Bún Chả (Hanoi Grilled Pork with Rice Noodles)

Method

1. Finely chop the shallots and half the garlic. Cut the pork belly into 3 mm thick, 5 cm long slices and put it in one bowl; put the minced pork in another. Divide the chopped shallot and garlic, fish sauce, sugar, pepper and oil between the two bowls and massage in with your hands for 30 seconds. Cover and marinate in the fridge for 30 min.

   Add in this stepPork belly, thinly sliced (3 mm) 160 gMinced pork 200 gShallots 2Garlic cloves 1½Fish sauce (for the meat) 1½ tbspSugar (for the meat) 2 tspGround black pepper ½ tspVegetable oil 2 tsp

2. 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 has fully dissolved and it is steaming, then turn off the heat. Stop just before it boils; a hard boil drives off the fish sauce aroma. Let it cool until lukewarm.

   Add in this stepWater 200 mlSugar (for the sauce) 2½ tbspRice vinegar 2 tbspFish sauce (for the sauce) 2½ tbsp

   medium heat

3. Peel the carrot and green papaya (or radish) and cut them into thin 2 mm slices about 3 cm across. Chop the rest of the garlic and slice the chillies. Add the vegetables, lime juice, garlic and chilli to the cooled sauce. Taste: sour, sweet and salty should feel balanced.

   Add in this stepCarrot 60 gGreen papaya or daikon radish 80 gFresh lime juice 1 tbspGarlic cloves 1½Bird's eye chillies 1

4. Bring plenty of water to the boil in a 20 cm pot on high heat, add the noodles and cook for 5 min (go by the packet time if it differs). Drain, rinse under cold water while rubbing gently, drain well and leave for 10 minutes; they set slightly into neat bundles that are easy to pick up.

   Add in this stepDried rice vermicelli (bún) 140 g

   high heat

5. Shape the minced pork into flat patties 5 cm wide and 1 cm thick. Heat a 26 cm griddle pan (or heavy frying pan) on medium-high heat until it just starts to smoke. Cook the patties for 3 min 30 sec per side and the belly for 2 min 30 sec per side, until deeply browned with charred marks. Patties are done when the inside has no pink and the juices run clear. Cook in batches if your pan is small.

   medium-high heat

6. Divide the sauce and pickled vegetables among individual bowls, add the hot patties and belly straight away and let them soak for about a minute. Serve the noodles, lettuce, perilla, mint and coriander on a separate plate. Pick up noodles and herbs with chopsticks, dip them into the sauce and eat with the pork.

   Add in this stepLettuce leaves 80 gPerilla leaves (shiso) 8Mint 10 gCoriander (cilantro) 10 g