Mắm Chưng (Vietnamese Steamed Egg Meatloaf With Salted Fish)

Optional step:

1. Finely mince the shallot, garlic ginger, and the white part of scallions.
2. Sauté all these ingredients in cooking oil until fragrant. Allow them to cool down completely.

Prepare the preserved fish:

1. Some preserved fish is ground, while others are whole fish, especially the preserved snakehead fish. If it still has bones, remove them.
2. Finely chop the whole fish with the aromatics. I prefer to use my food processor to save time. You could add some Thai chilies in this step since chilies could help reduce the fishy smell of Mắm.

Steam Mắm Chưng:

1. Mix together the preserved fish, ground pork, green part of scallions, and eggs (reserving two egg yolks to make the yellow egg top). Season the mixture with sugar, MSG, and ground pepper.
2. Apply a thin layer of cooking oil to grease your baking mold or bowl (this helps to take out the steamed meatloaf easily).
3. Pour the mixture into the bowl. Make an X mark at the center of your meatloaf; this will help ensure the meatloaf has a level surface after steaming.
4. Steam it over low-medium heat for around 30-40 minutes. Check with the toothpick test to ensure it's cooked through.
5. Whisk the remaining egg yolk with some annatto oil (for a brighter color) or cooking oil.
6. Pour the egg yolks over the steamed meatloaf. Use a spoon to spread them evenly over the surface. Optionally, garnish with some sliced chili to make it more appealing. Steam for a few minutes until the top sets without covering the lid.
7. Serve Mắm Chưng hot with steamed rice, sliced cucumber, sliced eggplant and blanched vegetables.