Bun cha facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Bún Chả

Bún Chả
Place of origin	Vietnam
Region or state	Hanoi
Main ingredients	Rice vermicelli, grilled pork, fresh herbs, nước chấm

Bún chả (Vietnamese: [ɓǔn ca᷉ː]) is a Vietnamese dish of grilled pork and noodle, which is thought to have originated from Hanoi, Vietnam. Bún chả is served with grilled fatty pork (chả) over a plate of white rice noodle (bún) and herbs with a side dish of dipping sauce. The dish was described in 1959 by Vietnamese food writer Vu Bang (1913–1984), who described Hanoi as a town "transfixed by bún chả." Hanoi's first bún chả restaurant was on Gia Ngư, Hoàn Kiếm District, in Hanoi's Old Quarter.

Bún chả originated and remains very popular in Hanoi. Outside Hanoi, across all regions of Vietnam, a similar dish of rice vermicelli and grilled meat called bún thịt nướng is alternately served.

Bún Chả Hương Liên restaurant in Hanoi became famous after United States President Barack Obama dropped in for bún chả with Chef Anthony Bourdain while he was on his trip to Vietnam in May 2016.

Ingredients

Meat being grilled for bun cha

Bún chả is made up of many ingredients, which include:

1. Meat: minced pork shoulder to make meatball, pork belly.
2. Rice vermicelli
3. Dipping sauce: diluted fish sauce with sugar, lemon juice, vinegar, stock, crushed garlic, chilli, etc.
4. Pickled vegetables: green papaya (or carrots, onion, kohlrabi).
5. Fresh herbs: cabbage, Láng basil, rice paddy herb (ngổ), beansprout, Vietnamese balm (kinh giới).
6. Side dishes: crushed garlic, crushed chilli, vinegar, grinded pepper, sliced limes.

As a distinct dish of Hanoi

Bún chả and crab spring rolls in Hàng Mành street, Hanoi

Bún chả is usually eaten at noon. This is a unique feature of Hanoi's culinary culture. However, nowadays, there are also some restaurants selling bún chả for all day.