Bun Cha is an incredible Vietnamese dish that consists of smoky grilled pork patties, tangy pickled veg, fresh herbs and vermicelli. Served DIY-style with a punchy dipping sauce. It’s fresh, fiery, and built for sharing.
Category
Lunch
Servings
4
Prep time
25
Cook time
16 minutes
Bun Cha is an incredible Vietnamese dish that consists of smoky grilled pork patties, tangy pickled veg, fresh herbs and vermicelli. Served DIY-style with a punchy dipping sauce. It’s fresh, fiery, and built for sharing.
Ingredients
- 500g pork mince (20% fat)
- 1½ tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 5 cloves garlic, finely grated
- 1 stick lemongrass, finely grated
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- sea salt and black pepper
- 1 cup (250ml) water
- 1/3 cup (75g) caster sugar
- ½ cup (125ml) fish sauce
- juice of 2 limes
-
3 small garlic cloves, finely sliced
- 2 Birdseye chillies, finely sliced
- 2 spring onions, finely sliced
- 1 cup (250ml) water
- ⅓ cup caster sugar
- ½ cup (125ml) rice vinegar
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 1 large carrot, julienned
- ½ white daikon, julienned
- 150g vermicelli noodles, cooked
- vietnamese mint, thai basil, spearmint leaves, butter lettuce
- sliced chillies, sliced cucumber
Pork patties
Dipping sauce
Pickled carrot & daikon
to serve
Directions
In a large bowl, combine pork mince, fish sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, garlic, lemongrass, shallot and season with salt and pepper. Mix well, then cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 4 hours to marinate.
- For the pickled carrot and daikon, combine water, sugar, vinegar and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar.
- Place carrot and daikon in a medium bowl or sterilised jar and pour over syrup. Set aside to cool.
- For the dipping sauce, combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and stir until sugar dissolves.
- To prepare pork, use lightly oiled hands, roll heaped tablespoonfuls of mixture into round patties, flattening slightly.
- Grill the patties over a preheated charcoal fire or BBQ grill for 8 minutes each side, turning to cook through evenly.
- To serve, assemble the pork patties, cooked vermicelli, pickled vegetables, mixed herbs, cucumber and lettuce on a large platter with dipping sauce on the side for everyone to grab and dip!
Recipe video
Recipe notes
I don't have a BBQ, can I cook the pork another way?
Totally. A grill pan or hot skillet on the stove will do the trick. You won’t get that smoky edge, but it'll still be tasty as.
How spicy is this?
Depends on your chillies and how many you use. You can dial it up or down.
What can I prep ahead?
Most of it! Marinate the pork, make the pickles and dipping sauce all in advance. Then just grill and assemble when you're ready to feed the crew.
What if I can’t find daikon?
Sub in more carrot, or try thinly sliced radish. It'll still bring that crunchy, tangy goodness.
Do I have to use all those herbs?
Not all at once, just use what you’ve got. Vietnamese mint and Thai basil add heaps of zing, but even regular mint will be nice.
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5 Comments
Jess
9 July 2025Georgia
7 July 2025I had to make some adjustments because I generally don’t go searching out ingredients that I’ll mostly likely not need often. I switched out the birdseye chili with a jalepeno and the oyster sauce with hoisin because that’s what I had available. As for the fresh greens I didn’t have any of the wonderful sounding herbs but I did have a butter bib lettuce and bok choy. Not the most authentic I’m sure, but my family loved it. I doubled this recipe to have for leftovers and we inhaled them
Lucy
4 July 2025Chuck
2 July 2025Ed
23 June 2025