Last week, Edmonton’s Chef Doreen Prei made Alberta proud with a win on the latest season of Firemasters, the outdoor barbecuing competition series on Food Network Canada.

Chef Doreen competed through three rounds of fiery culinary challenges, including the final round against one of the judges, before claiming the $10,000 grand prize as well as bragging rights of being a Fire Master Champion.

For her signature dish in the first round of competition, Chef Doreen made a dish inspired by a trip to Vietnam. Originating in Hanoi, Vietnam, Bún Chả is traditionally a dish served with grilled fatty pork over a plate of rice noodles and a side of dipping sauce. For the competition, Chef Doreen served her version of Bún Chả with pork two ways – pork belly and ground pork patties.

Check out Chef Doreen’s winning Firemaster episode on Food Network Canada to see how she served up her recipe below for Bún Chả.

Chef Doreen Prei’s Bún Chả
Yield: four to six portions

What you’ll need…

300 g pork belly, sliced into even strips
400 g ground pork
40 ml fish sauce (divided into two servings)
4 cloves garlic, chopped
sugar to taste
1 egg
5 garlic chives, chopped fine
500 g rice vermicelli noodles
100 g bean sprouts, washed
½ bunch mint leaves, washed and picked
½ bunch cilantro, washed and picked
½ bunch perilla leaves, washed and picked
½ bunch thai basil
salt and black pepper to taste

Bun Cha Dipping Sauce

200 g sugar
200 ml water
100 ml Vietnamese fish sauce
100 ml rice vinegar
100 ml lime juice, freshly squeezed
3 long red chili, seeded and chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed

 Directions:

1. To make the dipping sauce, combine all ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer for approximately 10 minutes and strain. Allow sauce to cool to room temperature before serving.
2. Preheat your BBQ to a medium high heat.
3. Add the ground pork to a bowl; add 20 ml fish sauce, egg, salt and pepper and the crushed garlic and mix until combined. Form into 8 – 12 mini burger patties (two for each serving).
4. For the pork belly, add 20 ml fish sauce, couple pinches of sugar, salt and pepper to taste and marinate for about 15 minutes.
5. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the rice noodles until al dente. Strain through a colander and rinse with cold water. Once water is strained, place noodles in serving bowls.
6. Place the pork belly on the medium high heat BBQ and grill on both sides until crispy. At the same time, place the pork patties on a lightly oiled BBQ and cook on both sides for about 5-6 minutes. The pork patty should be cooked fully.
7. To assemble, first place the cooked rice noodles. Top noodles the two cooked pork patties and 3-4 slices of the crispy pork belly; add some of the fresh picked herbs, bean sprouts and garlic chives on top and add a nice ladle of the dipping sauce to finish the dish. The bowl should be half filled with the sauce. Enjoy.