Presentation

The Vietnamese dish “Bún chả”: a delicious feast of colours and flavours

Ha Noi’s cuisine offers a wide variety of dishes with vermicelli. Among them, the “bun cha” (vermicelli with grilled pork and aromatic herbs) delights, with its seductive taste and aroma. There’s nothing better than enjoying a “bun cha” in a small restaurant in the summer, while the intriguing smell of grilled pork surrounds you.

“Bun cha is one of ha Noi’s signature dishes that has long been adored by locals”, said culinary artist Pham Thi Anh Tuyet, who has contributed significantly to the conservation of Hanoian gastronomy for years.

The writer Thach Lam, famous for his nostalgic prose on ancient Ha Noi, wrote in his work: “Ha Noi, 36 phố phường” (Ha Noi,36 streets and corporations): “Bun cha is the most important and characteristic dish of Ha Noi. No place offers a better bun cha than Ha Noi. Everyone, or at least food connoisseurs, would say that”.

How to make the “bun cha”?

1. Ingredients:

– 300 gr of pork. Ideally, it is pork with a little fat so that it is not too dry

– 300 gr of ground pork (with a little fat too)

– 3 lemongrass and shallots

– A little honey

– 1 large cucumber, 1 carrot, green salad, soy sprout, mint and coriander

– For the “bun cha” sauce, you need: “nuoc mam” sauce (fish brine), soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, limes, a little garlic, a little chili pepper

– Salt and pepper

– But also the small skewers

2. Preparation:

Step 1: Grilled pork

The first step is to cut the meat into small pieces, but not too thin. Then the lemongrass and shallots are cut into very small pieces.

The meat is marinated with: lemongrass, shallots, 1 spoon of “nuoc mam” sauce, 1 spoon of soy sauce, a little salt, 1 spoon of honey.

Let everything marinate for 30 minutes.

The same is done for ground pork but without lemongrass.

The pork is put on skewers and the ground pork in small dumplings and baked. If you have the means to cook meat on the barbecue or grill, it’s even better!

Step 2: Cooking rice vermicelli

While waiting for the meat to cook, we will be able to prepare the rice vermicelli.

Rice vermicelli is cooked in boiling water for about 5 minutes (follow the instructions on the package). Do not hesitate to taste it to see if the vermicelli is well cooked.

Once it is cooked, it is drained and put directly in cold water.

Step 3: Preparation of the “bun cha” sauce

Then, we will prepare the sauce of the “bun cha”.

It is the same recipe of the nem sauce with: the sauce of “nuoc mam”, rice vinegar, sugar, garlic, lemon, peppers and water.

Cut the cucumber and carrots into small pieces, then add a little salt, 1 spoon of sugar and 1 spoon of rice vinegar. Mix it all and let marinate for 15 minutes. The preparation is added to the sauce

Don’t forget to turn the meat over.

Once the meat is cooked, the meat is removed from the skewers.