Skip to content
FriendsPantry

Vietnamese

Bún chả

Non-vegetarian

Hanoi's famous lunch: smoky grilled pork patties and pork belly served in a warm, sweet-sour fish sauce dipping broth with rice vermicelli and a pile of fresh herbs.

Bún chả is a Vietnamese noodle dish, ready in about 1 hour 50 minutes and made with ground pork, pork belly and fish sauce. It serves 4 and is rated intermediate to cook.

Start cooking
Delicious Bun Cha served with grilled pork, noodles, and fresh herbs on banana leaf.
Photo: Markus Winkler / Pexels · Pexels License
Prep
30 min
Cook
20 min
Total
1 h 50 min
Serves
4
Level
Intermediate
Calories
922

Includes 1 hour marinating.

Ingredients

4 servings

For the pork

For the dipping broth

To serve

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Mix the shallots (opens in a new tab), garlic (opens in a new tab), fish sauce (opens in a new tab), sugar (opens in a new tab), pepper (opens in a new tab) and oil. Divide between the minced pork (opens in a new tab) and the sliced belly, mix well and marinate in the fridge for 1 hour.

    • 10 min
    Meat coated in a spiced marinade in a bowl
    How it looks · Photo: Ip Photographer on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    For the broth, dissolve the sugar (opens in a new tab) in the warm water, then add the fish sauce (opens in a new tab), vinegar, lime juice (opens in a new tab), garlic (opens in a new tab) and chilli. Add the carrot (opens in a new tab) and daikon (opens in a new tab) slices to pickle lightly.

    • 5 min

  3. Step 3

    Shape the mince into small flat patties. Grill the patties and belly slices over hot charcoal or under a hot grill until charred at the edges and cooked through.

    Food safety: Cook pork until the centre reaches at least 63 °C (71 °C for minced pork).

    Food cooking over a grill
    How it looks · Photo: Malte Luk on Pexels

  4. Step 4

    Drop the hot pork into bowls of the dipping broth. Serve with the noodles, lettuce (opens in a new tab) and herbs so everyone dips noodles and herbs into the broth as they eat.

    • 3 min
    A finished dish being plated
    How it looks · Photo: Willians Huerta on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Hanoi, Vietnam · Well documentedMore food from Vietnam
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Noodles · Grills & kebabs · Main courses
Cooking method
Grilled, Marinated / cured
Taste
smoky, sweet & sour, herby, savoury
Diet
No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · High-protein
All labelsNon-vegetarian · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Beef-free · High-protein
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Street food · Make-ahead
Cook more with
Ground pork · Pork belly · Fish sauce · Shallot · Garlic · Sugar
Techniques
Grilling · Broiling · Charcoal grilling · Dhungar (charcoal smoking) · Marinating

Allergens

  • Contains: Fishfrom fish sauce
  • May contain: Crustaceansfrom fish sauce

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

922 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 469 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 12%
  • Carbohydrate 33%
  • Fat 55%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy922 kcal196 kcal
Protein27.3 g5.8 g
Carbohydrate75.6 g16.1 g
Net carbohydrate72 g15.3 g
Sugars——
Added sugars14.1 g3 g
Fibre3.6 g0.8 g
Fat55.7 g11.9 g
Saturated fat19.4 g4.1 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol108 mg23 mg
Sodium1950 mg416 mg
Salt equivalent4.9 g1 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
760 mg
Calcium
98 mg
Iron
3 mg
Magnesium
88 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
235 µg
Vitamin C
20 mg
Vitamin D
—
Vitamin B12
1.2 µg
Folate (DFE)
70 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: basil.
  • Rice vinegar: Distilled vinegar (FDC 172237) used as a stand-in for unseasoned rice vinegar.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Charcoal gives the authentic smoky flavour; a very hot grill pan is the next best thing.

Common mistakes

  • Making the dipping broth too strong — it should be light enough to sip.

Serve with

  • Serve with crispy fried spring rolls (nem rán) as Hanoi stalls do.

Storage

  • Refrigerate grilled pork for up to 2 days; keep noodles and herbs separate.

Reheating

  • Warm the pork under the grill; the broth is served warm, not hot.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Sauces, chutneys & dips for this dish

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

For the pork

Used in step 1

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

You might also like