Scrambled Eggs, Cheese, and Avocado Tortilla Bowl Recipe
September 16, 2025
Bun Cha (Vietnamese Meatballs!) Recipe
Introducing Bun Cha, the well-known caramelised pork meatballs from the stress of Hanoi. Conventional Vietnamese meals, made at house! That is an straightforward Vietnamese recipe that anybody could make that’s filled with flavour. No must search out obscure substances at an Asian retailer!
Serve it over vermicelli noodles with Vietnamese Nuoc Cham Sauce and your contemporary greens of alternative.
Any self respecting foodie visiting a brand new nation can be armed with a listing of “Should Attempt Meals!!“. And for guests of Vietnam, Bun Cha must be proper up there, alongside Pho, contemporary rice paper rolls, and Banh Mi, to call a number of favourites.
It was actually one of many first meals I hunted down once I visited Vietnam. A top-priority!
These are photographs of a Bun Cha speciality place in Hanoi that we visited. The Bun Cha was as nice as we anticipated, and I’m completely satisfied to report the flimsy stools you spy held up for the entire meal. (Flimsy plastic stools are the norm all over the place, and we had been severely involved each time we planted our butts down on them!)
Bun Cha is a conventional Vietnamese pork dish that’s a speciality of Hanoi, the capital metropolis of Vietnam. Seasoned pork patties (I name them squished meatballs) and caramelised pork stomach slices are served in a broth alongside rice noodles, contemporary greens and herbs.
eat Bun Cha – The thought is to make use of the broth for dunking the noodles, greens and herbs. So that you dunk, slurp noodles, chew into juicy pork, attempt to cram in a number of sprigs of herbs – and that second while you succeed, while you get a mouthful with a little bit of every thing…
THAT my mates, is a large, fats mouthful that epitomises all that’s nice about Vietnamese meals. That excellent stability of contemporary, savoury, candy, herb, citrus, tender noodles, and that juicy caramelised pork….. YES!!!
This Bun Cha recipe I’m sharing at the moment is a straightforward house model that’s a mode extra acquainted to these of us exterior of Vietnam. On level with flavour, however offered otherwise.
To make this a easy dinner recipe, I’ve skipped the pork stomach and made noodle bowls with the sauce for spooning over, relatively than serving it “soup” model. This Noodle Bowl approach of serving Vietnamese meals is more and more fashionable right here in Sydney, particularly with the work lunch crowd.
You’ll love how you gained’t must make a journey to an Asian retailer for this! You’ll additionally love how versatile this recipe truly is.
The Vietnamese (squished) meatballs are simply made with pork, garlic, sugar, fish sauce*, salt, pepper and scallions/inexperienced onions. Fish sauce is the important thing seasoning right here, and the contact of sugar that makes the floor fantastically caramelised.
The Vietnamese Sauce is a model of Nuoc Cham, a model of which is served with “every thing” in Vietnamese delicacies (and that’s no exaggeration).
The sauce for Bun Cha is made with fish sauce*, rice wine vinegar, lime juice, sugar, garlic and chilli (scorching or not scorching, and even skip it). It’s diluted with water to make it extra like a soup broth. In a nod to the genuine approach Bun Cha is served, the concept with this recipe is to make use of a number of sauce. You want it, to slurp up the noodles!
* I do know there are individuals who aren’t a fan of fish sauce. However fish sauce is as Vietnamese as Banh Mi, so I actually do urge you to make use of it when you can. This recipe is under no circumstances “fishy” tasting like some Vietnamese meals. It’s only a savoury seasoning that has extra depth of flavour than soy sauce.
To finish the bowl, these Vietnamese Meatballs are served conventional Bun Cha model with noodles, contemporary greens and herbs.
The noodles are rice vermicelli noodles, discovered “all over the place” these days in Australia. Merely soak in boiling water for a few minutes, then drain.
Recent greens and herbs are an important a part of Vietnamese meals, and also you’ll get massive bowls served alongside nearly each meal. Bean sprouts, mint and coriander/cilantro are the commonest, in addition to pickled greens.
However that is the kind of recipe that’s terrifically versatile that can work properly with many kinds of greens. Shredded cabbage or lettuce, or different leafy greens. Finely sliced cucumber, inexperienced beans, pink radish, cherry tomatoes, even asparagus. Most contemporary greens will work nice on this!
In at the moment’s recipe, I’ve additionally offered a fast Asian pickled greens recipe which is good to serve with this Bun Cha recipe. However pickling is elective.
