What is Vietnamese egg meatloaf?
Trứng Hấp (Vietnamese egg meatloaf) is a dish containing ground meat, dry mushrooms, vermicelli and eggs. All the ingredients are mixed in, then topped with one or two more beaten eggs on top to produce a nice golden brown color when baked.
Differences between Vietnamese egg meatloaf and American meatloaf
Everyone grows up eating some type of meatloaf. My husband grew eating meatloaf that contains ground meat, breadcrumbs, ketchup, onion dip mix and one egg. While I grew up eating the kind that has ground meat, a lot more eggs, dry mushrooms and vermicelli. You’re probably wondering how this is different than a normal meatloaf? The main difference is the amount of eggs needed. My husband’s meatloaf contains one egg, whereas my Vietnamese meatloaf contains anywhere from 6-8 eggs, depending on how much meat is used.
The other difference is the use of dry mushroom and vermicelli. Both the mushroom and vermicelli need to be soaked in water first to soften it before use. In my opinion, the Vietnamese meatloaf tastes fluffier, less mushy and less dense due to the presence of the eggs. When you bite into a Vietnamese meatloaf, you’ll get the crunch factor from the soaked mushroom, the chewy texture from the vermicelli and the fluffiness from the eggs.
When should it be made?
Whenever you have left over ground meat, this recipe will come in handy. Therefore, it is great for utilizing left over ingredients. I can always count on my mom making this dish shortly after she whips up a big batch of chả giò (Vietnamese egg rolls). After all, the only thing she needs to add to the egg roll filling are the beaten eggs. Granted the egg roll filling also has jicama and carrots, but that’s okay because it will turn out great regardless. I’ve found myself making Vietnamese egg meatloaf after making bánh pate sô (meat pie) to use up the left over ground meat. That’s the beauty of making meatloaf…no matter which country it’s from.
How to serve Vietnamese egg meatloaf
You can serve this with a side of Jasmine rice, cucumbers and fish sauce (optional). Another way to serve it is inside a baguette…like a sandwich.
The next time that you have left over ground meat and don’t quite know what to do with it, try adding in some beaten eggs, mushrooms, vermicelli to make Vietnamese meatloaf.
Trứng Hấp (Vietnamese Egg Meatloaf).
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 7 grams dried mushrooms soaked.
- 11 grams dried vermicelli soaked.
- ½ white onion chopped.
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 1 tsp granulated garlic powder
- 1½ tsp fish sauce
- 8 eggs
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350oF
Preparing the ingredients for assembling:
- Soak the dry mushroom in water for approximately 8 minutes.
- Soak the vermicelli in water for approximately 8 minutes.
- After soaking, discard the water and coarsely chop the mushroom and vermicelli.
Putting together the meat loaf:
- Brown the ground beef and add to it the salt, pepper, granulated garlic powder.
- Add in the chopped onions, fish sauce and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Transfer the mixture to an oven safe dish. Then add the coarsely chopped mushroom and vermicelli.
- Mix well to combine all ingredients.
- In a separate bowl, crack 6 eggs. Season the eggs with a pinch of salt, pepper, ½ teaspoon of fish sauce and beat the eggs until all ingredients are combined.
- Add the egg mixture to the meat mixture and mix well and make sure the egg and meat mixture is evenly distributed in the dish.
- Beat 2 more additional eggs and pour it right on top of the meat & egg mixture. This will give the dish a nice golden brown color when baked.
- Place it in the oven to bake at 350oF and bake until done.
What does your family’s meatloaf recipe contain? Leave me a comment below. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
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This is one of my favorite recipes! It was a perfect casserole with a mix of different flavors! Definitely worth a try!
Thank you. I’m glad you like it.