Hello, My Name is Kerry & I am a Bun Cha Addict

Passport & Plate - Hanoi Bun Cha

Vietnam | Wednesday, March 4, 2015 | 5 photos

Ingredients
Serving Platters
1 lb cooked vermicelli noodles
1 bunch mint
1 bunch cilantro
1 bunch basil
chopped garlic cloves
chopped birds eye chilies

Meatballs
1 lb ground pork
1 large shallot
4 garlic cloves, diced
2 stalks lemongrass
1-2 small birds eye chilies
2 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

Broth
2 cups water
6 garlic cloves
1-3 small chilies
4 tsp white sugar
1 tsp salt
4 Tbsp soy sauce (or fish sauce)
2-2.5 Tbsp rice vinegar
2 Tbsp lime juice

 

How to prepare this recipe
To Prepare Meatballs
1. Finely chop lemongrass, garlic, shallots & chilies from first list of ingredients (not broth portion)
2. Mix lemongrass, garlic, shallots, chilies, vegetable oil, brown sugar, honey, black pepper, salt, and soy sauce with the ground pork and let marinate for 10-15 minutes.
3. Form meat into meatballs about 1 inch in diameter and put onto grill rack.
4. Cook meatballs over open fire until caramelized on the outside and cooked through - this is about 10 minutes on each side.

To Prepare Broth
1. Heat water to a boil in a saucepan.
2. Add chilies, garlic, soy sauce, vinegar and sugar. Stir until sugar dissolves.
3. Remove saucepan from heat and add the lime juice right before dividing into bowls.

To Prepare Noodles
1. Heat water to a boil in a saucepan.
2. Add vermicelli noodles and cook as directed on package. This is usually less than 3 minutes - do not overcook!

To Serve
1. Divide broth into bowls.
2. Put meatballs either into bowls, or serve on a plate for people to add themselves.
3. Put vermicelli noodles on plate for guests to add to broth themselves.
4. Put cilantro, basil, mint, chopped garlic and birds eye chilies on a plate for guests to add to broth themselves.
5. Guests add whatever they like to the broth to create their perfect blend and enjoy!

 

The story behind this recipe
In 2010 I quit my job and moved to Southeast Asia. I took an internship in Hanoi teaching English at an orphanage and on my first day the Vietnamese volunteers took me to lunch in the upstairs of what looked to be someone’s living room. They ordered for the Western volunteers and soon a few different plates arrived. One plate was heaped with vermicelli noodles. Another dish was piled high with cilantro, basil, mint, red peppers, garlic, and more. Finally, a bowl of broth with chunks of meat floating it were placed in front of each of us. One of the Vietnamese girls instructed us to add noodles, herbs and spices to our bowls, essentially creating our own perfect bowl of soup. I don’t remember anything else from that lunch as my mind was consumed with the bliss of grilled fatty pork in broth seasoned to my perfection - an introduction to Bun cha. It quickly became my favorite Vietnamese food and the remainder of my time in Hanoi was spent on the lookout for the best Bun cha street food stand. Eventually I headed south and was devastated to discover Bun cha was native to northern Vietnam; my days of eating the dish were at an end.

I had a hard time while living in northern Vietnam, but with those meals with my Vietnamese friends made me feel like I was in the right place with the right people, enjoying the moment I was supposed to be in right then. I ended up traveling to 10 other countries before I returned to the US and that dish, Bun cha, was what I wanted to recreate for my friends at home. I felt like no matter the amount of photos and emails I sent them, there was no way to really recreate the havoc and wonder of Hanoi for those in America. Discovering a recipe for Bun cha that was close enough to my memory of some of my favorite meals allowed me to recreate for American friends the feeling of sitting on a small plastic stool while mopeds with families for 5 roared by us. It reminded me of the friends I made in Hanoi, and the insanity I endured while there.