Bun Cha Vietnam Recipe
Bun Cha Vietnam
Ingredients (serves 6-8)
500g pork belly or pork shoulder, thinly sliced
500g minced pork
2 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp fish sauce
4 tbsp minced shallot
4 tbsp caramel sauce /molasses/honey
2 tsp seasoning powder (Knorr – this is optional)
1 tsp ground black pepper
Fresh lettuce and herbs (eg. mint, Vietnamese balm “rau kinh gioi”, corriander etc.)
Minced garlic and chili
2 kg fresh (or 1kg dry) rice vermicelli
For caramel sauce:
1/2 cup sugar (100g)
1/2 cup hot water 120ml
For pickles
1 cup kohlrabi/ green papaya, thinly sliced into bite size pieces
1 cup carrots, thinly sliced into bite size pieces
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp vinegar (5% acid)
For dipping sauce
1/2 cup fish sauce 120ml
1/2 cup sugar 100g
3 cups water 720ml
Bun Cha Vietnam
Directions:
-Preparing the grilled pork:
To make caramel sauce, melt sugar in a heavy sauce pan until caramelized. Take off the heat and add in hot water using a long handle laddle to avoid hot splashing liquid.
Marinate pork and minced pork with the followings: (Amount for each 500g (1.1 lb) pork)
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp minced shallot
2 tbsp caramel sauce /molasses/honey
1 tsp seasoning powder (optional)
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
Let marinate for 30 mins or a few hours in the refridgerator.
Pinch and form minced pork into 2-inch (5cm) patties
Grill outdoor on char coal until both sides are golden brown.
You can also grill indoor on grilling pan or non-stick pan. In that case add 1 tbsp cooking oil in the marinade.
– Making pickles
To carve carrots into flowers, after peeling, make a few shallow V-shape cut lengwise, evenly distributed around the carrots. Then slice crosswise into thin slices
Mix thinly sliced kohlrabi/ green papaya and carrots with 2 tsp salt. Set aside for 15 mins.
After that, rinse well and slightly squeeze to drain off excess water.
In a large bowl, mix the kohlrabi and carrots with sugar and vinegar. Leave for 1 hour so that the veggies can absorb the flavor.
– Making dipping sauce:
In a medium sauce pan over medium low heat, dissolve sugar in fish sauce and water.
– Assembling the dish
Fill a medium serving bowl half-full with the dipping sauce, add in grilled pork, pickles, minced garlic and chili, some black pepper.
Serve Bun Cha Vietnam with a platter of fresh greens and cooked rice vermicelli noodles.
To serve, dip a bit of vermicelli and fresh greens into the bowl and eat with the grill pork and pickles.
