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You are here: Home / beef / Cha Dum (Vietnamese Meat Loaf)

Cha Dum (Vietnamese Meat Loaf)

November 19, 2009 By Laura 12 Comments

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I am sharing this as yet un-perfected recipe with you (not to mention the unperfect meat loaf slicing technique!), because it was very good as is and more importantly very easy. Terrific weeknight food. But you might see it it in another incarnation in the future.

My main complaint is that as is the meat does not brown nicely. I am thinking that subbing out some of the fish sauce with a dark soy sauce might help. And later of course I wished I had gone outside and picked some mint to put in it. But John would say why I am complaining because everyone ate it very enthusiastically. And I am happy to report that while both of my kids have always been amenable to nuoc cham, Alex shows signs of becoming as obsessed with it as I am. She insisted it be drizzled over all of her rice in addition to the meat loaf–and she is a kid who normally prefers plain rice.


My instructions for the recipe are for 1 loaf, made with 1 lb of meat. I made 2 because all of my ground meat comes in 1 lb packages and I wanted a mix of the tastier beef with the healthier turkey. I do this a lot because when you buy ground beef from a local, free range farm, you frequently have no choice of how fatty it is. So where some people would use a low fat ground beef made from, say, sirloin, I use a mix of ground beef (more like chuck) and turkey.


Cha Dum (Vietnamese Meat Loaf)
Adapted from Quick & Easy Vietnamese, Nancie McDemott

1 lb ground sirloin or 1/2 lb ground chuck and 1/2 lb ground turkey
1 1/2 oz dried bean thread vermicelli (mung bean threads)
2 T finely chopped shallots or red onions
1 T minced garlic
1/4 cup shredded carrots
2 T fish sauce (try subbing in some superior dark soy sauce, as discussed above)
salt and pepper to taste
1 beaten egg

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Set aside an 8X4 loaf pan.

Place the mung bean threads in a bowl and pour hot water over them. Leave them to soak until pliable, 10-20 minutes. When they are pliable, drain them and then place them on a cutting board and roughly chop them. Set aside in a large bowl. Add to that the carrots, onions and garlic. Add the meat and mix with your hands until the ingredients are roughly but evenly distributed (i.e., do not over mix). Add the egg, fish sauce and salt and pepper and mix again with your hands until the ingredients are evenly distributed. Do not over mix.

Place the meat mixture in the loaf pan and pat it evenly into the pan. Bake until it is firm, fragrant and cooked through, 30-40 minutes. Let the meat loaf cool for 10 minutes in its pan, and then transfer to a serving platter. Serve with fresh veggies, such as romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and carrots, and nuoc cham and jasmine rice.

Filed Under: beef, ground beef, ground turkey, Vietnamese dishes Tagged With: ground beef, ground meat, meatloaf, Vietnamese

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Comments

  1. HoneyB says

    November 19, 2009 at 10:20 am

    Laura, I would love to spend a week at your house eating the food you make! I don't get this kind of food at my home because Grumpy turns his nose up at it! Maybe when he goes on his hunting trip in Ohio next year I should come visit YOU! 😉

    Reply
  2. That Girl says

    November 19, 2009 at 10:43 am

    I'm really trying to branch out with Vietnamese food. I'm so open when it comes to trying new things, but Vietnamese food seems the most foreign to me.

    Reply
  3. Josie says

    November 19, 2009 at 11:44 am

    woo – what a timely post! I had some ground turkey in the fridge that was on its last leg, now this meatloaf is in the oven!

    Reply
  4. Josie says

    November 19, 2009 at 12:55 pm

    Back to add – this meatloaf ROCKS! I fiddled with it a little but holy cow it is delicious… and I used only ground turkey. And it was still delicious 🙂

    Reply
  5. Tricia says

    November 19, 2009 at 2:55 pm

    Like Josie, I have some ground meat … pork … thawing, plus I have all the other ingredients. Guess I am going to try your version with pork.

    Can't wait to try it! Thanks!

    Reply
  6. Joanne says

    November 20, 2009 at 6:28 am

    I really like your healthifying technique! This way you are both supporting local farmers AND not clogging your arteries. The best of both worlds.

    This sounds really good. I love how meatloaf is one of those foods that has an infinite number of variations.

    Reply
  7. Patti Anastasia says

    November 20, 2009 at 9:50 am

    Laura, try making a free form meatloaf rather than baking it in a loaf pan to get better browning.

    I can't wait to try this!

    Reply
  8. noble pig says

    November 20, 2009 at 1:49 pm

    Love it and the flavors!!

    Reply
  9. Jessie says

    November 23, 2009 at 1:06 pm

    wow meatloaf taken up a notch! so unique and a nice change of pace from the traditional meatloaf

    Reply
  10. Cajun Chef Ryan says

    November 23, 2009 at 1:18 pm

    What a great twist on meat loaf, this really seems like a great way to enjoy Vietnamese noodles too.

    Reply
  11. Phuong says

    February 10, 2011 at 1:20 pm

    I am Vietnamese and ate this a lot while growing up. The color of your meatloaf looks the way I would expect it to look. I plan to make this recipe on Monday, and the only thing I'll change is adding an egg on top. My mom's version always had egg on top. Can't wait to see how this compares with my mom's!

    Reply
  12. Michael says

    April 13, 2013 at 1:41 pm

    If you want to make yours a bit more Vietnamese, try a finer grind. You can use your food processor to get a finer chop on the meat you buy. I’d also use all turkey, since the color and texture will be closer to the traditional pork version. You’ll need to add fat if you use all turkey, and chicken or park fat would add flavor. Last, steam it rather than bake it. Good luck!

    Reply

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Hi! I’m Laura and I am a recovering history major who has re-channeled all of my passion for learning about the history of different countries to learning about their food culture. That doesn’t mean every dish on here is strictly authentic, but it does mean that even my adaptations are not undertaken lightly. My goal is to show you–by doing–that these dishes are possible in your kitchen. Including desserts because I have quite the sweet tooth! Read More…

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