Grilled pork and spring roll noodle salad (bun cha)

This classic Vietnamese salad combines crispy spring rolls with fresh herbs, juicy meatballs, sweet and spicy sauce and, of course, vermicelli noodles.

Credit: Chris Chen

• serves

  4

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  25 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 200 g rice vermicelli noodles, soaked in cold water for 15 minutes, drained
• 2 cups perilla leaves (see Note)
• 2 cups mint leaves
• 2 cups coriander leaves
• 80 g (1 cup) bean sprouts
• ½ oak lettuce, leaves picked

Pork patties

• 500 g minced pork
• 1 tbsp chopped coriander roots
• 1 lemongrass stalk, white part only, finely grated
• 1 bird’s-eye chilli, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil

Spring rolls

• 100 g minced pork
• 100 g peeled green prawns,
• 25 g rice vermicelli noodles, soaked in cold water for 15 minutes, drained
• 2 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in boiling water, sliced
• ½ carrot, shredded
• 1 spring onion, shredded
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp fish sauce
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 12 small spring roll wrappers (see Note), just thawed
• vegetable oil, to deep-fry

Dipping sauce

• 125 ml (½ cup) fish sauce
• 100 ml rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 bird’s-eye chillies, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp lime juice

Chilling time 1 hour

Instructions

To make pork patties, place all ingredients except oil in a bowl, mixing to combine. Shape mix into 12 patties and refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm.

Meanwhile, to make spring rolls, place pork, prawns, noodles, mushrooms, carrot, spring onion, egg, fish sauce and soy sauce in a bowl, mixing to combine. Season with salt and pepper, then divide mixture evenly among 12 spring roll wrappers, placing in centre of each wrapper. Working with one wrapper at a time, brush edges with water, fold in one side and then the other, then roll up to enclose filling completely. Fill a deep-fryer or large saucepan one-third with oil and heat to 180°C (or until a cube of bread turns golden in 10 seconds). Cook spring rolls for 3 minutes or until golden and crisp. Drain on brown paper to keep crisp.

To make sauce, combine all ingredients in a small saucepan over low heat and bring just to simmering point. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 200°C. To cook patties, heat oil in a large ovenproof frying pan over medium heat. Cook, in batches, for 3 minutes each side or until lightly caramelised. Transfer to oven and cook for 10 minutes or until cooked through.

Place noodles on a large serving plate. Arrange patties, spring rolls, herbs, bean sprouts and lettuce on top and drizzle over dipping sauce. To eat, take a small piece of each ingredient and wrap in a lettuce leaf.

Notes

• Perilla is from Asian grocers.

• Spring roll wrappers are available from the freezer section of select Asian food shops.

Photography Chris Chen

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.