Charcoal Bún Chả with Homemade Caramel and Crispy Shallots

Method

1. Make the caramel sauce. Put the sugar and half the water in a small 14 cm pan and cook on medium heat for 4 min without stirring, just swirling the pan, until it turns a deep reddish brown (a little lighter than soy sauce) and smells slightly bitter. Turn off the heat and carefully pour in the rest of the water: it will spit and steam hard, so pour at arm's length and keep your face away. This caramel (nước màu) gives Hanoi grilled pork its colour and depth.

   Add in this stepSugar (for the caramel) 1½ tbspWater (for the caramel) 2 tbsp

   medium heat

2. Slice half the shallots evenly 2 mm thick. Put them in a 16 cm pan with the oil, starting cold, and fry on medium heat for 7 min, stirring all the time. The oil will bubble steadily (about 150 °C); lift the shallots out as soon as they are light golden and spread them on kitchen paper, as they keep darkening after they come out. Keep the fragrant shallot oil and let it cool. Never leave the pan while frying.

   Add in this stepShallots 1½Vegetable oil (for frying shallots) 80 ml

   medium heat

3. Cut the shoulder into 1 cm strips and chop coarsely with a knife; slice the belly 3 mm thick and 5 cm long. Put each in its own bowl. Finely chop the remaining shallots and half the garlic, then divide them between the bowls with the fish sauce, honey, pepper, caramel sauce and 2 tablespoons of the shallot oil, and massage in. Cover and marinate in the fridge for 2 h.

   Add in this stepPork shoulder (to chop by hand) 240 gPork belly (3 mm slices) 160 gShallots 1½Garlic cloves 1½Fish sauce (for the meat) 1½ tbspHoney 2 tspGround black pepper ½ tsp

4. Slice the carrot and green papaya (or radish) into thin 2 mm pieces, toss with the salt and leave for 10 min. When water comes out, squeeze them firmly and rinse. This keeps the sauce from going watery and makes the vegetables crunchy.

   Add in this stepCarrot 60 gGreen papaya or daikon radish 80 gSalt 2 pinch

5. Put the water, sugar, rice vinegar and fish sauce in a 16 cm saucepan and warm on medium heat for 4 min, stirring, until the sugar dissolves and it steams, then turn off the heat. When lukewarm, add the lime juice, the rest of the garlic (chopped), the sliced chillies and the squeezed vegetables.

   Add in this stepWater (for the sauce) 200 mlSugar (for the sauce) 2½ tbspRice vinegar 2 tbspFish sauce (for the sauce) 2½ tbspFresh lime juice 1 tbspGarlic cloves 1½Bird's eye chillies 1

   medium heat

6. Bring plenty of water to the boil in a 20 cm pot on high heat, cook the noodles for 5 min, rinse in cold water, drain and leave for 10 minutes to set.

   Add in this stepDried rice vermicelli (bún) 140 g

   high heat

7. The grill (charcoal (medium heat)) is ready when the coals are covered in white ash and you can hold your hand 10 cm above the grate for only about 3 seconds. Shape the minced pork into patties 5 cm wide and 1 cm thick and clamp them in a grill basket with the belly. Grill the patties for 3 min per side and the belly for 2 min per side, turning often. The caramel colours them fast, so watch for burning; they are done when the edges are charred and the patties have no pink inside. Grill in 1 batch(es) if your basket is small. Without charcoal, use the oven grill at 250 °C on the top shelf for 8 to 10 minutes.

   charcoal (medium heat)

8. Fill each bowl with lukewarm sauce and pickled vegetables and add the hot pork straight away. Top with crispy shallots and a few drops of shallot oil. Serve with the noodles, lettuce, perilla, mint and rau răm for dipping.

   Add in this stepLettuce leaves 80 gPerilla leaves (shiso) 8Mint 10 gVietnamese coriander (rau răm) 10 g