a whole package, they come in threes or sometime fours)

1. Mix ground pork, onion, and garlic, mix with 4 tablespoons of fish sauce let marinate for at least an hour or overnight in the refrigerator.

2. Soak rice vermicelli in hot water. Check every 5 minutes for a soft consistency, then remove to drain.

3. Chop vermicelli into small pieces. Mix with the ground pork mixture. 

4. Crack 4 eggs, beat lightly.

5. Incorporate mixture into eggs, and add 4 tsp of fish sauce.

6. If it looks like the eggs are just mixed into the pork covering it all, perfect. If you need an extra egg, go for it.

7. Put in a bowl that will fit in a larger pot and set in a few inches of water, safely under the bowl's edge. Put a plate or a lid on the bowl.

8. Bring to rolling boil, then a gentle boil. Check after 20 minutes. The dish is done when a stab no longer results in liquid egg coming from it.

Turning Vietnamese Episode 2 - Bún bò Huế

If you know anything about Vietnamese food, you probably have heard of Phở, but it may be slightly less likely that you have heard of bún bò Huế. If phở is that comfortable mother who keeps you warm on a gloomy day, then bún bò Huế is that awesome aunt who sits you in front of a roaring fireplace and maybe offers you some chili peppers. Chances are you’d want to introduce your friends to your mom before the aunt, because you kind of need to work up to that.

The reason I say this is because bún bò Huế requires a bit more of a tolerant palate than phở. Phở’s broth has most of its flavor come from a good stock of bones and several spices heated for a long period to draw out the flavor of the bones, really playing on the love of umami. Bún bò Huế is similar in its broth making with the difference in an added ingredient, shrimp paste, which while completely awesome, might intimidate some people with its strong flavor profile.

This is the assembling of a bowl so you have an idea of what you’re getting into. My dear mother had most of the ingredients ready for me so I can’t give you too much insight into the whole process this time. 

I wish this was a better picture, but here is the broth with some large pieces of pork in it to break down.

Rice noodles are then put into boiling water for about 8 minutes and set in a strainer to rest and finish softening up. Mom's tip, don't boil it to softness all the way in the water, as this will create a mushier end product, better to air dry it for a while.

 

The pork has softened a bit and is sliced up.

And placed in the on top of some of the noodles, a garnish of sliced onions and cilantro. Some stewed beef slices are also arranged on top.

Finally, top with broth and get ready to enjoy. I'm aware I went a bit overboard with the meat here, but I was trying to help clean out the fridge. That's the reason....yeah, that's it.

I wish this was one of the earlier bowls I had. You'd really see more of the shiny red from the soup base, which really helps to add a kick and a bit of nice color to the bowl.