COUNTRY: VIETNAM
DISH: BÚN CHẢ
CONTRIBUTD BY: Embassy, Mission in Pretoria
Kebab Rice Noodles (Bún chả) is the best Vietnamese Food and also is one of the most ancient dishes in Hanoi and is considered a unique food in the capital of Vietnam. The dish is composed of noodles, grilled pork, and sweet-and-sour sauce with popular seasonal herbs in Vietnam. The complicated part when making it is grilling the meat pies. There are two types of them in Kebab rice noodles, one of which is a meatball and the other is meat chopped in pieces. Meat chopped into pieces is often marinated 24 hours before being grilled. Both of them required to be grilled on a charcoal stove to keep the good smell when cooked through. Whatever type they are, you will fall in love with them after tasting them!
The attached dish was cooked by a Vietnamese staff member in Pretoria. The lean and fat meat mixed is available at any supermarket or butcher shop. Best quality meatballs are made from shoulder cuts, marinated carefully, and shaped into flat pieces. The dish is available all year round and does not need many sophisticated ingredients. Vermicelli is used here, but true Vietnamese noodles can be found only in the Vietproduk shop, 12A Longclaw Ave, Marconi Beam, Cape Town.
To enjoy delicious Vietnamese food in Johannesburg, visit the Saigon Restaurant at 333 Rivonia Blvd, cnr. Rivonia Road & Mutual Ave, Rivonia. In Cape Town the Saigon Restaurant is in Gardens.
Ingredients
Meat
300 grams of sliced pork (thinly sliced into pieces)
300 grams of minced pork.
Marinade
3 shallots (finely chopped)
4 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
2 tablespoons caramel water
2 tablespoons of sugar
2 tablespoons of ground black pepper
4 tablespoons of fish sauce
Salad
1 carrot (very thinly sliced)
2 tsp green papaya ((very thinly sliced).
Dipping sauce
500mls of warm water
50mls of fish sauce
80mls of rice vinegar
50 grams of sugar
black pepper, chilli, garlic (finely chopped)
Deli
Lettuce leaves, basil, mint, oregano, perrila, coriander
Noodles & Grains
100 g Vermicelli noodles, dried
Method
For marinade: Marinate the pork side, minced pork with shallot, garlic and all of the ingredients. Mix well and marinate for at least 2 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.
For meat kebab: Skewer on sticks.
For balls kebab: After marinating meat-wrap it with piper lolot leaves and grill on the both sides until golden.
Dipping sauce: Mix well all the ingredients until the sugar is dissolved, add fish sauce and rice vinegar to taste.
Serve the cooked meat with dipping sauce, salad, rice noodles and herbs.
Prepare the salad: Mix well carrot and papaya with sugar and a little of rice vinegar for about 15 minutes before eating.
