Bun Cha - Vietnamese Meatballs with Vermicelli Noodle Salad
Serves: 4
A tasty recipe for Bun Cha - grilled Vietnamese pork meatballs served with a vermicelli noodle salad and Vietnamese dipping sauce (nuoc cham). This recipe is a family favourite!
Ingredients
For the Pork Meatballs
- 500 g (1 lb) minced fatty pork, (ground pork)
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon caster sugar, (superfine sugar)
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon white pepper, freshly cracked
- 1 tablespoon runny honey
- 2-3 spring onions, (scallions) finely sliced
- 1-2 sprigs coriander, (cilantro) finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
To Cook the Pork Meatballs
- 2-4 tablespoons vegetable oil
For the Vietnamese Dipping Sauce (Nuoc Cham)
- 2 tablespoons caster sugar, (superfine sugar)
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 4-6 tablespoons water, to taste
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 1 red chilli, finely chopped (optional)
For the Vermicelli Noodle Salad
- 300 g (11 oz) dried vermicelli noodles, cooked according to packet instructions, rinsed in cold water, and served cold
- iceberg lettuce, or other salad leaves, roughly torn
- 1-2 small carrots, finely julienned
- cucumber, sliced into thin batons
- bean sprouts, optional
- mint
- coriander, (cilantro)
- Thai basil
- perilla leaves, (shiso)
Instructions
To Make the Pork Meatballs
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together all of the ingredients.
- Set the mixture aside for 30-60 minutes in the fridge to let the flavours develop and to allow the mixture to firm.
- Form the pork mixture into small meatballs about the size of a golf ball, and flatten the meatballs slightly.
- Heat a large non-stick frying pan with some vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Alternatively, grill the meatballs on a charcoal BBQ.
- Cook the meatballs until they are golden and caramelised.
To Make the Vietnamese Dipping Sauce (Nuoc Cham)
- In a medium bowl, dissolve the sugar in the lemon juice.
- Add the fish sauce, water, garlic and chilli (if using), and mix until well-combined.
- Set the sauce aside for about 10-15 minutes before tasting.
- 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
- Place some salad and vegetables on the bottom of each bowl or plate.
- Place a good handful of noodles on top of the salad.
- Top with however many meatballs you like.
- Garnish with some herbs, roughly torn.
- Generously drizzle some Vietnamese dipping sauce over the noodles and meatballs, and use chopsticks to mix everything together.
- Provide each person with a bowl of dipping sauce to drizzle over the noodles and also to dip the meatballs into.
Kitchen Notes
- COOKING FOR CHILDREN
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. - STORAGE TIPS
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. - CONVERSIONS
To convert from cups to grams, and vice-versa, please see this handy Conversion Chart for Basic Ingredients.