# Vietnamese Bun Cha, Grilled Meat with Noodles

> Bun cha is **not a mixed dish** — the sauce (nuoc cham) is served in a warm bowl holding the grilled meat and the pickles, with the noodles and herbs alongside, and everyone dips. What gives the dish its character is the balance of that sauce: **salty, sour, sweet and hot**.

**Vietnamese Cuisine · 110 min · 4 servings · 480 kcal per serving**

Bun cha is Hanoi's famous lunch dish. Meat grilled over charcoal in a diluted fish sauce with pickled carrot, alongside cold rice noodles and a basket of fresh herbs. The contrast between hot and cold is the pleasure of it.

## Ingredients


### Meat
- 600 g — minced beef or chicken (for the patties)
- 300 g — thinly sliced beef

### Marinade
- 3 tbsp — fish sauce
- 2 tbsp — brown sugar
- 1 tbsp — oil
- 5 cloves — garlic, crushed
- 3 — spring onions, chopped
- 1 tsp — black pepper

### Nuoc cham sauce
- 0.25 cup — fish sauce
- 0.25 cup — sugar
- 0.25 cup — lime juice or rice vinegar
- 1.5 cups — warm water
- 3 cloves — garlic, finely chopped
- 2 — chillies, sliced

### The pickles
- 1 — carrot, thinly sliced
- 1 — kohlrabi or radish, sliced

### To serve
- 400 g — thin rice noodles
- 1 bunch — mint, basil and lettuce

## Method

1. **Marinate** — Mix the marinade ingredients and divide them between the minced meat and the sliced meat. Refrigerate **at least an hour**.
2. **The pickle** — Put the carrot and radish in a mixture of two spoonfuls of vinegar, a spoonful of sugar and a pinch of salt for 30 minutes.
3. **The nuoc cham** — Dissolve the sugar in the warm water, then add the fish sauce, lime, garlic and chilli. **Taste it** — it should be balanced between salty, sour and sweet, and light rather than concentrated.
4. **The patties** — Shape the minced meat into small flat patties (5 cm).
5. **Grill** — Over charcoal or a very hot griddle pan, grill the patties and slices for 8 to 10 minutes until the edges brown and caramelise.
6. **The noodles** — Boil the noodles, rinse them in cold water and drain. They are served **cold**.
7. **Assemble** — In a bowl for each person: warm nuoc cham + the grilled meat + the pickle. Alongside, a plate of cold noodles and a basket of herbs.
8. **Eat** — Each person takes some noodles and herbs and dips them into their bowl of sauce and meat.

## Tips

- The sauce is light, not concentrated — it is a dipping bath, not a dressing.
- Taste the sauce and adjust it: salty, sour and sweet must balance.
- Cold noodles and hot meat — that contrast is part of the dish.
- Herbs in large quantity — Vietnamese eat them by the handful, not as a garnish.

## FAQ

### What is nuoc cham?
The fundamental Vietnamese dipping sauce: fish sauce diluted with water, sugar, lime, garlic and chilli. Its strength varies by dish, and here it is light because you dip into it.

### What can replace fish sauce?
Light soy sauce with a pinch of salt and a drop of vinegar. Not the same depth, but it works. Fish sauce is available in Asian grocers.

### How is it different from pho?
Pho is a hot soup with the noodles eaten in it. In bun cha the noodles are cold and separate and the meat sits in a warm dipping sauce — a lighter, summery dish.

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Source: https://hanakoleah.com/en/vietnamese-cuisine/vietnamese-bun-cha-grilled-pork-style-with-noodles
Edited by: Marwa Mohamed
Last updated: 2026-10-30