bun cha

Recipe video above. Everything you know and love about Vietnamese food - fresh, healthy and full of flavour! Bun Cha in Vietnam is served slightly differently (read in post), but here I've made noodle bowls which are more familiar to those outside of Vietnam. See Notes for what this tastes like!

Bun Cha - Vietnamese Meatballs

tbsp fish sauce ((Note 2))

tsp white sugar

green onions / scallions

garlic (, minced)

white pepper and salt

lemongrass paste

tbsp white sugar

tbsp rice wine vinegar

lime juice

(85 ml) water

birds eye chilli (, seeded and finely chopped (Note 3))

garlic (, finely chopped)

g / 3.5 oz vermicelli noodles (, dried)

beansprouts

lettuce leaves

Julienned carrot and white radish ((daikon),

coriander/cilantro sprigs (, mint)

red chilli (, lime wedges (optional))

Sauce: Mix ingredients. Set aside 10 minutes+.

Noodles: Pour over boiling water and soak per packet directions. Drain, set aside.

Mix all ingredients except oil until combined.

Shape into 6 mini hamburger patties with your hands.

Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add patties and cook for 2 1/2 minutes or until golden. Flip, cook 2 minutes then remove.

Meatballs:

Place noodles in bowl. Top with a handful of beansprouts, wedge in lettuce, carrots and radish in.

Place meatballs on top, top with coriander and mint.

Spoon over a generous amount of Sauce (it's supposed to be like a soup broth), eat and be happy!

Assemble Bowls:

This wok-fried beef salad works best with vermicelli noodles, which easily soaks up the spicy-sour dressing, says Jamie.

Vietnamese bun cha with lemongrass beef

rump steak, thinly sliced

lemongrass

garlic cloves, crushed

tbs brown sugar

tbs fish sauce

vermicelli noodles

sunflower oil

orange

Asian (red) eschalots,

baby cucumbers (cukes), thinly sliced into rounds

peanuts,

(10 grams) ginger, peeled, chopped

garlic clove, chopped

tbs grated palm sugar or brown sugar

(60 milliliters) fish sauce

limes

red chilli, seeds removed, thinly sliced

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Bún chả (Vietnamese Meatballs) are simple, light, fresh, and perfect for a hot summer day or as a make-ahead meal.

Bún chả

pork (4.49)

garlic, finely chopped (0.24)

shallot (0.68)

Tbsp lemongrass (0.60)

Tbsp honey (0.24)

Tbsp fish sauce (0.23)

salt (0.05)

tsp pepper (0.02)

lime juice (about 2 limes) (1.20)

water (0.00)

Tbsp fish sauce (0.68)

Thai red chili pepper (0.10)

garlic, minced (0.08)

Tbsp sugar (0.02)

carrot, thinly sliced (0.16)

rice vermicelli noodles (2.99)

butter lettuce (1.59)

mint (2.19)

carrot, sliced (0.16)

cucumber, sliced (0.50)

Chop the garlic and shallots, and mince the lemongrass.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the pork, fish sauce, salt, pepper, honey, lemongrass, shallots, and garlic. Set the mixture aside for 1 to 2 hours in the fridge.

Shape the mixture into small meatballs (about 20 meatballs), and then gently flatten them a bit.

In a large skillet over medium heat, heat the oil and add the meatballs in a single layer. Cook the meatballs until they are golden and caramelized, around 2 to 3 minutes per side. Set the cooked meatballs aside.

For the Meatballs:

Whisk the sauce ingredients together and adjust to your tastes. Optional: heat the water and whisk the sugar in to dissolve before adding the rest of the ingredients.

For the Sauce:

Prepare the vermicelli noodles according to package instructions (usually cook 2-3 minutes in a pot of boiling water).

Serve the noodles with the meatballs along with a handful of lettuce, mint, carrots, and cucumbers with the nuoc cham on the side.

For the Bowls:

Bun cha is a savoury Vietnamese rice noodle dish served with grilled pork balls and nuoc cham. It's perfect for warm weather dining.

bun cha - vietnamese grilled pork with rice noodles

lbs pork

fish sauce

shallots

garlic

rice powder (- see notes)

tsp sambal oelek

tsp sugar

sugar

lime juice (- about one lime's worth)

water

red chilies (-

oz dried rice noodles (- the thin flat ones)

pork balls

mint, cilantro, thai basil, baby greens and lime to garnish

nuoc cham to serve

Soak 10 wooden skewers in water for at least 30 minutes.

Combine the ground pork, shallots, garlic, toasted rice powder, sugar, fish sauce and sambal oelek in a mixing bowl.&nbsp;

Use your hands to mix thoroughly.

