How to make traditional Hanoi style grilled pork vermicelli - Bún Chả Hà Nội

A blend of smoky grilled pork, twirly sweet & sour papaya and savory dipping fish sauce make Bun Cha the most remember dish around town

Course BBQ, Grilled, Main

Cuisine Vietnamese

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 45

Total Time 1 45

Servings

Author Victoria

1 lbs bacon - uncooked no flavor, raw preferred; substitute by 1 lbs low sodium smoked bacon if not available
1 Tbsp Lemongrass - finely minced/pureed
1 Tbsp Shallot onion - finely minced/pureed
1 1/2 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp seasoning powder or chicken bouillon powder
1 Tbsp fish sauce skipped if use smoke bacon
1/2 Tbsp Caramel sauce see instruction below
1/3 Tbsp fermented shrimp paste sauce mắm tôm or 1 Tbsp oyster sauce or 1/2 extra Tbsp fish sauce

1 1/2 lbs grounded pork
2 Tbsp lemon grass - finely minced/pureed
2 Tbsp shallot onion - finely minced/pureed
1/2 Tbsp garlic - finely minced/pureed
1 1/2 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp seasoning powder or chicken bouillon powder
2/3 Tbsp Caramel sauce
1 Tbsp fish sauce
1/2 Tbsp fermented shrimp paste mắm tôm or 1 1/2 Tbsp oyster sauce or 1 extra Tbsp fish sauce

In a small pot, add 2 Tbsp sugar, 1/2 Tbsp vinegar and 1/2 Tbsp water, stir lightly into a thick paste.
Heat the mixture on high heat until boil or the mixture turns into light golden brown. Reduce heat quickly.
Keep heating until the mixture's color turn into darker brown shade and all sugar is dissolved.
Carefully add 3 Tbsp of water (be careful as mixture is hot and may splatter)
Turn and shake the pot slightly around to mix the whole solution.
Remove from heat source and let it cool naturally.
Transfer to jar, can be kept for months at room temperature for subsequent uses.

If you're using raw bacon, slice them thin before cutting into 3 inches length segments.
Combine grilled pork ingredients listed above and marinate bacon for at least 1 hour before grilling, overnight in fridge is preferred.
If you're using smoked/seasoned bacon, adjust the amount of salt ingredients(seasoning powder, fish sauce, shrimp sauce, etc.), so that the result wont be too salty. Since we will served with fish-sauce broth, the grilled pork bacon should be tenderly sweet, seasoned but not over salty.

In a large enough container, just combine all listed ingredients with grounded pork.
With gloves, mix and pinch grounded pork until fully mixed. A mixer could be used if you have one, use your finger to pinch the meat altogether will help the meat to be more firm and hold well together when grilled.
If your local markets don't carry grounded pork, you could grounded/processed by yourself, just don't over minced them, you don't want pureed pork. Choose pork shoulder/shoulder-butt for its juicy and tenderness. Keep the tendon too.
Marinated meatball for at least 30 minutes before grilling.

Peel off Papaya skin, cut into quarters along its length, remove all the seeds and inner strings/membrane.
Wash and Slice papaya quarters evenly into 1/8 inch thick pieces.
Peel/Scrape off carrot skins.
Wash and Slice carrot into 1/8 inch thick.
In a large non-metal container, mix sliced papaya/carrot piece with 1 Tbsp salt.
Fill container with cold water, enough to cover papaya and carrot pieces, stir to make all salt dissolved.
Let soak for about 20-30 minutes, this will help remove papaya scents and gummy stuff while enhancing both carrot and papaya crunchiness.
Strain salt water, rinse, wring lightly and place all papaya and carrot pieces into a basket to let them air-dried.
Now, in a non-metal container, add rice vinegar and sugar (ratio is about 2 : 1), adjust depend on your preference of the sour to sweetness level and how big your papaya is.
Add papaya/carrot, stir and mix them. Let sit for 30 minutes or until fully absorbed.

Soak 1 Tbsp minced garlic and/or chili into the 1/3 cup lime juice.
In a pot, heat 3 cups of water.
Add 6 Tbsp of sugar, stir.
When all sugar dissolved, slowly pour in fish sauce, adjust quantity according to your fish sauce saltiness level, typically I used about 1/2 cup fish sauce
Turn off heat, stir a bit to mix.
Pour in the soaked garlic/chili/lime juice. Stir to mix.
Just let the whole thing sit, reheat before serve.

In a tall pasta pot, boil 3qt of water.
Add Vermicelli, stir gently to dip all sticks down.
Checking every few minutes until desired softness.
Turn off heat and rinse boiled vermicelli with cold water to remove extra starch
Transfer into a basket to strain off excess water.
Transfer into microwaveable container, heat for 1-2 minutes, uncover.
Your vermicelli should be ready to use.

Right before grilling, add 1/2 Tbsp lime juice to your marinated bacon and 1/2 Tbsp lime juice to marinated ground pork. Mix.
Lightly pat your hand with some oil to prevent sticking
Pinch off a piece of ground meat, gently roll and press between the palms of your hand to form oval shapes patties.
Place meatballs and bacon on separate grilling racks, you could grill them separate or together, just watched carefully as the meatball took longer time cook times.
Outdoor grilling is the tradition with this dish, if you have that, just fire up the grill and grill both bacon and meat ball.
If using oven to roast, then preheat oven to 420F.
Place bacon grilling rack farther away from the heat source than the meatball rack.
Grill for about 30 minutes, watch the bacon as it's easy to be over-grilled.
When done, transfer into serving bowls.

Heat up the fish dipping sauce, and divide into serving bowls.
Add in a couple grilled bacon, meatballs, pickle garnishments, sprinkle some pepper or chili, and add 1/2 tsp fresh crushed garlic to enhance taste.
Serve with vermicelli, lettuce, extra grilled meat in separate containers. Just dip those in as you eat.
Enjoy!