Bún chả (Vietnamese: [ɓǔn ca᷉ː]) is a grilled pork and noodle dish, believed to have originated in Hanoi, in northern Vietnam.
Bún chả is served with grilled pork (chả) over a plate of rice noodles (bún) and herbs, with a side of dipping sauce.
It is composed of many ingredients, including:
1. Pork: minced shoulder for meatballs and grilled pork belly.
2. Rice vermicelli.
3. Dipping sauce: diluted fish sauce with sugar, lemon juice, vinegar, broth, garlic.
4. Pickled vegetables: green papaya (or carrots, onion, kohlrabi).
5. Fresh herbs: cabbage, Láng basil, sawtooth herb, bean sprouts, Vietnamese balm (kinh giới), perilla, mint.
6. Sides: crushed garlic, chopped chili, vinegar, ground pepper, lime slices.
The dish was described in 1959 by Vietnamese food writer Vu Bang (1913-1984), who described Hanoi as a city “paralyzed by bún chả”.
It originated and remains very popular in Hanoi and throughout Vietnam, although there is a common misunderstanding: that of confusing it with a southern Vietnamese dish called bún thịt nướng.
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 4 Hours
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 4 People
- Cooking methods: Stovetop, Grill
- Cuisine: Vietnamese
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 1.25 lbs ground pork
- 1 green onion
- 0.88 oz garlic
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce (30)
- to taste pepper
- 1.1 lbs pork belly
- 1 oz sugar
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 shallots (or green onions)
- 2 cloves garlic
- to taste pepper
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 0.5 cup water
- 0.25 cup rice vinegar
- 2 oz sugar
- 1 carrot (and/or zucchini)
- 2 oz kohlrabi (and/or green papaya)
- leaves
- 4 cups broth (or water)
- 5.3 oz sugar
- 0.5 cup fish sauce
- 1 lemon (or lime – juice)
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 clove garlic
- 250 rice noodles
- to taste lettuce (basil, cilantro, mint, chilies, bean sprouts)
Steps
For the meatballs: in a large bowl, combine ground pork, fish sauce, sugar, ground black pepper, garlic, and green onion.
To prevent the ground pork mixture from sticking to your hands, coat them with vegetable oil. Form small balls.
Grill the meatballs.
For the pork belly: In another large bowl, combine 30 ml of warm water and sugar, and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
Add the fish sauce, vegetable oil, shallot, garlic, and pepper. Add the pork belly slices and mix well to coat. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 4 (up to 24) hours.
Grill the pork belly.
For the pickled vegetables: in a small bowl, mix water, rice vinegar, and sugar until the sugar has dissolved. Add the sliced carrot, kohlrabi and/or papaya, and let stand at room temperature for 2 hours.
For the dipping sauce: in a small saucepan, combine all the ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved, then boil for 5 minutes. Keep warm. (If making ahead of time, reheat before serving.)
Cook the noodles according to package instructions
The traditional way of eating Bún Chả is to use the bowl of meat and broth as the main bowl and other small bowls for the other ingredients.
The restaurant “Bún Chả Hương Liên” in Hanoi became famous after the then U.S. President Barack Obama dined there with chef Anthony Bourdain while traveling in Vietnam in May 2016.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
What is the difference between Bún Chả and Bún Thịt Nướng?
Bún Chả is considered a northern Vietnamese dish while Bún Thịt Nướng is its southern equivalent.
They are both Vietnamese noodle dishes made with grilled pork, fresh herbs, and sweet chili sauce. However, there are some fundamental differences between the two dishes.
Serving style: Bún Chả is served in a deconstructed way, with rice noodles and grilled pork meatballs served separately.
The diner builds each bite with a little pasta, vegetables, herbs, and then dips it into the sauce with the pork meatballs.
Bún Thịt Nướng, on the other hand, is served in a more traditional way, with everything together in a bowl, except for the sauce.
The dish is served with the dipping sauce called nước chấm on the side.
When eating, pour the sauce over the noodles.
Dipping sauce: the dipping sauce for Bún Chả Hà Nội is typically sweeter and lighter than the dipping sauce for Bún Thịt Nướng. Due to the lightness of the sauce and the way the pork meatballs sit in the sauce, the sauce is often called broth.
Pickled vegetables: Bún Chả Hà Nội typically uses pickled papaya, while
Bún Thịt Nướng typically uses pickled daikon and carrot.
