Vietnamese Recipe for Bun Cha

 It must be Spring because I have flowers and they are surrounded by some of my thrift shop finds. I'm not  a big flower person but after winter they sure brighten things up.

 I made a few small arrangements too.  These are for my dining room table.  We are having a dinner here later today and I am running with a Spring theme.

 Yesterday, I made some Bun Cha for my kids.

 These are very simple to throw together and the flavor is fantastic.

Ingredients

Meatballs:

•  1 pound pork ground pork
• 1 tbsp fish sauce 
• 2 tsp white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup finely chopped green onions
• 3 cloves garlic, minced 
•  pepper and salt to taste
• 2 T. shredded basil
• 2 T. minced fresh ginger
• 1.5 tbsp oil , for cooking

Nuoc Cham (Vietnamese Dressing / Sauce ):

• 3 tbsp white sugar
• 3 tbsp fish sauce 
• 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 birds eye chili or jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic , finely chopped

Serving :

• 4 oz vermicelli noodles , dried
• Big handful beansprouts
• Few lettuce leaves, shredded
• Julienned carrot and white radish (daikon)
• Handful of coriander/cilantro sprigs , mint
• Sliced red chili,  lime wedges (optional)

Instructions

• Sauce: Mix ingredients. Set aside.
• Noodles: Pour over boiling water and soak per packet directions. Drain, set aside.

Meatballs:

• Mix all ingredients except oil until combined.
• Shape into 6 mini hamburger patties with your hands.
• Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add patties and cook for 2 1/2 minutes or until golden. Flip, cook 2 minutes then remove.

Assemble Bowls:

• Place noodles in bowl. Top with a handful of beansprouts,  lettuce, carrots and radish.
• Place meatballs on top, top with coriander and mint.
• Spoon over a generous amount of sauce.

 I made my patties about the size of large meatballs and flattened them.

 You can eat these meat patties many different ways.  They are good on top of salads and also served in rice buns.

 But they are really good served with noodles.

I tripled the recipe and added a pound of ground beef to the pork. You can make them with ground chicken or turkey too.  They won't be as juicy though.

 Willie gives me the raspberry because they smelled so good but he didn't get any.

He even roared but all he got was a biscuit.