Rice vermicelli, grilled pork, fresh herbs, nước chấm
Media: Bún chả
U.S. President Barack Obama (left) and chef Anthony Bourdain (right) dining at Bún chả Hương Liên in Hanoi, Vietnam, May 2016
Bún chả (Vietnamese:[ɓǔnca᷉ː]) is a Vietnamese dish of grilled pork and noodles, which is thought to have originated from Hanoi, Vietnam.[1] Bún chả is served with grilled fatty pork (chả) over a plate of white rice noodles (bún) and herbs with a side dish of dipping sauce.[2] The dish was described in 1959 by Vietnamese food writer Vũ Bằng (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.[3][4][5]
Description and origins
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Bún chả remains very popular in Hanoi and throughout Vietnam.[6] Although it is a common misconception among non-Vietnamese diners that bún chả is related to the Southern Vietnam dish of vermicelli and grilled skewered pork called bún thịt nướng, the two dishes are completely distinct in both culinary history and cultural perception.[7]
The origin of the dish is unknown, but one story is that it was created by a grill master in the late 19th or early 20th century in Hanoi.[8] The dish has French influences from the period of French colonialism, such as the techniques used to make the minced pork patties.[8]
Bún chả in Hanoi
[edit]Meat being grilled for bún chả
Bún chả is made up of many ingredients, which include:[9]
Meat: minced pork shoulder to make meatballs, pork belly. The meat is skewered or put between grills, then grilled on top of charcoal.
Rice vermicelli
Dipping sauce: diluted fish sauce with sugar, lime juice, vinegar, stock, crushed garlic, chilli, etc.
Pickled vegetables: green papaya (or carrots, onion, kohlrabi)
Bún chả and crab spring rolls in Hàng Mành street, Hanoi
Bún chả is traditionally eaten at lunchtime as a unique cultural feature of the capital city.[10] Nowadays, there are shops that sell bún chả all day long.
There are many variations of bún chả in Hanoi, and some shops have created their own styles by changing the preparation method or serving time, such as bún chả wrapped in banana leaves, wrapped in pork fat, skewered on bamboo sticks, or served with bone broth.[11][12][13]
Cultural significance
[edit]
The Hanoi restaurant Bún Chả Hương Liên became famous after United States President Barack Obama dined there with Chef Anthony Bourdain during his trip to Vietnam in May 2016.[14] The restaurant has since gained the nickname Bún Chả Obama, featuring photos of his visit on their walls, as well as offering a "combo Obama", consisting of the bún chả, fried seafood roll and bottle of Hanoi Beer that the president ordered.[15]
See also
[edit]
Bún thịt nướng
Rice noodles
Vietnamese noodles
References
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^Daniel Hoyer (194), Culinary Vietnam, Gibbs Smith, p. 102, ISBN 978-1-4236-0320-7, retrieved 21 January 2011{{citation}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
^Hữu Nguyên (14 November 2015). "Bún chả nóng - món quà đầu đông giữa lòng Hà Nội" [Bún chả, the steaming gift of early winter in Hanoi.]. vnexpress (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 21 October 2025.
^Thanh Nien A bún chả that could wake the dead – Resurrecting a dead writer's dream meal in Ho Chi Minh City Archived 24 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine 2 March 2012
^Ann Lee The Little Saigon Cookbook "Bún chả"
^Andrea Nguyen Into the Vietnamese Kitchen "Bún chả"
^Đ.Dung (24 March 2025). "Bún chả là món ăn biểu tượng của Hà Nội?". Báo Tuổi Trẻ (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 15 October 2025.
^Team, Văn Nhân Số. "Bún Chả và Bún Thịt Nướng: Đối thoại Văn hóa Ẩm thực trên Chiều dài Đất nước" [Bun Cha and Bun Thit Nuong: Cultural and Culinary Dialogue Across the Country]. vannhanso.com (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 27 October 2025.
^ ab"Iconic Dishes: What Is Bun Cha, Hanoi's Grilled Pork and Noodle Dish, and Where Can You Find It?". MICHELIN Guide. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
^"How to make Hanoi bun cha" (in Vietnamese). Nghệ thuật ẩm thực. Archived from the original on 22 June 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
^Online, TTVH (15 December 2014). "Chuyện Hà Nội: Bún chả Hà thành". thethaovanhoa.vn (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 29 September 2025.
^news.zing.vn (7 June 2012). "5 tiệm bún chả 'độc' nhất Hà Nội" (in Vietnamese). Archived from the original on 22 June 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
^sao, Ngôi. "3 món bún chả đáng tự hào của người Hà Nội". Ngoisao (in Vietnamese). Archived from the original on 18 March 2025. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
^News, VietNamNet. "Báo VietnamNet". VietNamNet News (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 29 September 2025. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
^VnExpress (10 May 2021). "Bữa tối bất ngờ của Tổng thống Obama trong quán bún chả". vnexpress.net (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 24 April 2024.
^"Bún Chả Hương Liên (Hai Ba Trung)". MICHELIN Guide. Retrieved 26 October 2025.
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Bún chả dish served in Hanoi.
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