{"id":27328,"title":"Authentic B\u00fan Ch\u1ea3 – Rice Vermicelli with Grilled Pork","modified":"2025-02-06T10:59:24+01:00","plain":"An authentic Vietnamese Bun Cha recipe: marinated grilled pork, crunchy vegetables and vermicelli with a sweet and sour nuoc mam sauce.\n\n\n\nHanoi, the capital of northern Vietnam, is famous for its signature dish, bun cha. This tasty dish is omnipresent on the city's streets, from small stalls to more refined restaurants.   \n\n\n\nThe delicious aroma of grilled pork wafts through the air, drawing passers-by to this authentic feast. Bun cha consists of slices of pork belly and minced pork dumplings, both charcoal-grilled, accompanied by room-temperature rice vermicelli, a variety of aromatic herbs and salad.   \n\n\n\nAll served with a sweet-and-sour nuoc mam sauce, garnished with thin slices of carrot and green papaya marinated like do chua. Not a bad idea for a barbecue? \n\n\n\nWhat is Bun Cha?\n\n\n\nBun cha is a traditional Vietnamese dish from Hanoi. It consists of rice vermicelli, pieces of grilled pork belly and charcoal-grilled ground pork dumplings.   \n\n\n\nThis cooking process gives them a unique smoky flavor. Well, with our current weather, we're doing it a la plancha\/pan, but you get the idea. In fact, in urban environments, bun cha is often prepared in a cast-iron frying pan.  \n\n\n\nA la plancha also produces excellent results\n\n\n\nThe vermicelli is accompanied by a variety of fresh herbs and salad, all served with a sweet-and-sour nuoc mam sauce. This sauce, often enriched with pickled carrots and green papaya, perfectly balances the rich, salty flavors of the grilled pork. \n\n\n\nDifference between Bun Cha and Bun Thit Nuong\n\n\n\nNorthern bun cha should not be confused with southern b\u00fan th\u1ecbt n\u01b0\u1edbng. B\u00fan th\u1ecbt n\u01b0\u1edbng, often described as the pork version of bo bun, consists of meat marinated in garlic and lemongrass, cut into small pieces and served over rice vermicelli.   \n\n\n\nMy delicious bo bun recipe\n\n\n\nBun cha, on the other hand, is distinguished by its minced meatballs and slices of pork belly, both charcoal-grilled without the use of lemongrass. This difference in ingredients and cooking method creates a distinct taste experience for each dish. \n\n\n\nSpeaking of seasonings, those for the meat are quite restrained. And that's deliberate! The dish is designed to be eaten with the sauce and accompaniments.    \n\n\n\nHow is Bun Cha eaten?\n\n\n\nThere are two main schools of bun cha appreciation:\n\n\n\nIndividual Bowl Method\n\n\n\nIn southern Vietnam, it's customary to prepare a small individual bowl. Place a few rice vermicelli in the bowl, add grilled meat, then drizzle with nuoc mam sauce. Garnish with herbs and vegetables.    \n\n\n\nUse your chopsticks to form a bite, place it in a spoon, and enjoy. To eat an ingredient on its own, place it in the bowl first, then lift it with your chopsticks. \n\n\n\nImmersion method\n\n\n\nA simpler method is to dip vermicelli wrapped in vegetables directly into the sauce. Take a small portion of vermicelli, wrap it in salad leaves and herbs, then dip the whole thing in nuoc mam sauce. Add a piece of grilled meat and eat. This approach lets you enjoy the flavors without the noodles getting too soggy.   \n\n\n\nIn both cases, avoid putting all the vermicelli in the sauce. Instead, take a small amount of sauce in a bowl, add just enough vermicelli, then top up with meat and vegetables for each bite. This ensures a perfect balance of flavors every time.  \n\n\n\nThe main ingredients of Bun Cha\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPork belly or pork shoulder: Main meat, provides the flavor and texture base for the dish.\n\n\n\nOyster sauce Optional, adds a rich, salty umami flavor.\n\n\n\nFish sauce Also known as nuoc mam, it adds a depth of salty, umami flavor to the marinade.\n\n\n\nGround pork: Used to form patties, providing a different texture to pork belly. Ideally, use 30% fat. \n\n\n\nGreen papaya: Used in pickled vegetables, adds a crunchy texture and slightly tangy flavor. Used in the famous som tam \n\n\n\nLettuce, mint, perilla, coriander: Fresh vegetables to accompany the dish, adding freshness and a variety of aromas.\n\n\n\nDriedrice vermicelli: Served with the dish, they add a soft, light texture and absorb the flavours of the sauce and meats.\n\n\n\n\n\n\tAuthentique B\u00fan Ch\u1ea3 - Rice Vermicelli with Grilled Pork\n\t\t\n\t\tAn authentic Vietnamese Bun Cha recipe: marinated grilled pork, crunchy vegetables and vermicelli with a sweet and sour nuoc mam sauce.\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t500 g pork belly (or pork shoulder, thinly sliced)1 tablespoons of sugar1 tablespoons of oyster sauce (optional)2 tablespoons of honey2 tablespoons of fish sauce2 tablespoons shallots (chopped)0.5 teaspoons black pepper1 teaspoons chicken broth (powdered)For the ground meat marinade500 g ground pork1 tablespoons of sugar1 tablespoons of oyster sauce (optional)2 tablespoons of honey2 tablespoons fish sauce2 tablespoons shallots (chopped)0.5 teaspoons black pepper1 teaspoons chicken broth (powdered)For pickled vegetables160 g green papaya (thinly sliced into bite-sized pieces)120 g of carrots (sliced into bite-sized pieces)2 teaspoons salt2 tablespoons rice vinegar1 tablespoons of sugarFor the sweet and sour nuoc mam120 ml of fish sauce50 g of sugar750 ml water4 cloves garlic (chopped)1 tablespoons fresh chilli (chopped)3 tablespoons rice vinegarTo serve  Lettuce (mint, perilla, coriander, etc.)1 kg rice vermicelli (dried)\t\n\t\n\t\tFor the pork belly marinadeMarinate the pork belly for 30 minutes or a few hours in the refrigerator.For the ground meat marinadeMarinate the ground pork in the same way. Leave in the fridge for at least 30 min. Shape into 5 cm patties.For cookingGrill the pork belly and ground pork patties on the outside over charcoal until golden brown on both sides. Alternatively, bake in the oven at 220\u00b0C for 20 minutes (turning halfway through). Or cook on a plancha\/frying pan.  For pickled vegetablesMix sliced green papaya and carrots with salt.Leave to stand for 15 minutes.Rinse well and squeeze out excess water.In a large bowl, combine the papaya and carrots with the sugar and vinegar. Let stand for at least 1 hour to allow the vegetables to absorb the flavours. For the dipping sauce (sweet and sour nuoc mam)In a medium saucepan over low heat, dissolve the sugar in the fish sauce, vinegar and water. Cook for 5 min. Remove the pan from the heat and add the garlic and chilli. Leave to cool in the fridge. To assemble the dishFill a medium bowl halfway with dipping sauce.Then add grilled pork, marinated vegetables, minced garlic, chilli pepper and black pepper.Serve with a platter of fresh vegetables and cooked rice vermicelli.To enjoy, dip some vermicelli and fresh vegetables into the bowl and eat with the grilled pork and marinated vegetables.\t\n\t\n\t\tFor even more flavour, you can marinate the meat overnight if you wish.\n\t\n\t\n\t\tMain courseVietnameseNouilles, Porc, Sauce huitre, Sauce poisson, Vinaigre de riz","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27328","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27328"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27328\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27328"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27328"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27328"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}