The size of the checklist of substances is definitely fairly misleading as a result of there’s a handful of repeat substances. So don’t be turned off simply because this isn’t a 5 ingredient recipe. 🙂
It’s value it, I promise. When you love Vietnamese meals (and I don’t know anybody who doesn’t!), this one will actually hit the spot! – Johnsat x
Get your Vietnamese repair!
- Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls
- Lemongrass Chicken – considered one of my favorite issues to grill!
- Vietnamese Caramel Pork – one other iconic Vietnamese meals! Additionally see the Chicken model.
- Vietnamese Caramelised Pork Bowls – the tremendous fast model of the above
- Vietnamese Noodle Salad
- Vietnamese Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 250 – 300 g/8 – 10 oz pork mince (ground pork)(Note 1)
- 1 tbsp fish sauce (Note 2)
- 2 tsp white sugar
- 1/3 cup finely chopped green onions / scallions
- 1 clove garlic , minced
- Pinch of white pepper and salt
- 2 tsp lemongrass paste or fresh finely chopped , optional (Note 4)
- 1 1/2 tbsp oil , for cooking
- 3 tbsp white sugar
- 3 tbsp fish sauce (Note 2)
- 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 birds eye chilli , seeded and finely chopped (Note 3)
- 3 cloves garlic , finely chopped
- 100 g / 3.5 oz vermicelli noodles , dried
- Big handful beansprouts
- Few lettuce leaves , folded or shredded
- Julienned carrot and white radish (daikon), optional quick pickle (Note 5)
- Handful of coriander/cilantro sprigs , mint
- Sliced red chilli , lime wedges (optional)
Instructions
- Sauce: Mix ingredients. Set aside 10 minutes+.
- Noodles: Pour over boiling water and soak per packet directions. Drain, set aside.
- Mix all ingredients except oil until combined.
- Shape into 6 mini hamburger patties with your hands.
- Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add patties and cook for 2 1/2 minutes or until golden. Flip, cook 2 minutes then remove.
- Place noodles in bowl. Top with a handful of beansprouts, wedge in lettuce, carrots and radish in.
- Place meatballs on top, top with coriander and mint.
- Spoon over a generous amount of Sauce (it’s supposed to be like a soup broth), eat and be happy!
Notes
1. Pork: Can use chicken or turkey. Fattier the better – juicier!
2. Nuoc Cham: This sauce is not as strong / fishy as others you may have tried. It’s intended to be used almost like a soup broth. Adapt this to your taste by adjusting the quantities. You probably will not use all this sauce – but I don’t want you to run out!
3. Chilli: Birds eye chillies are small red chillies that are quite spicy. To make it less spicy, use large red chillies instead (which are not as hot) or skip it.
4. Lemongrass will gives this an extra Vietnamese flavour that westerners are familiar with. But not all Vietnamese recipes have lemongrass in it – and if I included it in everything, then they would all taste the same! Traditional Bun Cha does not have it in it, and it’s really tasty without. But it’s an optional extra!
5. Serving sides: Traditional Vietnamese food is served with lots of fresh sides. Bean sprouts and herbs such as mint and coriander/cilantro are the most common, but also pickles. You’re supposed to pile them on top of whatever your eating and eat it together.
There’s plenty of options here, so sub ingredients as desired! Shredded cabbage or other leafy greens, cucumber and even finely sliced asparagus and green beans would be ideal. I’d even throw in some cherry tomatoes!
Lettuce – if using soft lettuce (like I’ve used), tear then fold. If using crisp lettuce (eg iceberg), finely slice.
6. Quick Asian Pickled Vegetables: 1 cup julienned carrot (1 medium) 1 loosely packed cup julienned white radish / daikon 1 cup (250 ml) warm tap water 1/3 cup white sugar 1 tbsp salt 1/2 cup (125 ml)rice wine vinegar Directions: Combine sugar, salt, vinegar and water. Stir until sugar and salt are dissolved. Add vegetables and let stand for at least 1 hour to pickle. Drain.
7. What this tastes like: The pork is savoury with a touch of sweet, and caramelised on the outside. The sauce is not that strong (supposed to use alot) – sweet, balanced with mild tang and savoury. Not that spicy because there’s only 1 small chilli spread across almost 1 cup of liquid. If concerned, use a large red chilli (not as spicy) or skip it altogether. Though fish sauce is used in abundance here (as with most Vietnamese recipes!) it does not taste fishy. 8. Adapted from a few Vietnamese cookbooks, including My Vietnamese Kitchen by Uyen Luu and Hanoi Street Food by Luk This and Tom Vandenberghe.
9. Nutrition is for meatballs and sauce only, assuming all sauce is consumed.
Did You Make This Recipe?
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