Transfer half the pork mixture to a food processor. Pulse about 10-15 times. You want a big homogenous mess.&nbsp;

Repeat with the rest of the pork mixture. You don't want to overload your food processor. It won't mix well if you do. Let the pork mixture sit for about 30 minutes.

While the pork sits, build an indirect charcoal fire in your grill. Bank the coals on both sides and put a drip pan in the middle. If you are using gas, turn on a burner or two but leave a cool zone in the middle. You want the grill at about 500 degrees. Hot.&nbsp;

Here's a nifty grilling tip. To approximate a Japanese grill put two fire bricks sideways with enough space between them to sit the skewers on them. Far apart enough that the meatballs don't touch the bricks but close enough so your skewers sit on them. You don't have to do this. You can grill them how you like. But the brick trick is what I do.

Form the pork mixture into golf ball size balls. You should get around 24 balls.

Thread the pork balls onto the skewers. Take care to try to get the skewers through the middle of the balls so they are balanced. This is tough. Do what you can.

Grill the pork ball skewers until an instant read thermometer reads 160 degrees. This goes pretty fast at 500F. Under 10 minutes. Less maybe. Don't have an instant read thermometer? Time to get one. Seriously. They start at $10. Everybody should have one. Guessing is almost always wrong. Instant read is always right. You want to nail it every time don't you?

Pork balls

Combine all the ingredients and stir to combine. Let stand as long as you can. An hour or two isn't out of the question. 10 minutes is probably OK too.&nbsp;

Nuoc cham

At some point along the way bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the noodles until tender. The package may or may not have instructions on it (annoying). If it doesn't 3 minutes plus or minus about a minute is usually about right. You want tender. You don't want mush. Rinse under cold water until cool.&nbsp;

Place a good handful of noodles in the middle of a bowl. Top with the garnishes and 5-6 pork balls. Serve nuoc cham along side and let people drizzle it on themselves.

Bun cha

Vietnamese Grilled Pork Meatballs with Vermicelli Noodles (Bun Cha) is a classic Northern Vietnamese dish. Bun Cha features flavorful and juicy pork meatballs, vermicelli noodles, plenty of refreshing herbs and traditional lime fish sauce dipping.

Authentic Bun Cha - Vietnamese Grilled Pork Meatballs with Noodles

lb pork

water, divided

oyster sauce

black pepper

carrots papaya ((optional))

butter lettuce ((or other soft lettuce))

cilantro

mint

In a small saucepan, add 1/4 cup of sugar and 3 tablespoons of water. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium, continue to simmer. You will see a lot of bubbles on the surface. The mixture will then turn from clear to yellow, and get darker as you simmer it. Reduce the heat if needed. Keep watching closely, until it has a slightly dark caramel color, turn off the heat and carefully add 1 1/2 tablespoons of water. Swirl the saucepan to combine and remove it from the stove. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, add the ground pork, caramel sauce and all other ingredients for the pork meatballs. Mix for a couple of minutes to combine thoroughly. Set aside for 10-15 minutes or marinate in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours for tastier results.

To make the dipping sauce, whisk together lime juice, sugar, water, and fish sauce in a bowl. Adjust to taste. Add garlic, and add thinly sliced carrots and green papaya if using. Set aside.

Prepare vermicelli noodles according to package instructions. Prepare lettuce and fresh herbs.

Heat the grill pan (or preheat gas grill/charcoal grill if that's what you use to cook the meatballs). Shape the marinated pork into small meatballs. Once the pan is hot, grill them in a single layer until fully cooked.

Put the grilled meatballs in the the dipping sauce, serve immediately with noodles, lettuce and herbs.

Exceptionally good. Everyone loved this. One thing though, we made the recipe for 12 and it served 6. The pork loses lots of weight when grilled.

Thank you for this recipe! My grandma used to make this when I was a kid. She has long since passed away and I never got to learn any of her delicious recipes. So glad I stumbled upon your website. Tastes just like my childhood memories.

This was the best meal I’ve ever made in my entire life, I could eat this everyday until I died and would’ve lived a happy life. Thanks for sharing this recipe. I will try and make a vegan version for my family with impossible meat and report back.

made this with my college roommate and it was so easy and delicious! will definitely be making it again and checking out your other recipes. thank you!

I almost cried this was so good! The closest we have had seen being in Hanoi! The flavor brought such great memories! Thank you for this incredible recipe!

One of my ALL TIME favorite dish!!  Everyone I've made it for, Loved it!  Since we don't eat pork, I've replaced it with free range dark and white ground chicken meat.   Pork lovers can't tell the difference. 
Thank you!

