Bún chả inspired noodle bowl
- Prepare
- less than 30 mins
- Cook
- less than 10 mins
- Serve
- Serves 2
Bún chả is a popular Vietnamese street food originally from Hanoi. My simplified version has fried pork sausage meatballs, rice noodles, fresh veg and an easy tangy sauce. But you might taste it in Vietnam with pickles, barbecued pork patties and pork belly slices, and local herbs. If you get a chance, try it!
Ingredients
For the noodles
- 200g/7oz thin rice noodles
- 3 Persian cucumbers or ¼ cucumber, sliced
- 1 small carrot, peeled into ribbons using a vegetable peeler
- 2 large spring onions, sliced
- 6–8 Little Gem lettuce leaves
- large handful fresh coriander leaves
For the sauce
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 lime, juice only
- 1 tsp sweet chilli sauce
- pinch salt
For the sausage meatballs
- 200g/7oz sausagemeat
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- ½ tsp sugar
- 1 garlic clove, grated
- 2 spring onions, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Method
To make the noodles, soak the noodles as per the packet instructions, then rinse and cool under the cold tap. Set aside to drain.
To make the sauce, whisk together the fish sauce, lime juice, sweet chilli sauce and a pinch of salt in a small bowl and set aside.
To make the sausage meatballs, mix together the sausagemeat, fish sauce, sugar, garlic and spring onions in a bowl until smooth, then shape into 6–8 relatively flat patties.
Heat the oil in a large, non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat, then fry the patties for around 3–4 minutes on each side until browned, caramelised and cooked through.
While they are cooking, divide the noodles between two bowls and add the cucumber, carrot, spring onions, Little Gem lettuce and coriander leaves.
Add the cooked meatballs and drizzle over the sauce to serve.
