Bun Cha: Vietnamese Pork Meatball Recipe

Have you ever craved a dish you never tried? That’s what happened when I kept seeing pictures of bun cha. Luis and I have eaten bun thit nuong for most of our lives, but it’s typically with thinly sliced pork, not meatballs or meat patties. With us being quarantined, there’s been more time to scroll through food pictures on social media, and thankfully, also, more time to try new dishes.

What is the difference between “Bun Cha Hanoi” and “Bun Thit Nuong”?
“Bun” means noodles in Vietnamese and “cha” means grilled meat patty. Combined, “bun cha” is a dish with noodles and meatballs/patties. Hanoi-style is also a variation that typically serves the meatballs/patties in a sauce or broth. “Bun thit nuong” is a dish consisting of dry vermicelli noodles and barbecued pork. The latter is what we’re used to eating, but “bun cha” is very similar. Both features delicious, grilled meat over noodles, fresh veggies, and herbs.

What does bun cha taste like?
These Vietnamese pork meatballs are super tasty and not overbearing. Luis doesn’t love the strong taste of fish sauce, but he still devoured his bowl, plus got seconds and thirds. The fish sauce in the meatball recipe only adds nice flavor that melds with the rest of the seasonings. So, don’t worry about any of the ingredients being too strong or exotic. Imagine typical meatballs you eat, with an Asian twist.

Ingredients

Caramel Sauce
2 tbsp sugar
5 tbsp water

Meatballs
1 lb ground pork
1/2 chopped onion
4 cloves minced garlic
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
1/8 cup sugar
fresh black pepper

Accompaniments
Vermicelli noodles
Green leaf lettuce
Scallions

Nuoc Cham
1 clove minced garlic
1 tbsp fish sauce
1/2 fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 cup water
1/8 cup sugar

Steps

1. Make caramel sauce by adding 2 tbsp of sugar and 4 tbsp water into a sauce pan over medium-low heat. Once it turns a dark brown, turn off the heat and add the remaining 1 tbsp of water. Stir so it doesn’t burn and set aside.

2. Combine all meatball ingredients and the caramel sauce in a mixing bowl. Place in the fridge to marinade for at least an hour.

3. In the meantime, you can make the nuoc cham. Melt the 1/8 cup of sugar with 1/4 cup of water in the microwave for 15 seconds. Combine the simple syrup, minced garlic, fish sauce, lemon juice, and the remaining 3/4 cup of water in a container. Place into the fridge to cool.

4. Boil vermicelli noodles until soft, drain, and set aside.

5. Heat vegetable oil over medium heat on a grill pan. Form pork meat mixture into meatballs and flatten slightly with your hands.

6. Gently place onto grill pan and cook for about 3 minutes. Flip over after the underside becomes a beautiful brown. If it starts to burn, turn the heat lower. Continue cooking until both sides are caramelized and meatballs are thoroughly cooked.

7. Arrange chopped lettuce and vermicelli in bowls. Top the noodles with the meatballs, chopped scallions, and any other accompaniments you desire.

Tips

• My nuoc cham recipe is more on the citrusy side, which I find to be a perfect balance to the sweet meatballs, but if you really don’t want to give it a try, you can use any other type of dipping sauce you prefer. Luis typically does a hoisin and hot sauce mixture, like what he also uses when eating pho.
• Vermicelli is the noodle of choice for these types of Vietnamese dry noodle dishes, but you can certainly experiment with other types of noodles or even rice.
• We only had scallions, but mint, basil, shredded carrots, etc. would give the dish added touches of freshness.