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The MOVE Fire

This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985 Philadelphia police fired thousands of rounds at the MOVE house, city officials approved dropping an explosive device on the roof, the resulting fire was allowed to burn, 11 people—including five children—died, and 61 homes were destroyed. Philadelphia City Council later called it a “brutal attack carried out by the City of Philadelphia on its own citizens” and acknowledged that no individual faced criminal consequences for the bombing. One timeline correction worth preserving for the BHP record: the major previous MOVE-police confrontation was August 8, 1978, about seven years before the bombing, not a year or two earlier. Officer James Ramp was killed, other police and firefighters were wounded, nine MOVE members were later convicted, and television cameras recorded police beating Delbert Africa during his arrest. The 1985 MOVE Commission later specifically criticized city planners for failing to adequately use lessons from that 1978 confrontation. And that actually strengthens the point you’re making: 1985 did not happen without precedent or institutional memory. There had already been a deadly confrontation with MOVE, years of conflict, negotiations and police involvement before Osage Avenue.

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BLACK FACTS
The Truths They Never Taught You...

Wilmington 1898 — An American Coup

Wilmington, North Carolina once had a thriving Black middle class and an elected interracial government. In 1898 white supremacists used violence to overthrow that government, kill Black residents and drive many others from the city.

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Wikipedia

Bun cha

Bún chả
Bún chả dish served in Hanoi.
TypeNoodle soup
Place of originVietnam
Region or stateHanoi
Serving temperatureHot
Main ingredientsRice vermicelli, grilled pork, fresh herbs, nước chấm
  •  Wikimedia Commons logo Media: Bún chả
U.S. President Barack Obama (left) and chef Anthony Bourdain (right) dining at Bún chả Hương Liên in Hanoi, Vietnam, May 2016

Bún chả (Vietnamese: [ɓun˨˩ ca˧ˀ˦˥]) is a Vietnamese dish of grilled pork and noodles, which is thought to have originated from Hanoi, Vietnam.[1] Bún chả is served with grilled fatty pork (chả) over a plate of white rice noodles (bún) and herbs with a side dish of dipping sauce.[2] The dish was described in 1959 by Vietnamese food writer Vũ Bằng (1913–1984), who described Hanoi as a town "transfixed by bún chả". Hanoi's first bún chả restaurant was on Gia Ngư, Hoàn Kiếm District, in Hanoi's Old Quarter.[3][4][5]

Description and origins

[edit]

Bún chả remains very popular in Hanoi and throughout Vietnam.[6] Although it is a common misconception among non-Vietnamese diners that bún chả is related to the Southern Vietnam dish of vermicelli and grilled skewered pork called bún thịt nướng, the two dishes are completely distinct in both culinary history and cultural perception.[7]

The origin of the dish is unknown, but one story is that it was created by a grill master in the late 19th or early 20th century in Hanoi.[8] The dish has French influences from the period of French colonialism, such as the techniques used to make the minced pork patties.[8]

Bún chả in Hanoi

[edit]
Meat being grilled for bún chả

Bún chả is made up of many ingredients, which include:[9]

  1. Meat: minced pork shoulder to make meatballs, pork belly. The meat is skewered or put between grills, then grilled on top of charcoal.
  2. Rice vermicelli
  3. Dipping sauce: diluted fish sauce with sugar, lime juice, vinegar, stock, crushed garlic, chilli, etc.
  4. Pickled vegetables: green papaya (or carrots, onion, kohlrabi)
  5. Fresh herbs: lettuce, Láng basil, rice paddy herb (ngổ), bean sprouts, Vietnamese balm (kinh giới)
  6. Side dishes: crushed garlic, crushed chilli, vinegar, ground pepper, sliced limes
Bún chả and crab spring rolls in Hàng Mành street, Hanoi

Bún chả is traditionally eaten at lunchtime as a unique cultural feature of the capital city.[10] Nowadays, there are shops that sell bún chả all day long.

There are many variations of bún chả in Hanoi, and some shops have created their own styles by changing the preparation method or serving time, such as bún chả wrapped in banana leaves, wrapped in pork fat, skewered on bamboo sticks, or served with bone broth.[11][12][13]

Cultural significance

[edit]

