Cha Que (Baked Cinnamon Pork Pate)
The cinnamon flavored cousin of Cha Lua, Cha Que is a pork pate flavored with fish sauce, ground cinnamon, and sugar. Serve it with your favorite Vietnamese dish or eat it by itself with a side of nuoc cham and fresh herbs.
- Prep time
- 40 min
- Cook time
- 40 min
- Yield
- 6 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 2 lb pork loin (cut into small cubes)
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp white pepper
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 5 tsp granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp corn starch
- ¼ cup fish sauce
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ cup ice water
Instructions
- 1
First, grind 2 lb of pork loin using a food grinder. Run it through the food grinder twice for the smoothest texture. Add the ground pork loin to a bowl.
- 2
Add 1 tsp of garlic powder, ½ tsp of white pepper, 2 tsp ground cinnamon, 5 tsp of granulated sugar, 2 tbsp of corn starch, ¼ cup of fish sauce, 1/2 tsp of salt, 2 tsp of baking powder, and ½ cup of ice water to the bowl. Mix until well combined.
- 3
Add the ground pork mixture to a Ziploc bag and freeze for 1 ½ hours. Flatten the ground pork so it's as thin as possible. This will help the pork reach the correct temperature faster.
- 4
Empty the ground pork into the bowl of a stand mixer. Make sure to save the Ziploc bag for later. Whip on speed 4 for 5 minutes. Increase the speed to 6 and whip for another 5 minutes. Transfer the ground pork back into the Ziploc bag and freeze for 40 minutes. Make sure to flatten the pork mixture.
- 5
After 40 minutes, empty the ground pork into the the stand mixer bowl, and whip on speed 6 for another 10 minutes.
- 6
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C).
- 7
Grease a 8x8 baking pan with neutral oil. Press the pork mixture into the baking sheet.
- 8
Bake for 40 minutes until brown on top.
- 9
Cool for 10 minutes in the pan and slice into strips for serving.