VIETNAM
Bun Cha Hanoi
45 min
4 servings
Medium
No visit to the city of Hanoi in Vietnam is complete without trying street food. The local specialty is 'Bun Cha Hanoi'. These are Vietnamese pork meatballs with caramel and lemongrass. Officially you should roast the meat on the barbecue, but since it is not always barbecue weather in the Netherlands, we prepare it in the pan.

Preparation method
Step 1. Make the dipping sauce
Put fish sauce, vinegar, sugar and water in a small saucepan.
Bring it to the boil while stirring.
Pour the dipping sauce into a separate bowl and let it cool slightly.
Meanwhile cut the cucumber and carrot into thin slices and then into quarters / small pieces.
Finely chop the garlic and chili pepper.
Add the cucumber, carrot, garlic and chilli to the dipping sauce and set aside.
Step 2. Preparing 'Bun Cha Hanoi'
Cut the spring onion and the lemongrass / lemongrass into rings and chop finely.
Chop the pork belly into small pieces.
Add the fish sauce, pork belly, spring onion, lemongrass and a pinch of salt to the minced meat.
Finally, add the caramel, which will be made in the next step.
Step 3. Making caramel
Put 6 tbsp sugar and 2 tbsp water in a small saucepan, stir and put on a low heat.
Let it simmer gently. The caramel is ready when it turns light brown.
Let your caramel cool gently. Add it to the ground beef mixture while it is still lukewarm. If the caramel gets cold and solidifies too quickly, it is less easy to mix with the minced meat.
Step 4. The meatballs
Knead the minced meat mixture well and make small balls (about the size of 1 tablespoon)
Add oil to the pan and fry until the balls are golden brown. Tip: the balls are also very tasty when cooked on the barbecue!
Step 5. Serve
Prepare the glass noodles according to the packaging.
Finely chop the cilantro and cut the carrot and cucumber julienne (thin strips).
Serve the noodles, cilantro, carrot, cucumber and dipping sauce next to the 'Bun Cha Hanoi'.
Ăn ngon miệng nhé! ('Enjoy your meal')
Bun Cha Hanoi is proof that Vietnamese cuisine is unique in its simplicity. Thao and Sidney will tell you more about the food culture behind this and the importance of booze.
Ingredients
The dipping sauce
3 tbsp fish sauce
3 tbsp vinegar
3 tbsp sugar
150 ml of water
2 cm carrot
2 cm cucumber
3 cloves of garlic
1 chili pepper
Bun Cha Hanoi
500 grams of minced pork
200 grams pork belly (smoked bacon strips)
2 spring onions
4 tbsp fresh lemongrass / lemongrass
4 tbsp fish sauce
6 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp water
Salt to taste
On the side
150 - 200 grams of glass noodles
1 large carrot (or a bag of pre-cut carrot julienne)
1 cucumber
15 grams of cilantro

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