About this recipe
This dish always makes me chuckle because I remember seeing this on Masterchef and the non-Vietnamese contestant would always over enunciate the “chả” bit. Even more lols were to be had when a friend messaged us a recipe from Hello Fresh. Not poo-pooing Hello Fresh’s version of “Pork Bun Cha Rice Bowl with Rainbow Veggies” other than Bún means vermicelli and chả refers to the pork mince patty. So cơm chả would have made more sense. Now that I’ve had an actual look at it, they’ve also mentioned classic Vietnamese but some of the…Anyway, semantics!
Traditionally the meat is grilled. You can certainly grill this on top of a BBQ or use your oven grill but in this instance, I will be pan frying. This method is a simple and quick while giving similar caramelisation results.
I also give this dish a flair by adding in the black fungus mushrooms (also because I buy a whole bag to make wontons so may as well use them up). You can pick these up in the dried section of Asian grocers but your local should sell these too. Simply rehydrate in warm water for about 20 minutes and squeeze out the excess liquid before using.
How to serve and eat bun cha
In Vietnam, the pork is normally served sitting in the dipping sauce. However, I’m personally really picky when it comes to sauce (fun fact: I don’t eat ketchup) so sauce on the side is my style.
You can also opt to eat them in rice paper rolls. Simply roll up with the vermicelli and herbs and dip away in the sauce.
Bún chả (Vietnamese pork meatballs with vermicelli)
Ingredients
Cha (pork patties)
- 500 g pork mince
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 1 tsp raw sugar
- 2 spring onions , finely diced
Nuoc Cham (dipping sauce)
- ¼ cup raw sugar
- ¼ cup fish sauce
- 1 cup warm water
- squeeze of lemon juice
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 2 birdseye chilli , minced
Serve with
- Lettuce leaves
- Vietnamese mint
- Mint
- Perilla
- Pickled carrots
- Vermicelli
Instructions
- In a bowl, add the sugar, fish sauce and pour in hot water. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Add in the garlic and chillis and stir to combine. Squeeze in a wedge of lemon and taste. Add more lemon juice as required. Set it aside to cool down.
- In a bowl, add in the pork mince, oyster sauce, fish sauce, white pepper, sesame oil, chopped spring onion and chopped black fungus. Mix together until it looks smooth. Cover and pop in the fridge to marinate for 30 minutes.
- Take about 2 tbsp of pork and roll into a ball using the palms of your hands.
- To a hot pan, add in 1 tbsp of neutral flavoured oil. Add the balls in the pan, being careful not to overcrowd the pan. Using the back of a spoon, gently press down to flatten to create the patty. Cook each side for about 4-5 minutes. You’re aiming for quite a dark colour on each side. Note that the bigger they are, the longer you will need to cook them for.
- Prepare the vermicelli according to pack instructions, drain and put aside.
- In a bowl, add some lettuce, Vietnamese mint, mint, perilla leaves, pickled carrot (optional), vermicelli and the pork patties. Drizzle on top the nuoc cham with spare sauce on the side for additional dipping.
2 Responses
Suggested to my partner he make this on his night to cook. He was reluctant at first but fell in love with how easy the recipe was and the taste. We’ve eaten it twice since 🙂
Yay I’m so glad to hear it. Love that you came up with the suggestion for him to cook heh.