SOUTH-EAST ASIAN
BUN CHA – VIETNAMESE PORK MEATBALLS AND NOODLES
A delicious Vietnamese street food we first discovered in a tiny hole-in-the-wall in Ho Chi Minh City. Once tasted you will want to return to it over and over again. Not only does it make for fun eating, it is fantastically versatile – eat as a fresh and vibrant lunch or serve as a sharing platter when hosting.
Ingredients
PATTIES
500g Minced Pork
1 Garlic Clove, minced
3 Spring Onions, finely diced
1 Small Red Chilli, finely diced
1 Small Bunch of Coriander, finely diced
Zest of 1 Lime
2 tbsp Fish Sauce
1 Generous Pinch of Salt and Pepper
DIPPING SAUCE
Juice of 1 Large Lime
4 Spring Onions, finely diced
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
½ Thumb Sized Piece of Ginger, minced
Small Red Chilli, finely diced
3 tsp Palm Sugar
4 tbsp Fish Sauce
2 tbsp Rice-Wine Vinegar
150g Water
SALAD
2 Carrots, peeled and julienned
1 Cucumber, core removed and julienned
1 Chinese Leaf, shredded
4 Spring Onions, finely diced
1 Large Bunch of Coriander, stalks removed
1 Large Bunch of Thai Basil, stalks removed
1 Large Bunch of Mint, stalks removed
300g Thin Rice Noodles, cooked and cooled
TO COOK
Ground Nut Oil
TO SERVE
Lime Wedges
Crushed Peanuts
METHOD
THE DIPPING SAUCE
1. Place a pan over a medium heat and melt the palm sugar in the pan. Whisk in the fish sauce, vinegar and the water. Add the garlic, ginger and spring onions and leave to simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and add in the chilli and lime juice. Transfer to dipping bowls.
2. Serve warm.
THE PATTIES
1. In a large bowl, mix together the garlic, spring onions, chilli, diced coriander, lime zest and fish sauce. Once the marinade has been thoroughly mixed together, crumble in the pork mince with some salt and pepper and mix together, ensuring the pork is well covered by the marinade. For best results, leave the pork to marinade like this over night, but if time is a factor try and leave for at least an hour.
2. Place a griddle pan over a medium-high heat and brush with a little ground nut oil.
3. With wet hands, form the pork mixture into small balls and then gently flatten to make the patties, approximately 4cm in diameter and 1cm thick. Repeat this process until all of the pork mixture is used up.
4. Grill the patties on the Griddle pan for 3 minutes on each side or until the pork is cooked through and starting to char on the outside. Before flipping the patties, brush the top of each patty with a little ground nut oil.
5. Serve immediately.
THE ASSEMBLY
1. Divide each of the salad ingredients evenly and arrange in bowls. Drizzle each bowl with a little of the dipping sauce and then add the pork patties and garnish with the crushed peanuts. Serve a separate bowl of dipping sauce with each bowl.
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