Authentic Bun Cha – Vietnamese Grilled Pork Meatballs with Noodles

🧂 Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb ground pork
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 4 1/2 tablespoons water, divided
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1/4 cup minced shallots
• 2-3 lemongrass stalks, white part only, finely minced
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 teaspoons oyster sauce
• black pepper
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 3/4 cup water
• 2 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• thinly sliced carrots and/or green papaya

  (optional)
• vermicelli noodles
• butter lettuce

  (or other soft lettuce)
• cilantro
• mint

Instructions

• 1 In a small saucepan, add 1/4 cup of sugar and 3 tablespoons of water. Bring to a
  boil. Lower the heat to medium, continue to simmer. You will see a lot of
  bubbles on the surface. The mixture will then turn from clear to yellow, and get
  darker as you simmer it. Reduce the heat if needed. Keep watching closely, until
  it has a slightly dark caramel color, turn off the heat and carefully add 1 1/2
  tablespoons of water. Swirl the saucepan to combine and remove it from the
  stove. Set aside.
• 2 In a mixing bowl, add the ground pork, caramel sauce and all other ingredients
  for the pork meatballs. Mix for a couple of minutes to combine thoroughly. Set
  aside for 10-15 minutes or marinate in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours for
  tastier results.
• 3 To make the dipping sauce, whisk together lime juice, sugar, water, and fish
  sauce in a bowl. Adjust to taste. Add garlic, and add thinly sliced carrots and
  green papaya if using. Set aside.
• 4 Prepare vermicelli noodles according to package instructions. Prepare lettuce
  and fresh herbs.
• 5 Heat the grill pan (or preheat gas grill/charcoal grill if that’s what you use
  to cook the meatballs). Shape the marinated pork into small meatballs. Once the
  pan is hot, grill them in a single layer until fully cooked.
• 6 Put the grilled meatballs in the the dipping sauce, serve immediately with
  noodles, lettuce and herbs.

Nutrition Info