Bún chả

Combine the ground beef with two tablespoons of fish sauce, one tablespoon of sugar, half the minced garlic, one minced shallot, and the black pepper. Mix thoroughly by hand and shape into small flat patties about five centimetres wide and one centimetre thick.

Marinate the thinly sliced beef sirloin with the remaining fish sauce, sugar, garlic, and shallot in a separate bowl. Toss to coat evenly, cover, and refrigerate for at least thirty minutes to allow the flavours to penetrate the meat.

Prepare the dipping broth by dissolving the sugar in the warm water, then adding the fish sauce, rice vinegar, lime juice, minced garlic, and sliced chillies. Stir well and taste, adjusting the balance of sweet, sour, salty, and spicy to your preference.

Preheat a grill or broiler to high heat. Arrange the beef patties and marinated sirloin slices on a lightly oiled grill rack or foil-lined tray. Grill or broil for four to five minutes per side until nicely charred with visible grill marks.

While the meat grills, cook the rice vermicelli noodles in a large pot of boiling water for three to four minutes until just tender. Drain immediately and rinse under cold running water to stop the cooking and remove excess starch.

Arrange the fresh herbs, lettuce leaves, and pickled vegetables on a large sharing platter. Divide the cooled vermicelli noodles among individual serving plates and place the charred beef patties and sirloin slices alongside.

Pour the dipping broth into individual bowls and add several grilled patties and sirloin slices directly into each bowl. Diners dip bundles of noodles and fresh herbs into the broth-filled bowls, combining all elements with each bite.