Thank you for checking out my page @Cooking with Chef Tuan This video will be part of a Charcuterie series, where I will be introducing you to the beautiful and tasty world of Vietnamese Charcuterie.
Today we will start out with the humble CHA LUA (steamed pork loaf wrapped in banana leaves) and CHA CHIEN (fried pork loaf). Now think of this as the Vietnamese version of bologna! There, now not so scary and unfamiliar. You can find this in banh mi, rice and noodle dishes all over the landscape of Vietnamese cuisine.
You can read more about them on my blog post cookingwithcheftuan.com/
You will also need a steamer basket or steamer tray. Anything you can use to steam, if you are making the steamed version of this. Or a pot of oil if you are going to fry.
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Cha Lua/ Cha Chien Recipe: (half this mix will be for the steamed roll, the other half for the fried, or you can do all one way or the other)
550 g ground pork
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp ginger powder
2 tsp cayenne powder
1 tbsp black pepper
5 tbsp cold water
1 tbsp neutral flavored oil
2 tsp white pepper
2 tbsp baking powder
1 package of banana leaves if you are going to make the steamed version
Vietnamese Pickled Carrots/Daikon Recipe:
1/2 C Shredded Carrots
1/2 C Shredded Daikon (optional)
1 C white distilled vinegar
1/4 C white sugar
Nuoc Cham (Fish Sauce Vinaigrette):
1 C water
1/4 C fish sauce
1/4 C sugar
2 tbsp white distilled vinegar
3 crush cloves garlic
1-3 chopped Thai chilies (optional)
The pickled mustard greens were store bought. You can find them in your local Asian market.
If you are making the steamed version, you should get banana leaves if you can find them. They are usually readily available at you local Asian market. If you do not have access to them, then you can just wrap them tightly in plastic wrap.
Combine all the ingredients EXCEPT the water in a food processor and blitz. Slowly add the water until the meat forms a smooth paste, depending on how lean your pork is, you may need more or less water. Just keep an eye on it.
You can either use the entire mix to make the steamed roll or you can use to fry. Either way is delicious. The Cha Chien (fried one) is a lot easier to make because you only need to shape them into patties or smaller logs like in the video and deep fry them at 345-350F for about 7 mins or until golden brown.