BUN CHA CA ((Rice Noodle Soup With Fish Paste)

Bun cha ca (rice noodle soup with fish paste) is a popular breakfast dish in the coastal areas of the south. In Ninh Thuan Province, bun cha ca is served at most street-side shops and restaurants for the cheap price of VND6,000.
The main ingredients of the dish are white rice noodles, fish pieces and fish cakes but there’s an art to making a tasty bowl of bun cha ca.


The fish cake must be made of good fish such as thu phan, moi or song. To make the cake, remove the bones and grind the meat with spices and a bit of saffron flour to make it an attractive yellow color.

Then knead the ground fish meat into a sticky paste and roll it into a ball which is flattened with the hands before being placed in a hot oiled fry pan.

The pieces of fish are then fired and cut into pieces. The soup must be boiled from sweet pork bones, fish bones and some fried shrimp. Then the fish is added and the cake is cut up into slices before being added in.

The dish is always served with many kinds of vegetable such as bean sprouts, sliced rau muong (water spinach), salads, banana flowers and many kinds of aromatic vegetables. A bit of fish sauce, and some drops of lemon and chili sauce will complete the taste.