Bun Thit Nuong
Vietnamese grilled pork with rice noodle is a very delicious healthy salad which is a meal and it is easy to make. There are many variations of this salad but this one is my favorite with lemongrass and lots of black pepper.
This was the second Vietnamese dish I learned to make. The first dish I learned wasn’t actually a dish but a sauce called nuoc cham, the dressing for this dish.
Don’t Americanize your nuoc cham by adding to much sugar and not using enough fish sauce.
The Marinade
Combine the marinade ingredient for Vietnamese grilled pork.
- 1 tbsp soy suace (regular or Thin)*
- 1 tbsp dark or thick soy*
- 2 tbsp brown sugar (preferably dark)*
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 stalk lemongrass minced (just mince the meat whithe park after you peel the tough layers off)
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tbsp ginger minced (this is optional and not traditional but I like to add it for flavor and ginger is so healthy)
- small shallot minced (optional)
- 1.5 tsp freshly ground black pepper (very important)
Save 1/3 of the marinade for later!!!!!
*There are many kinds of soy sauce, thin soy sauce is regular soy sauce you probably have in your pantry. Thick or dark soy sauce is thicker and sweet it has a molasses flavor to it. You could use regular soy and add a tsp of molasses. Dark brown sugar is preferable if you don’t have just add a couple of drops of molasses to regular sugar or add another tsp of dark soy.
Pork Shoulder Or Pork Belly
You can use either just make sure you slice in 2 to 3 inch strips and around a little thicker than 1/8 inch thick. Put pork in 2/3 of the marinade for at least an hour. This recipe calls for about a pound.
The Rest
- Cook your rice noodle. Use a dry round rice noodles that are thin to medium.
- make your nuoc cham recipe here
- make your carrot and daikon pickle (see easy recipe below) or this
- cut some cucumber if you want
- tear some leaf lettuce
- chop your peanuts
- get all the herbs ready. use what you want but I think Thai Basil and Cilantro are a must.
Grill the pork
You can grill it on skewers or pan fry it. I grilled it on a grill pan which is easy and makes nice grill marks. IMPORTANT!!! Add the grilled pork to the reserved marinade
Serve over the rice noodle with the nuoc cham and the other accompaniments. If you have some fried spring roll cut them in thirds and add it to the salad.
Big Tip!!! Add grilled pork to the reserved marinade!!
Vietnamese Lemongrass Grilled Pork with Rice Noodles
Ingredients
- 1 lb 1/8-1/4 inch thick sliced pork belly or shoulder
Marinade
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1.5 tbsp dark soy, thick soy, or Malaysian kecap manis you can substitute a tsp molasses and tbsp soy
- 1 stalk lemongrass minced only the meaty white part peeled.
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 scallion minced
- 2 tsp ginger minced this is a non traditional addition that I like plus ginger is so good for you
- 1-11/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper must be freshly ground, black pepper is a very important flavor.
Quick Carrot and Daikon
- 1/2 cup julienne carrot
- 1/2 cup julienne daikon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
Serve With
- 8 ounce rice noodles cooked use dried thin to medium rice noodles
- Nuoc Cham see link above
- cilantro, mint, Thai basil, scallion, cucumber, bean sprouts, crushed peanuts use any combination of herbs but I think cilantro and Thai basil are a must
Instructions
Grilled pork
- Marinade the pork at least 1 hour up to overnight in 2/3 of the marinade
- Get everything else ready, noodles, carrots, nuoc cham, herbs, and peanuts
- Grill or pan fry the pork. I used a grill pan. You can also skewer it and grill over charcoal.
- Immediately mix the hot pork in the 1/3 reserved marinade. This is very important!
Make your carrot and daikon
- sprinkle sugar and salt on the julienne vegetables. Work with your hands until the vegetable are pliable and bend without breaking. Add vinegar and mix.
The Rest
- cook the rice noodle, make the nuoc cham (see link above), get the rest of the ingredients of your choice ready.
- Serve the meat over the rice noodle with the nuoc cham and accompaniments.