Bún Chả
Hanoi's most iconic street-food dish: smoky grilled pork patties (chả băm) and caramelized pork belly slices (chả miếng) submerged in a warm, sweet-sour dipping broth, served alongside cool rice vermicelli, pickled carrot and daikon, and a heap of fresh Vietnamese herbs. The components arrive separately and each diner builds their own bite — a tangle of noodles and herbs dipped into the broth with a piece of pork and pickle, all in one mouthful. Gained international fame when Barack Obama and Anthony Bourdain ate it at a Hanoi street stall in 2016. The version that gained that fame is a Hanoi recipe, distinct from the southern bún thịt nướng: no lemongrass in the pork, the sauce served warm not cold, patties alongside sliced belly.
Ingredients
- 300 gground pork
- 300 gpork belly
- 3 tbspfish sauce
- 2 tbspsugar
- 3 shallots
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 tbspneutral oil
- 200 gcarrots
- 200 gdaikon radish
- 4 tbsprice vinegar
- 2 tbspsugar
- 60 mlfish sauce
- 60 mlfresh lime juice
- 3 tbspsugar
- 250 mlwarm water
- 200 grice vermicelli
- 1 large handful of fresh herbs: Vietnamese mint, Thai basil, perilla, or regular mint
- 2 heads of butter lettuce, leaves separated
Method
- Pickle the vegetables. Combine the rice vinegar, 2 tbsp sugar, and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Add the julienned carrot and daikon. Toss well and set aside for at least 30 minutes, ideally 2 hours. The pickle should taste bright and lightly sweet-sour. Drain before serving.
- Marinate the pork belly (chả miếng). Combine 1.5 tbsp fish sauce, 1 tbsp sugar, half the minced shallot, and half the minced garlic in a bowl. Add the pork belly slices and toss to coat. Marinate 30 minutes at room temperature or up to 4 hours refrigerated.
- Mix the pork patties (chả băm). Combine the ground pork with the remaining 1.5 tbsp fish sauce, 1 tbsp sugar, remaining shallot and garlic, and a pinch of black pepper. Mix by hand for 2 to 3 minutes until the mixture becomes cohesive and slightly sticky. Refrigerate 20 minutes. Oil your hands lightly and shape into small flat patties about 6 cm wide and 1 cm thick — slightly thicker in the center than at the edge. This shape ensures the center stays moist while the edge chars.
- Grill the pork. Heat a charcoal grill, cast-iron grill pan, or oven broiler to high. Grill the patties and belly slices over direct high heat, turning every 2 minutes, for 6 to 8 minutes total, until deeply caramelized and charred at the edges. The sugar in the marinade scorches quickly — watch carefully and turn frequently. The pork should be smoky and brown with crisp, caramelized edges.
- Make the dipping broth. Dissolve the sugar in the warm water. Add the fish sauce, lime juice, and 2 minced garlic cloves. Taste: the broth should be distinctly sweet, sour, and salty in roughly equal measure. Add thinly sliced fresh chilli to taste. Keep warm — unlike cold nước chấm served with other dishes, Hanoi bún chả broth is served warm. Transfer the grilled pork directly into the warm broth and let soak for 2 minutes before serving.
- Cook the noodles and serve. Cook the rice vermicelli in boiling water according to the package (usually 3 to 5 minutes). Drain and rinse under cold water. Arrange on a plate. Set out the herbs and lettuce on a separate plate. Serve the warm pork-filled broth in individual bowls alongside the noodles and herbs. To eat: pick up a small tangle of noodles and herbs with chopsticks, dip into the broth, scoop up a piece of pork and some pickle, and eat in one bite.
FAQ
Both are grilled pork with rice vermicelli, herbs, and a sweet dipping sauce — but the details differ significantly. Bún chả is a Hanoi dish: the pork is both ground into patties (chả băm) and sliced from the belly (chả miếng), the marinade does not include lemongrass, and most distinctively, the dipping sauce is served warm with the pork submerged in it. Bún thịt nướng from southern Vietnam uses whole pork slices (usually lemongrass-marinated), no patties, and the sauce is served cold, drizzled over a bowl of noodles rather than as a dipping broth. The southern version typically also includes crushed peanuts and spring rolls as accompaniments.
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Comments (2)
The dipping broth is the soul of bun cha. It is not a sauce — it is a light, sweet-sour fish sauce broth that you dip everything into. The ratio that works for me: 2 parts water, 1 part fish sauce, 1 part sugar, juice of 2 limes, and plenty of garlic. The pork patties need enough fat to stay juicy on the grill. Lean pork makes sad, dry meatballs. I use pork with at least 20% fat.
Ich bin normalerweise skeptisch bei asiatischem Essen, aber Bún Chả hat mich überrascht. Die gegrillten Schweinefleischbällchen erinnern an unsere Frikadellen, nur mit anderen Gewürzen. Die Tunke mit Fischsauce und Limette ist gewöhnungsbedürftig aber nach dem dritten Bissen will man nicht mehr aufhören. Meine Frau war auch angetan.