The 3 Sides You Should Always Serve With Bun Cha

There are many warm, comforting Vietnamese dishes (that aren't pho), which still explode with flavor. The brothy delight known as bun cha, hailing from Hanoi, delivers a hearty plate of pork — meatballs and grilled slices of meat — floating in a broth. This dish is usually served with plates of cold vermicelli noodles, lettuce, fresh herbs, and pickled vegetables, letting each diner choose their own culinary adventure as to how to devour the compilation. 

We spoke to chef Kevin Tien, a multiple James Beard finalist, who delights visitors at the critically-acclaimed D.C. restaurant Moon Rabbit, which appears on "The New York Times" 2024 50 best restaurants list. If anyone knows how to present a satisfying bun cha spread, it is Tien. "I like serving it with extra sides of minced garlic, chopped chilis, and nuoc cham (a supremely useful type of fish sauce), for people to adjust their liking to the flavor profile of their broth," he explains. 

Bun cha and its flavorful companions make for an excellent choice for a dinner party, as guests can pick and choose which ingredients will flavor their meals. Batches of nuoc cham can be made with different dominant flavor profiles, with some recipes offering sweeter notes and others delivering a zippier appeal, for friends to sample and combine with other items on the table. Provide freshly ground peppercorns for guests to sprinkle over their plates, and finely sliced bird's eye chiles to add not only a pop of heat but also color to the spread.

In addition to serving bun cha with Tien's suggested accoutrements, a fruity and mineral rosé wine can accentuate the fresh flavors of your dinner and liven up palates throughout the evening. Lighter glasses of gewürztraminer will keep your party hopping as guests splash more dipping sauce onto their plates and mix and match flavors. This is the kind of planned menu worthy of all the accolades and will render no diner unsatisfied.