My second journey to the exotic land of Asian cuisine: BUN CHA

Hi Steemians, it’s me, the food lover again and I’m here to take you to the next destination of my exotic Asian food adventure!!! First of all, I want to say thank for all of the supports for my very first entry about “Pho”. Honestly saying, I was very surprised because I did not think I could make it to the top trending. I am very happy and I appreciate all your up-votes and comments:)   

And now, let’s get it started here - our second journey with a very special dish - the dish that Mr Obama had tried when he visited Vietnam last May (I’m sorry if it makes you guys feel bored since it is a Vietnamese dish once again, Vietnamese food is really my cup of tea:)). On this post, I want to introduce Bun Cha, a culinary jewel of Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam.

 “Steemit version of Bun Cha” made by me :D 

 … and a typical meal of Bun Cha in Hanoi
 

Similar to “Pho”, Bun Cha is a familiar Vietnamese dish that captivates not only local people but also many foreigners visiting this lovely country. The National Geographic has listed “Bun Cha” as one of top 10 street foods in the world.” Only in Hanoi could you find the best Bun Cha with the original taste. If you have a chance to visit this interesting city, Bun Cha is definitely a must-try. It is sold all over the streets. Walking around the Hanoi’s Old Quarter, we can easily find a stall selling Bun Cha in every corner of the quarter. While Pho might be the most famous food in Vietnam, Bun cha is the top choice for lunch that will attract any hungry stomach.
 

 Bun Cha Sinh Tu – A famous eatery in Hanoi from the old time 

And now -  People having Bun Cha for lunch in a corner of Hanoi street 

The classic Bun Cha normally includes rice noodles with barbecue pork and is served with Vietnamese special fresh herbs and specific dipping sauce. The rice noodle is thinner compared to the one we have with Pho. Bun Cha pork is marinated with a very special recipe, which varies among distinct Bun Cha trademarks. It’s the marinating formula that differentiates the dish from thousand of other delicious foods in Vietnam. There are two types of pork in Bun Cha: the sliced one and the minced one. Both are grilled on a charcoal cooker after being marinated for hours. Minced pork patties are quite big, thick and tasty with the color of golden brown. Above the red coals, grilled pork and patties create an attractive scent, awaken customers’ taste immediately. The aromatic smell rising is blended in the pork, creates a flavor which is indescribably yummy. Without charcoal, Bun Cha will be absolutely incomplete. 

 An old lady cooking Bun Cha with the charcoal cooker on the street 

 Pork and patties are ready to be grilled 

Another significant component of Bun Cha is the dipping sauce which is made of fish sauce, sugar, vinegar, water, fresh thinly sliced papaya and carrot. If spicy is not your problem, a little piece of chilli will be a great add-on. It is the balance of all the ingredients that determine the success of the dipping sauce. By keeping the sauce formula, Vietnamese people keep the spirit of Bun Cha.    
 

 Bun Cha will not be complete without a good bowl of dipping sauce 

 Just like “Pho”, people make Bun Cha in different styles. In some places, the barbeque pork is grilled with bamboo skewers (it looks like the chicken skewers in Thai food, but tastes differently). I have never tried this one before but it looks extremely tasty in the pictures). Other restaurants make pork with “xuong xong” leaves (they wrap the leaves around pork then grill it). The smell of the grilled leaves enhances the tastiness of the barbeque pork. However, my favorite style of Bun Cha is still the original one without any bamboo skewer and leaf. What’s more, “Nem” (as known as Vietnamese spring roll) is also an add-on to Bun Cha. People can have both pork and “Nem” in a bowl. In my opinion, the best “Nem” to eat with Bun Cha is made with crab meat!!!   

 A Bun Cha set with pork on bamboo skewers :) 

 The minced pork patty wrapped in  Blumea-leaf 

 The delicious spring rolls with crab meat (Nem cua be) 

 And a bottle of the local Hanoi beer would be great too :)
  
So now, you have an overview of Bun Cha, don’t you? Let’s go back to the story of Mr Obama eating Bun Cha in Hanoi because it is quite an interesting story to me. I like both of them- Mr Obama and Bun Cha :P When the US President came to Hanoi, the news was all over the media but the most catchy title was “Barrack Obama treated to $6 noodles to Hanoi by Anthony Bourdain.” Bourdain is a “gastronomic bad boy” and food writer known for discovering the best in local cuisine. He chose Bun Cha to treat Mr President, which means this dish is one of the best of his choice here. I just love the scene of Obama eating “a cheap bowl of noodles, perched on a blue plastic stool in a modest street-side restaurant (The Telegraph Uk, 2016). The President finished the whole meal and bought other two meals to take away. Good choice, Obama! You really have a good taste!!! In a speech on the next day, he said that “I went to Hanoi’s Old Quarter, try a few awesome dishes of Vietnam, ate “bun cha” and drank Hanoi beer.”  

The President drinking Hanoi beer and eating Bun Cha in Huong Lien eatery

Thumbed up and said “Excellent” 

After the visit of the President Obama and Bourdain, the eatery and the Bun Cha dish itself instantly drew much attention. Undoubtedly, people coming to this place was much more crowd than usual. Everybody was talking about Bun Cha and the eatery’s Bun Cha business is getting better and better. The owner said they would not raise the price. In Singapore, a restaurant even named their Bun Cha dish as “Bun Cha Obama”. People are very excited about this meal and the owner said it is always sold out quickly, customers need to make a reservation if they want to try the meal.   

 The Bun Cha menu with Obama combo in an eatery :) 

 A restaurant in Nha Trang, Vietnam with “Bun Cha Obama” on their billboard 

Blogging about this attracting dish made me feel very hungry, so I decided to make the Bun Cha by myself. Although it doesn’t look as good as the ones in its original country, but at least I tried my best :D Trust me, it’s absolutely tasty and below is the recipe for those of you who want to give it a try. I hope you enjoy the making and… eating it (just like me  :D).   
 

Bon appetite!!!   

My version of Bun Cha <3<3<3

A take home gift ;):

 The ingredients of Bun Cha:   

• *For the grilled pork*  
• 500 g pork belly ( 1.1 lb) or pork shoulder, thinly sliced 
• 500 g minced pork (1.1 lb) 
• 1 tbsp sugar  
• 4 tbsp minced shallot  
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce optional 
• 2 tbsp sugar  
• 4 tbsp fish sauce   
• 4 tbsp caramel sauce or 2 tbsp molasses/honey 
• 2 tsp pork stock powder (eg. Knorr - this is optional) 
• 1 tsp ground black pepper  
• **For the pickles**    
• 1 cup kohlrabi/ green papaya thinly sliced into bite size pieces 
• 1 cup carrots thinly sliced into bite size pieces 
• 2 tsp salt  
• 2 tbsp vinegar (5% acid) 
• 1 tbsp sugar  
• **For the dipping sauce**    
• 1/2 cup fish sauce  
• 1/2 cup sugar  
• 3 cup water  
• 1 tbsp minced garlic  
• 1 tbsp minced chili  
• Fresh greens: lettuce, mint, perilla, cilantro etc.  
• 2 kg fresh rice vermicelli (or 1kg dried rice vermicelli) 

For the instruction, you can click the link: 

http://danangcuisine.com/recipes/recipe-43-bun-cha/ 

More reading:

National Geographic- Bun Cha was listed as one of top 10 street foods in the world. http://cityinsight.vn/blog/cityinsight-top-10-best-street-foods-include-bun-cha-hanoi.html