The Hanoi restaurant Bún Chả Hương Liên became famous after United States President Barack Obama dined there with Chef Anthony Bourdain during his trip to Vietnam in May 2016.[14] The restaurant has since gained the nickname Bún Chả Obama, featuring photos of his visit on their walls, as well as offering a "combo Obama", consisting of the bún chả, fried seafood roll and bottle of Hanoi Beer that the president ordered.[15]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Daniel Hoyer (194), Culinary Vietnam, Gibbs Smith, p. 102, ISBN 978-1-4236-0320-7, retrieved 21 January 2011 {{citation}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  2. ^ Hữu Nguyên (14 November 2015). "Bún chả nóng - món quà đầu đông giữa lòng Hà Nội" [Bún chả, the steaming gift of early winter in Hanoi.]. vnexpress (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  3. ^ Thanh Nien A bún chả that could wake the dead – Resurrecting a dead writer's dream meal in Ho Chi Minh City Archived 24 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine 2 March 2012
  4. ^ Ann Lee The Little Saigon Cookbook "Bún chả"
  5. ^ Andrea Nguyen Into the Vietnamese Kitchen "Bún chả"
  6. ^ Đ.Dung (24 March 2025). "Bún chả là món ăn biểu tượng của Hà Nội?". Báo Tuổi Trẻ (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 15 October 2025.
  7. ^ Team, Văn Nhân Số. "Bún Chả và Bún Thịt Nướng: Đối thoại Văn hóa Ẩm thực trên Chiều dài Đất nước" [Bun Cha and Bun Thit Nuong: Cultural and Culinary Dialogue Across the Country]. vannhanso.com (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 27 October 2025.
  8. ^ a b "Iconic Dishes: What Is Bun Cha, Hanoi's Grilled Pork and Noodle Dish, and Where Can You Find It?". MICHELIN Guide. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
  9. ^ "How to make Hanoi bun cha" (in Vietnamese). Nghệ thuật ẩm thực. Archived from the original on 22 June 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2015.
  10. ^ Online, TTVH (15 December 2014). "Chuyện Hà Nội: Bún chả Hà thành". thethaovanhoa.vn (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  11. ^ news.zing.vn (7 June 2012). "5 tiệm bún chả 'độc' nhất Hà Nội" (in Vietnamese). Archived from the original on 22 June 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  12. ^ sao, Ngôi. "3 món bún chả đáng tự hào của người Hà Nội". Ngoisao (in Vietnamese). Archived from the original on 18 March 2025. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  13. ^ News, VietNamNet. "Báo VietnamNet". VietNamNet News (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 29 September 2025. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  14. ^ VnExpress (10 May 2021). "Bữa tối bất ngờ của Tổng thống Obama trong quán bún chả". vnexpress.net (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  15. ^ "Bún Chả Hương Liên (Hai Ba Trung)". MICHELIN Guide. Retrieved 26 October 2025.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons logo
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bún chả.

Source: Wikipedia. Article content is retrieved live through the MediaWiki API.

Wikipedia

Bun cha

Bún chả (Vietnamese: [ɓun˨˩ ca˧ˀ˦˥]) is a Vietnamese dish of grilled pork and noodles, which is thought to have originated from Hanoi, Vietnam. Bún chả is served with grilled fatty pork (chả) over a plate of white rice noodles (bún) and herbs with a side dish of dipping sauce. The dish was described in 1959 by Vietnamese food writer Vũ Bằng (1913–1984), who described Hanoi as a town "transfixed by bún chả". Hanoi's first bún chả restaurant was on Gia Ngư, Hoàn Kiếm District, in Hanoi's Old Quarter.

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Wikipedia

Cha siu bao

Cha siu bao (simplified Chinese: 叉烧包; traditional Chinese: 叉燒包; pinyin: chāshāo bāo; Jyutping: caa1 siu1 baau1; Cantonese Yale: chā sīu bāau; lit. 'barbecued pork bun') is a Cantonese baozi (bun) filled with barbecue-flavored cha siu pork. They are served as a type of dim sum during yum cha and are sometimes sold in Chinese bakeries.

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Wikipedia

Pineapple bun

A pineapple bun also known as PoloBun (Chinese: 菠蘿包; Jyutping: bo1 lo4 baau1; Cantonese Yale: bōlòh bāau) is a kind of sweet bun predominantly popular in Hong Kong and also common in Chinatowns worldwide. Despite the name, it does not traditionally contain pineapple; rather, the name refers to the look of the characteristic topping (which resembles the texture of a pineapple).

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Wikipedia

Hot dog

A hot dog is a grilled, steamed, or boiled sausage served in the slit of a partially sliced bun. The term hot dog can also refer to the sausage itself. The sausage used is a wiener (Vienna sausage) or a frankfurter (Frankfurter Würstchen, also just called frank). The names of these sausages commonly refer to their assembled dish. Hot dog preparation and condiments vary worldwide. Common condiments include mustard, ketchup, relish, onions in tomato sauce, and cheese sauce. Other toppings include sauerkraut, jalapeños, chili, grated cheese, coleslaw, bacon and olives. Hot dog variants include the corn dog and pigs in a blanket. These types of sausages were culturally imported from Germany and became popular in the United States. It became a working-class street food in the U.S., sold at stands and carts. The hot dog has become closely associated with baseball and American culture. Although particularly connected with New York City and its cuisine, the hot dog eventually became ubiquitous throughout the US during the 20th century. Its preparation varies regionally in the country, emerging as an important part of other regional cuisines, including Chicago street cuisine.

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TOPIC OF THE DAY

Greenwood / Black Wall Street

Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.

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TRIVIA QUESTION OF THE DAY

Which Supreme Court case ruled state-sponsored public-school segregation unconstitutional?

Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.