hello! Hi everyone, Wesley here. Today we're diving back into our series dedicated to Vietnamese classics with a shot at a Vietnamese sweet and savory pork meatball known as "bun cha." Bun cha, originating from the street cuisine found in Hanoi, features a fatty ground pork that has been combined with aromatic veggies and a number of sweet leaning additions to yield its sweet and savory quality. To pair with this, we'll then be serving our meatballs with a side of vermicelli rice noodles or "bun," as well as a fish sauce based nuoc cham to create our sweet and savory meal. 

More traditionally, the bun cha meatball would then be grilled over an open flame to yield the crisp, carmelized exterior quality that it is known for. For our version today, however, we'll be doing our very best to replicate this open flame quality using a wok sear at home, since we don't have access to an open flame. This of course will prove to be tricky though, since the high sugar content of our meatballs will put them at high risk of burning, if we don't control our wok temperature properly. Hope you try it.

 

Serves 2-3

INGREDIENTS 

  • 8oz vermicelli

  • 3 medium carrots

  • 1/2 daikon

  • lettuce

  • mint leaf

  • peanut oil

INGREDIENTS (nuoc cham)

  • 4 cloves garlic

  • 4 Thai chile

  • 4 tbsp fish sauce

  • 1/2 lime juice

  • 2 tbsp white sugar

  • 1/4 cup water

INGREDIENTS (pickled daikon)

  • 1/2 cup water

  • 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar

  • 2 tbsp mirin

  • 1 tbsp sake

  • 1/2 cup white sugar

INGREDIENTS (meatballs)

  • 1/2 lb ground pork

  • 4 cloves garlic

  • 1/2 purple onion

  • 2 tbsp fish sauce

  • 1 tbsp oyster sauce

  • 1 tbsp hoisin sauce

  • 1 tbsp brown sugar

  • 1/2 tsp chicken boullion powder

  • 1 tbsp pork lard

PREP

  • CRUSH and mince the garlic, set aside in a large mixing bowl

  • SMALL DICE the onion, set aside in a large mixing bowl

  • COMBINE all meatball ingredients, then mix to combine

  • ROLL the meatballs into golfball sizes, then place on an oiled tray

  • SLICE the carrot into thin coins, set aside

  • SLICE the daikon into thin coins, set aside

  • REHYDRATE the vermicelli in boiling water for 5 minutes with constant agitation until softened, then shock in cold water immediately and set aside

  • SLICE the thai chile thinly, set aside

  • MINCE an additional 4 cloves garlic, then combine with all nuoc cham ingredients and set aside

ON THE STOVE

  • COMBINE all pickled daikon ingredients into a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer

  • COMBINE the carrots, daikon, and pickling brine together into a heatproof container, then set aside for 30 minutes or up to 24 hours

  • HEAT a wok over medium heat, then add 4 tbsp peanut oil and long yao

  • ADD the meatballs four at a time, then rotate the wok constantly for 2 minutes before flipping and searing for an additional 1 minute until caramelized

  • COMBINE the meatballs with the nuoc cham sauce, then serve with vermicelli, mint leaves, lettuce and pickled daikon/carrots

 

tagged with bun cha, bun cha hanoi, vietnamese meatball, pork meatballs, nuoc cham, vietnamese cooking, vietnamese food, woo can cook