[Vietnamese Recipes] Bun Cha Ha Noi – Pork Meatballs With Vermicelli Noodles Salad

A tasty recipe for Bun Cha – grilled Vietnamese pork meatballs served with a vermicelli noodle salad with fresh herbs and citrus dipping sauce (nuoc cham). A healthy and delicious dish, perfect for lunch or dinner.

A Vietnamese dipping sauce, called nouc cham, is essential to this dish to dress the noodles and to add a salty and sour element – a flavour combination which is essential to many Vietnamese dishes.

It is a Vietnamese noodle salad which is bold, fresh and full of flavour.

BUN CHA RECIPE

Bun cha is a popular street food dish in Vietnam and it is easy to recognise the stands selling this dish by the mouthwatering smell of flame-grilled meat.

Street food vendors and restaurants will typically serve Bun Cha with a few fried spring rolls (egg rolls) for some additional texture.

This Bun Cha recipe is something which I love to make during the warm summer months when the weather is more suited to a light and refreshing salad. However, I often find myself making this even during the bleakest of winter when the bold colours and flavours of this dish are enough to warm the soul.

It also happens to be a dish which both my husband and son love to eat. In fact, my son happily eats these Vietnamese meatballs with plain steamed rice and fresh carrot sticks.

I also have fond memories eating Bun Cha dish as a child, something which my mother often made on the weekends and whenever we had friends over for a meal. Sometimes she would use pork, at other times she would use beef.

Although she never added fresh herbs to her Vietnamese meatballs, they were always fragrant with sesame oil and lemongrass. But as is the case for many traditional recipes, so many variations exist.

I love this Bun Cha recipe because it uses ingredients which I always have in the fridge and pantry, although a special trip to the Asian grocer is sometimes necessary for herbs such as perilla, coriander (cilantro) and mint.

In summer, though, I plant these herbs on our balcony so that I can make Vietnamese noodle salads like this one without too much effort

HOW TO EAT BUN CHA

Like many Vietnamese dishes, Bun Cha is one of those dishes where each person can customise the flavours to their liking.

At home, I set out everything separately on the dining table as follows:

* The salad and herbs should be washed and spun dry, and placed in a colander or large salad bowl.

* I cook the vermicelli noodles ahead of time (about 1 hour) so that it has had time to dry before eating. It will start to stick after some time, but you can separate them again with some tongs or chopsticks. Avoid placing the noodles in the fridge as this will harden the noodles.

* The Vietnamese meatballs should be grilled at the last minute so that they can be served hot. I place all of the cooked meatballs onto a large platter for people to help themselves.

* I place a big bowl of the Vietnamese dipping sauce (nuoc cham) on the table with a small ladle so that people can help themselves when pouring some sauce over their noodles.

* I also place small bowls for the Vietnamese dipping sauce as some people (including myself) like to dip the meatballs into the sauce for extra flavour.

* I also serve finely chopped chillies or some Pickled Chillies for those who want their food spicy. This can be added directly to the noodles and/or the dipping sauce.

* To assemble, place some salad leaves on the bottom of the plate, top with a handful of noodles, add some Vietnamese meatballs, garnish with herbs, and drizzle over some Vietnamese dipping sauce (nuoc cham). Use your chopsticks to bring everything together.

• Prep Time: 30 mins
 
• Cook Time: 30 mins
 
• Total Time: 1 hour
• Yield: Serves 4
• Category: Dinner
• Cuisine: Vietnamese

INGREDIENTS

For the pork meatballs

• 500 g (1 lb) minced pork
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon course sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
• 1 tablespoon runny honey
• 2-3 thin spring onions, finely sliced
• 1-2 sprigs coriander (cilantro), finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

For the Vietnamese dipping sauce (nuoc cham)

• 2 tablespoons caster sugar
• juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 4-6 tablespoons water (to taste)
• 1 garlic, finely chopped
• 1 red chilli, finely chopped (optional)

For the noodle salad

• 300 g (11 oz) dried vermicelli noodles, cooked according to packet instructions and left to cool
• iceberg lettuce or other salad leaves, roughly torn
• 1-2 small carrots, finely shredded
• cucumber, sliced into thin batons
• bean sprouts (optional)
• mint
• coriander (cilantro)
• Thai basil
• perilla leaves

INSTRUCTIONS

For the pork meatballs

1. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the minced pork, fish sauce, sugar, salt, pepper, honey, spring onions, coriander (cilantro) and garlic.
2. Set the mixture aside for 30-60 minutes in the fridge to let the flavours develop and to allow the mixture to firm.
3. Form the pork mixture into small meatballs about the size of a golf ball, and then flatten them slightly.
4. Heat a large frying pan with some vegetable oil and cook the meatballs until they are golden and caramelised.

For the Vietnamese dipping sauce (nuoc cham)

1. In a medium bowl, dissolve the sugar in the lemon juice.
2. Add the fish sauce, water, garlic and chilli (if using), and mix until well-combined.
3. Set the sauce aside for about 10-15 minutes before tasting.
4. You may need to add a bit more lemon juice, fish sauce, or even water, to get a good balance of sweet, sour and salty.

To serve

1. Place some salad and vegetables on the bottom of each bowl or plate.
2. Place a good handful of noodles on top of the salad.
3. Top with however many meatballs you like.
4. Garnish with some herbs, roughly torn.
5. Generously drizzle some Vietnamese dipping sauce over the noodles and meatballs, and use chopsticks to mix everything together.
6. Provide each person with a bowl of dipping sauce to drizzle over the noodles and also to dip the meatballs into.

KITCHEN NOTES

The Vietnamese dipping sauce (nuoc cham) keeps well in the fridge in a sealed jar for several weeks. I often double or triple the recipe so that I always have a bottle handy in the fridge. If you are feeding young children, I tend to omit the chillies from the sauce and either serve chopped chillies or pickled chillies on the side.

This recipe and image sources are referred in website: Eatlittlebirds.com. Thanks so much!