Bún chả is the Vietnamese noodle dish from Hanoi that combines grilled pork, rice vermicelli, herbs, and dipping sauce.
The dish traditionally includes grilled pork patties and slices of pork belly served in a bowl of sweet-and-sour fish-sauce dressing. Diners add rice vermicelli, fresh herbs, and vegetables, creating a meal that is assembled bite by bite rather than mixed into a single stir-fry or soup.
Bún chả is particularly associated with Hanoi and is distinct from phở, whose defining element is a rice-noodle soup with aromatic broth. It also differs from bún bò Huế, a central Vietnamese soup known for beef and a spicy broth. The word “bún” refers to rice vermicelli, while “chả” broadly refers to prepared meat products.
The dish gained international attention when Barack Obama ate bún chả with chef Anthony Bourdain in Hanoi in 2016. That event popularized the meal globally, but its Hanoi street-food roots are much older.