Steamed Egg Terrine Recipe (Chả Trứng)
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15 minutes prep time
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40 minutes cook time
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Easy
This modest and frugal dish can be simply enjoyed with steamed rice and makes a delicious midweek dinner with mostly pantry ingredients. Swap out the minced (ground) pork for chicken or increase your plant intake by replacing it with chopped mushrooms and greens.
My mum used to make smaller portions steamed in rice bowls if she intended to serve this with lots of other dishes in a family-style sharing table. Enjoy with plenty of ferments or pickles and an array of uncooked and cooked vegetables.
Any leftovers can be used in bánh mì and summer rolls or as a topping for noodle soups or fried noodles.
This recipe is extracted from Quick & Easy Vietnamese by Uyen Luu (Hardie Grant, £25), Photography by Uyen Luu
Try Uyen Luu's recipe for Pandan Mochi Balls With Palm Sugar And Peanut Butter or Fried Rice Noodles Omelette!
Ingredients for Steamed Egg Terrine Serves: 4
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 small round shallots, thinly sliced
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 4 large eggs
- 1 1/2 tablespoon premium fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon caster (superfine) sugar
- 1 teaspoon sea salt, plus extra for the egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon mushroom seasoning powder (optional)
- 25g dried wood ear mushrooms (black fungus), soaked for 30 minutes in warm water, then finely chopped
- 25g glass noodles, soaked for 10 minutes in warm water, then cut into 1cm pieces
- 1 tablespoon cornflour (cornstarch)
- 200g minced (ground) pork or chicken
- 2 egg yolks
- Broken rice, vegetables, ferments and pickles, to serve
How to make Steamed Egg Terrine
- Grease a deep, heatproof bowl (or loaf tin/pan or pie dish) with the vegetable oil and set aside.
- Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat and brown the shallots for 5 minutes, then add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, fish sauce, sugar, salt, black pepper, and mushroom seasoning powder, if using.
- Add the shallots and garlic, wood ear mushrooms, glass noodles, and cornflour and stir well.
- Add the minced meat and stir well to combine. Pour the mixture into the prepared bowl.
- Prepare a steamer and place the bowl inside. Steam for 25–30 minutes until set, making sure the water in the steamer does not evaporate. When it’s ready, the juices will run clear when you insert a skewer into the centre.
- Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks with a pinch of salt.
- Pour the egg yolks over the terrine and steam for a further 5 minutes.
- Serve with broken rice, vegetables of any manner, ferments, and pickles.
- This can also be cooked in the oven in a loaf tin (pan). Preheat the oven to 200ºC fan (425ºF). Place the tin in a bain-marie, cover with foil, and bake for 40–45 minutes. Pour over the egg yolks and return to the oven to cook, uncovered, for a further 7–10 minutes with the door ajar.
- For a vegetarian alternative, swap the meat for a variety of mushrooms fried with vegetarian oyster sauce or add fried and chopped tofu or frozen diced vegetables.
