I give you my favorite Vietnamese dish; Bun cha Hanoi.
The author of a Vietnamese cuisine guidebook said “I discovered new taste buds that I didn’t know I had.” I think that is the most accurate description of Vietnamese cuisine. As a food lover, I was really excited about a month trip to Vietnam. And yes, I did eat a lot. Spring rolls, pho, and many other unique Vietnamese meals. Along with all the great dishes I had, bun cha Hanoi comes first on the list of my favorite dishes in Vietnam.
Jenny, my friend and the writer of Runaway to Sister’s City: Hanoi, Vietnam recommended bun cha as the food we must try in Hanoi. And she was right. You have to try it.
So, what is bun cha?
It is basically a cold noodle soup with pork. You’ll be served with a plate of rice noodles, fresh herbs, and a bowl of cold broth with grilled pork. The rice noodles and fresh herbs are pretty common in Vietnamese restaurants. The broth and the pork are the ones that make this dish unique.
The broth
After experimenting with different restaurants, discussions, and research, I discovered the broth is based on vinegar, sugar and fish sauce. It’s sweet and sour, and also it has the unique taste of fish sauce. Without the fish sauce, Vietnamese food wouldn’t be completed. Anyway, even though we know what’s in it, controlling the portion of all the ingredients would be the tricky part. The broth tastes similar as Galbi; Korean BBQ pork. It is usually served at room temperature. Picked radishes and carrots also commonly come together.
The pork
The pork is served in the broth. Depending on where you eat, there’ll be grilled pork belly and grounded-grilled pork. In Bun cha restaurant which is everywhere in Hanoi, has a fireplace to cook the pork.
How to eat bun cha
Now you have it: rice noodles, herbs, and broth. Dip everything together in the broth and enjoy! There’s no complicated how-to with Bun cha. You’ll know what to do. I really enjoyed the harmony of fresh mint and a sweet piece of pork. Fresh garlic, chili pepper, and lime are always on the table as basic ingredients. Use it as you wish.
The uniqueness
It is just so good, but there are a few more reasons why you should try it in Hanoi.
It is a lunchtime-only food
Like Jenny said in her guide of Hanoi, people nap during the afternoon in Vietnam. Bun cha is a lunch food; it means you can only find it between 12 pm – 3 pm. I tried to find Bun cha restaurant at 2:30 p.m. Wasn’t easy. You’ll see they grill the meat on the sidewalk before 12 p.m. and close after 3 p.m.
Only in Hanoi
People believe that bun cha originated in Hanoi. It’s usually not available in other parts of the country and even if some restaurants have it on the menu, the taste just doesn’t right. The ingredients are pretty common, and the way they cook is also not so difficult, but I couldn’t find it after leaving Hanoi. Only once at a beach resort in Phu Quoc Island, we had it for 5 times the price. It was worth it after a month of withdrawal though. So if you are in Hanoi, eat it as many times as you can. You’ll be missing it.
Update: with growing popularity especially after President Obama’s visit to Vietnam, now you can find bun cha in many restaurants around Vietnam.
Find the “Obama Bun Cha” in Hanoi
Bun cha gained its global fame when President Obama went to eat bun cha with Anthony Bourdain. Where did they go? It’s a restaurant called Bun Cha Huong Lien in Hanoi. They even have a set menu called “Obama Set”, which serves a list of dishes they ate. This restaurant is always full, and rightfully so. Bun Cha Huong Lien was already popular for its exquisite bun cha taste and now more visitors come here after the press coverage. In my opinion, it’s harder to find bun cha which is not good, but Bun Cha Huong Lien does it exceptionally well.
If you go: the prices vary according to the quality and quantity of the pork. I had it usually between 25,000 VND – 45,000 VND (1.50 – 2.5 USD). Read more about what $1.50 US would get you in Vietnam.
Oh my favourite dish from Vietnam too!! absolutely loved it and ate it every other day in Hanoi 🙂
Though we did try the street food version of grilled pork belly and the minced grilled pork i preferred the latter…your pictures are making me hungry!! 🙂
Thanks Lavanya! Shame we didn’t have a chance to meet in Hanoi 🙂 I miss Bun cha… They were great. I moved my way down south, so I didn’t have chance to have it again. Ahh! Hope you had a great time in Hanoi! Where are you going next?
Great post! You’ve made me hungry for Bun Cha! My mouth is watering. I’ll have to have some when I get back.
Thanks Jenny! Food in south are really different, but I miss Hanoi’s food very much including Bun cha. And I met a guy traveling from Hanoi with his girlfriend who’s living in Hanoi, and we talked about the chicken street and how great their chicken is. 🙂 Thanks for introducing that to us!
I really need to try more Vietnamese food!
Yeah! I miss the variety of Vietnamese food. But I’m happy to eat cheese and great beer in the US at the moment. 🙂
I don’t know that I could pick just one favorite food from my travels in Vietnam, but bun cha is definitely amongst the top dishes. I was constantly in search of it. I do think I got it in Mui Ne….but that could be the sun and sand talking.
Bun Cha is also my favorite Vietnamese dish! I loved it so much especially for the variety of herbs and for the ever present supply of fresh chopped chillies and garlic – I could eat it all day long! Making my mouth water!!!
Hey,
I’m wondering if you have any idea of the quantities to make the broth? Every recipe I’ve googled doesn’t have the broth, just “dipping sauce”. When I tried to get a cooking lesson in Hanio they just told me Bun cha was too hard and they couldn’t teach me it! I need Bun cha in my life haha.
On another note I also managed to get pretty good Bun Cha in Sapa but none further south.
Hey I actually went for a cooking lesson and I got to learn how to make Bun Cha including its dipping sauce! The result was fantastic and I tasted the end product and I could vouch for the recipe.
Dipping Sauce:
Fish sauce (100ml)
Water (650ml)
Lemon juice (130ml)
Sugar (130g)
Garlic (3 cloves)
Red chillies (Optional, according to taste)
You could read up on the rest of the Bun Cha recipe on my blog!
https://theultimatefoodieadeline.blogspot.jp/2017/06/bun-cha-vietnamese-grilled-pork-patties.html
Have fun experimenting! Let me know if you like the dipping sauce recipe! 🙂
Great- thanks for that! I would love to make it at home but at the same time, I want to remain my great memory from Hanoi as it is. 🙂
I’ve never had Bun Cha before, but it sounds wonderful. I’m a big fan of all dishes with fish sauce! I was excited and ready to start searching for it in the States until I read the part about it only being available in Hanoi. I’ll probably still look for it. It also sounds like something I am going to try hard and create on my own.
Vietnam has been on my list of places to visit for quite some time now. I’m hoping to get there in the next year or two. Thanks!
Thanks Danielle! Bun cha is a very regionalized dish to Hanoi, even though it’s really really popular. It was hard to find it even in other parts of Vietnam. But I think it won’t be too hard to create. All you need is a fish sauce, rice noodles, and grilled pork! I’d be interested to know if you succeed!
Hi! Great post:-)
I have a question: is bun cha always served with broth? I also see pictures of the meat served ‘dry’.
Hope you can help me!
Cheers,
Charlotte
Hey Charlotte, bun cha is served with the cold broth. If you are looking for dry noodles, it is not bun cha! 🙂 Hope it helps!