My favorite Vietnamese dish of all time, this refreshing and light dish is made with rice noodles, charcoal-grilled pork patties, fresh vegetables and Vietnamese herbs. It's served with a sweet chili sauce and pickled vegetables to bring all the wonderful flavors of Vietnam together.

Northern Vietnam Vermicelli Noodles with Grilled Pork Meatballs (Bun Cha Hanoi)

lbs pork (at least 20% fat)

brown sugar

rice powder

MSG (optional)

garlic (finely minced)

shallot (finely minced)

vegetable oil (for coating hands to prevent sticking)

Lettuce

Cucumber

Vietnamese herbs

oz dried rice vermicelli noodles (Jiang Xi brand)

unripe green papaya

fine sea salt

white sugar

white vinegar

lime juice (1 fresh lime)

coconut soda (Coco Rico)

Thai chili peppers (thinly sliced)

Season pork

In a large mixing bowl, combine ground pork, fish sauce, oyster sauce, brown sugar, ground black pepper, roasted rice powder, MSG, lemongrass, garlic, and shallots.

Make patties and grill

To prevent the ground pork mixture from sticking to your hands, oil them with vegetable oil. Roll the mixture into 32 small patties. Grill the patties over charcoal fire for a more authentic taste, about 8 minutes per side or until lightly charred. You can also pan-fry the patties on high heat on the stovetop or air-fry them at 350°F, about 5 minutes per side.

Make the quick pickled papaya

In a medium bowl, combine sliced papaya and salt. Let it sit for 30 minutes. Rinse the salted papaya under cold running water and squeeze out excess water. Drain. Mix with water sugar and vinegar. Set aside.

Make the dipping sauce/broth

In a large bowl, mix together water and sugar until sugar is completely dissolved. Add fish sauce, lime juice, coconut soda, garlic, and chili peppers. Adjust to taste if needed.

Cook the noodles

Assemble

for each serving. In a small bowl, add pork patties, pickled papaya and cover with dipping sauce/broth. Serve with rice noodles and a platter of vegetables and herbs on the side.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p95xQsGJRTc

One of my favorite Vietnamese dishes of all time, this refreshing and light dish is made with rice noodles, charcoal-grilled pork patties, fresh vegetables and Vietnamese herbs. It's served with a sweet chili sauce and pickled vegetables to bring all the flavors together.

Full recipe: https://www.vickypham.com/blog/bun-cha-hanoi

A Hanoi favorite of pork mince balls in sweet dressing with vermicelli noodles and a herb salad.

Vietnamese Meatballs and Noodles (Bún chả)

shallots,

soy sauce

Kosher salt,

lb pork mince

vegetable oil,

lb dried vermicelli noodles

red chillies,

4-5 garlic cloves, finely chopped

mint leaves

Thai basil leaves

iceberg lettuce leaves

red cabbage

Combine the marinade ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add the pork mince and combine, then refrigerate for a minimum of 1 -2 hours. Remove the marinated pork mince from the refrigerator and form into small patties, then set aside.

To make the dressing, heat the fish sauce, vinegar, sugar, and water in a saucepan over high heat until the sugar dissolves. Transfer to a serving bowl and allow the dressing to cool before combining with the lime juice and stirring thoroughly. Set aside.

Cook the vermicelli noodles as per the package directions, and set aside in a bowl.

Brush a mid sized frying pan with oil and heat to medium-high. Cook the pork meatballs for 3-4 minutes on each side or until slightly charred. Transfer to small serving bowls in even quantities for each diner, then pour a generous amount of dressing over the meatballs.

Place the salad ingredients - lettuce, cabbage, chillies, garlic, mint, and basil - on a central platter, along with the vermicelli noodles. Diners can take the amount of ingredients they wish to incorporate into their bowl with the meatballs to make their own bun cha bowl.

Bún chả (Vietnamese meatballs with vermicelli) has all the classic Vietnamese street food elements. When you take a bite with a mouthful of everything,  the bursting Vietnamese flavor is a gastronomical experience that leaves you wanting more.

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Top 10 bun cha recipes from across the web

The most viewed bun cha recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Bun Cha - Vietnamese Meatballs

Vietnamese bun cha with lemongrass ...

Bún chả

bun cha - vietnamese grilled pork w...

Authentic Bun Cha - Vietnamese Gril...

Northern Vietnam Vermicelli Noodles...

Vietnamese Meatballs and Noodles (B...

Bun cha recipe - Vietnamese grille...

Northern Vietnam Vermicelli Noodles...

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The most viewed bun cha recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine