Bún Chả (Hanoi Grilled Pork with Noodles)
Photo: Markus Winkler / Unsplash
Hanoi's smoky lunchtime classic: caramel-marinated pork patties and pork belly grilled over high heat, served in a bowl of sweet-sour fish sauce dressing with cool rice vermicelli and a heap of fresh herbs.
Servings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Per serving
Steps
Marinate the pork
Mix the shallots, garlic, fish sauce, sugar, oil and pepper in a bowl. Divide the mixture between the minced pork and the pork belly slices, massage it in well, and let marinate at least 1 hour in the fridge.
- 3 shallots
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp oil
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 400g minced pork
- 300g pork belly
✅ Done when: pork is evenly coated and has absorbed the marinade
Make the dipping sauce
Stir the sugar into the warm water until fully dissolved, then add the fish sauce and vinegar. Add the carrot, papaya and chillies and let them soak for about 10 minutes to soften slightly.
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 300ml warm water
- 4 tbsp fish sauce
- 3 tbsp vinegar or lime juice
- 1 carrot, sliced
- 1 green papaya or kohlrabi, sliced
- 2 chillies, sliced
✅ Done when: sugar is dissolved and vegetables are slightly softened
Cook the noodles
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Shape the patties
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Grill
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Serve
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Marinate the pork
Mix the shallots, garlic, fish sauce, sugar, oil and pepper in a bowl. Divide the mixture between the minced pork and the pork belly slices, massage it in well, and let marinate at least 1 hour in the fridge.
- 3 shallots
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp oil
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 400g minced pork
- 300g pork belly
✅ Done when: pork is evenly coated and has absorbed the marinade
Make the dipping sauce
Stir the sugar into the warm water until fully dissolved, then add the fish sauce and vinegar. Add the carrot, papaya and chillies and let them soak for about 10 minutes to soften slightly.
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 300ml warm water
- 4 tbsp fish sauce
- 3 tbsp vinegar or lime juice
- 1 carrot, sliced
- 1 green papaya or kohlrabi, sliced
- 2 chillies, sliced
✅ Done when: sugar is dissolved and vegetables are slightly softened
Cook the noodles
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Shape the patties
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Grill
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Serve
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The Story Behind the Dish
Bún chả is the lunchtime dish of Hanoi: from late morning, small charcoal grills smoke on pavements all over the Old Quarter, fanned by hand to char the pork. Locals eat it sitting on low plastic stools, with a basket of herbs on every table.
Unlike the noodle soups of the morning, it's eaten almost exclusively at midday.
⭐ Why It's Famous
In 2016 it made world headlines when US President Barack Obama and chef Anthony Bourdain shared bún chả at a small Hanoi restaurant.
💡 Fun Fact
The restaurant where Obama and Bourdain ate later preserved their table and stools behind glass — and renamed its set meal the "Combo Obama".
Hanoi, Vietnam
21.03°N, 105.85°E
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