Earlier this year I visited the wonderful country of Vietnam. I was lucky enough to spend two weeks exploring Vietnam with five other gorgeous girls on tour with Travelling Divas. I intend do so some travel blog posts on my fantastic trip away (when I get the chance) but until then, I thought I would share with you one recipe from Vietnam that I make all the time here on the farm. It is so fresh and delicious you will be making it more often than not!
I recently visited a girlfriend, mainly to see her brand new kitchen 😆😁, and she told me how much she was enjoying the adventures of The Farmer and the Cook. She said she was looking forward to a Vietnamese recipe so naturally I had to oblige! Here is my take on Bún Chả.
If you are anything like me, sometimes you want dinner to be a no fuss affair. This Bún Chả is just this and more. You can make the pork balls a day in advance and leave them in the fridge ready for when you make the salad that accompanies them. You can buy Vietnamese mint from any Asian shops or grow your own! I have a pot of it and it goes really well with lots of Asian dishes.
To make the pork patties for the Bún Chả you will need the following ingredients (don’t forget to click on the “recipes & blog” tab for your printable recipe):
500g Pork Mince
1 garlic clove
2 spring onions
1 stick lemongrass
2 sprigs of mint
A few leaves of Vietnamese mint
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp white pepper and white sugar and a pinch of salt
2 tsp of Kecap Manis
1 egg
Chilli (birds eye if you like it hot, or just a plain long one)
Can I just take a moment to show you this beautiful little dipping bowl that I successfully bought all the way back from Vietnam! Isn't it gorgeous?
To make the meatballs cut the garlic, spring onions, lemongrass, mint and Vietnamese mint finely (or whizz in a blender) and add to pork mince. Add fish sauce, white pepper, sugar and salt, Kecap Manis and some fresh chilli. Stir to combine and then add egg to bind it all together.
Roll into small balls and place into a sprayed baking dish (on top of a fine rack if you don’t want them to bake in the pork fat) and refrigerate while you make the dressing. These can be made a day in advance ready for you to pull out and bake when needed!
The dressing for Bún Chả is Nước Mắm Chấm and I find the best recipe is by the one and only Luke Nguyen. For those of you that know me well know that I have a MASSIVE crush on Luke and dream to meet him one day! You can get the recipe for Nước Mắm Chấm here or you will also find it on the printable recipe card above.
While you make the dressing preheat your oven to 180 degrees. You can also grill the pork patties or fry them in a pan if you prefer. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes and then pop under the grill for 5 minutes. Quite a bit of fat will come out of the pork patties (see below) as you cook them so place on a wire rack if you wish. I often serve my Bún Chả with store bought cocktail spring rolls so if you are using these then cook according to packet directions (unfortunately I didn’t have any to serve with mine the other night!).
For your salad you will need the following ingredients:
200g Vermicelli Noodles
Bean sprouts
2 medium size carrots cut finely into julienne (or you can cheat and buy the shredded ones from Woolies or Coles)
1 cucumber finely chopped into batons
Fresh mint, Vietnamese mint
Chopped peanuts (also forgot to serve these with mine!)
Store bought spring rolls
Soak the Vermicelli noodles in hot water for 5 minutes and drain. Place the noodles in a bowl and top with the cooked pork patties (I normally serve 5 per person), spring rolls, carrot, cucumber, bean sprouts, sprigs of mint and Vietnamese mint, chopped peanuts and spoon over the Nước Mắm Chấm. You can also add some more fresh chilli if you like it hot!
This dish is perfect for those hot summer months where it is an effort to cook anything. It is full of fresh ingredients and the pork patties are so tasty! As I am writing this blog post it is Saturday morning and I may have had the leftovers for breakfast. That is how tasty this dish is!!! Give it a go and let me know what you think. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed and you will feel like you are eating at a restaurant in Vietnam!
Comments