And the nuoc cham. That magic balance of spicy, sweet, sour and salty. It’s just perfect for dinner on a warm summer night.
Bun cha makes a great dinner any time
It’s actually really good for dinner any night of the year. OK – maybe not if there’s a blizzard raging. So then most nights. You get the picture. I have a thing for Vietnamese food. It’s just so good. And bun cha is a fine example of why I love it. Explosive flavours. Satisfying but not heavy. Summer food. Happy food. Nuoc cham is what brings bun cha together. If you don’t know about nuoc cham it’s a dipping sauce all over Southeast Asia. You know that clear, salty sweet sauce you get with spring rolls? That’s nuoc cham. And anything with nuoc cham and rice noodles works. It’s the power couple of Southeast Asian cuisine. Just good. It’s super easy to make. Combine the ingredients. Stir. That’s it. Doesn’t get much easier than that.
These are seriously delicious meat balls
The meat balls are great in bun cha but they are great on their own as well. Serve them as finger food with nuoc cham along side. Or with a green salad with a simple soy vinaigrette for a nice lunch. They are addictive. Funny thing about the meat balls. They go against conventional wisdom. I always try to keep ground meat as loose as possible. Never work a burger any harder than I have to. Gentle. Never dense. For bun cha it’s the absolute opposite. You put the pork in the food processor and whiz it. You are making paste. Paste. Crazy. But it works. Don’t know why it works. But it does.
Grilling adds big flavour
I like to grill the pork balls on skewers psuedo-yakitori style. But you don’t need to. You can do pretty much as you like so long as you don’t overcook them. Charcoal is best for this recipe. But charcoal is best for every recipe so that’s not a big surprise. If you are going to do yakitori style grilling there are a couple things to keep in mind. You don’t want the balls to come in contact with the grill. And you don’t want the skewers burning. Get yourself a couple bricks. Firebricks work well if you can find them. The ones they use to make fireplaces. Place them directly on the grill. Leave enough room between the bricks for the food on the skewers. But make sure they are close enough together to rest the skewers on. Instant yakitori style grill.
The right skewer makes a big difference for bun cha
Look at the skewers in the pictures. They are flat. There’s a reason for that. They work. Round skewers are for grilling directly on the grill. Where the meat is in contact with the grill. They don’t work so well when you grill yakitori style. The skewers spin until the heavy side is down. There’s no way to flip them. They will keep spinning to where they want to be. Unless you are a yakitori master and you can thread meatballs so they are perfectly in balance just use flat skewers. It will save you a lot of grief. Make bun cha next time you get an urge for something light. Something fresh tasting. Something a bit different. But absolutely wonderful.
