Vietnamese ham, also known as cha lua, is a popular dish in Vietnam that is made from pork and spices, then wrapped in banana leaves and steamed. It is often served as a snack or a side dish with rice or noodles. In this blog post, I will show you how to make Vietnamese ham with turkey instead of pork, for a healthier and leaner option. You can use either turkey breast or ground turkey for this recipe. This recipe makes four servings.
Ingredients:
- 1 pound of ground turkey
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt
- 1 tablespoon of baking powder
- 1 tablespoon of each: sugar, cornstarch, minced garlic, fish sauce, dried onion
- 1/3 cup of water
- 1 banana leaf (12x12 inches)
- 1 sheet of plastic wrap (12x12 inches)
- 1 sheet of aluminum foil (12x12 inches)
- Some cotton threads to tie the ham
Directions:
- In a small bowl, whisk together the salt, baking powder, sugar, cornstarch, garlic, fish sauce and onion. This is the seasoning for the meat.
- In a large bowl, add the ground turkey and the seasoning and mix well. Refrigerate the meat for an hour to let the flavors marinate.
- Transfer the meat to a food processor and process until smooth and sticky. You may need to do this in batches and freeze the meat for 20 minutes between each batch. This will help the ham become more tender and firmer.
- To wrap the ham, lay the banana leaf on a flat surface. If it is too small, you can overlap several pieces together. Place the plastic wrap on out side of the banana leaf and spread the meat paste evenly over it. Roll up the banana leaf and plastic wrap around the meat paste to form a cylinder. Wrap the cylinder tightly with aluminum foil and tie both ends and around the cylinder with cotton threads.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and set up a steamer over it. Reduce the heat to medium and place the ham in the steamer. Steam for 40 minutes or until cooked through.
- Let the ham cool completely before unwrapping and slicing. Enjoy your Vietnamese ham with turkey!
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