Trứng Hấp (Vietnamese Steamed Egg with Pork)

⭐ The only steamed egg in this dive substantial enough to be a main course, and the reason it is worth knowing: everywhere else the egg is the dish and the additions are garnish. Here the egg is the binder and the pork, noodles and wood ear are the dish.

Properly trứng hấp thịt or chả trứng hấp — the same mixture that goes into a Vietnamese chả trứng, steamed rather than fried. It is a standard part of cơm tấm, broken-rice plates, cut into wedges beside grilled pork.

🔴 The egg ratio is nothing like the rest of the dive. There is barely more egg than there is filling; you are making a savoury terrine that happens to set with egg, not a custard with things in it.

The yolk on top is not optional if you want it to look right — brushed over the surface in the last few minutes it gives the glossy yellow lid the dish is known for.

Ingredients

• 30 g cellophane (glass) noodles
• 15 g dried wood ear mushroom
• 400 g minced pork, not too lean
• 4 large eggs, plus 1 extra yolk for the top
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 scallion, sliced

Directions

1. Soak the cellophane noodles and the wood ear separately in warm water for 20 minutes. Drain both. Chop the noodles into 2–3 cm lengths and finely shred the wood ear. ⚠ Do not skip chopping the noodles — full-length ones make the finished cake impossible to slice.
2. Mix the pork, noodles, wood ear, onion, garlic, fish sauce, sugar, pepper and scallion thoroughly with your hands.
3. Beat 4 eggs and mix them through. Separate the extra yolk and set it aside.
4. Press the mixture into a shallow heatproof dish, flattening the top. ⭐ Shallow and wide, about 4 cm deep — a deep dish leaves you with raw pork in the middle.
5. Cover with foil. Steam over a simmer, 20 minutes.
6. Uncover, pour off any liquid that has collected, and brush the reserved yolk over the surface.
7. Return uncovered for 3–5 minutes, until the yolk has set to a glossy yellow skin.
8. Rest 10 minutes before cutting. 🔴 Cut it hot and it falls apart. Serve in wedges with rice, or as part of a cơm tấm plate with nước chấm.

Notes

⭐ Rest it. This is the only steamed egg on the site you should let sit before serving, and it is because you are slicing it rather than spooning it.

Wood ear is doing texture, not flavour — it is nearly tasteless and gives a light crunch through a soft mixture. Shred it fine; big pieces read as rubbery.

🔴 A shallow dish or nothing. 400 g of pork in a deep bowl will not cook through in 20 minutes and you cannot tell from looking. If yours is deeper than 4 cm, add 10 minutes and check with a probe — 71 °C in the centre.

Fried instead of steamed — the same mixture in an oiled pan, covered, over low heat — is the chả trứng chiên version and equally traditional.

In the dive: Elsewhere — the dish keeps going.