Vietnamese food for beginners: Bun cha

Saturday, April 03, 2010 (GMT+7)

Bun cha is simply grilled pork served on a bed on of cold rice noodles and dressed with a few herbs.

Northern specialties:  The basic tenets of the north’s cookery are more closely aligned with China than that of other local regions. Fewer spices are available than in the south, but the people couldn’t do without black pepper. They use a superior grade that is mild, yet intensely aromatic, and with a sweetness that is unique to this land. Equally important are the sweet and pungent herbs – basil, mint, coriander, spring onions, and several other tasty leaves.

Bun cha is simply grilled pork served on a bed on of cold rice noodles and dressed with a few herbs. The meat is always cut from a piece of well-marbled pork, and must be grilled with a pair of fresh bamboo tongs. It is marinated in a mixture of sweet, hot, sour and salty, and the resulting product tastes like none of its constituent flavours, yet more than the sum of its parts. But, like so much of the north, what gives the Hanoi bun cha its characteristic taste and smell are the minty herbs, most often from nearby Lang village.