Bun Thit Nuong is a wonderful noodle dish to have anytime of the day and it is a love affair in a bowl.
It will tantalise your senses with its herbaceous aroma while your tastebuds dance around the sweetness, sourness, and savoury altogether with different textures at play. How can one not fall in love with this dish?
Bun Thit Nuong, literally means grilled pork with rice vermicelli, is a popular Vietnamese cold rice vermicelli noodle dish topped with grilled pork, fresh herbs like basil and mint, fresh salad and bean sprouts, and cha gio (spring rolls). The dish is dressed in fish sauce (nuoc cham). Also, the dish is topped with roasted peanuts, spring onion, Vietnamese pickled carrots and daikon. Bun Thit Nuong is popular in all regions of Vietnam, except for in Hanoi, where a related dish bún chả is served.
Serves 6
Ingredients
600g Pork Shoulder (Sukiyaki Style)
1 Packet Vermicelli, (thick vermicelli) Cooked accordingly to package's instructions
Marinade
1 Medium Red Onion, Finely diced
1/4 Cup Lemongrass, Only the white portion, Finely minced
1/4 Cup Coriander leaves, stalks & roots, Finely chopped
2 Tbsp Garlic, Finely chopped
1/4 Cup Palm Sugar
1 Tbsp Vietnamese Fish Sauce
1/2 Tbsp Sesame Oil
1/2 Tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
1 tsp White Pepper
3 Tbsp Neutral Oil; Grape-seed/Canola
Vegetables & Garnish
1 Japanese Cucumber, Sliced
2 Cup Bean Sprouts, Blanched in boiling water for 40 seconds
1 Cup Fresh Basil Leaves
1 Cup Fresh Mint Leaves
1/4 Cup Coriander Leaves
1/2 Cup Peanut, Roasted in toaster for 15-20 mins at 125 Degrees Celsius, Remove skin while hot and then crush up the peanuts roughly with a pestle in a mortar.
Pickled Carrots & Daikon
1 Carrot & 1 Daikon
1 tsp Sea Salt
1/3 Cup Distilled Vinegar
1/2 Cup Hot Water
5 Tbsp Sugar
Cut carrot/daikon into match sticks, toss sea salt onto the carrots/daikon and mix well. Leave aside for about 10 minutes. Rinse carrot till it's not too salty and squeeze dry.
Dissolve sugar in hot water and mix in vinegar. Heat over low heat in a pot till hot. Pour into carrot/daikon & cover. Taste in 1 hour, if not to taste, adjust accordingly. Store in fridge when it's completely cooled.
Pickling water can be re-heated to pickle more carrots.
Spring Onion Oil
4 Stalks Spring Onion, Finely sliced
4 Tbsp Neutral Oil
Heat oil in a pan over medium heat, after 30 seconds, test heat by dropping one piece. If it sizzles, the heat is right.
Add in all the Spring onion for about 30 seconds, till soft.
Nuoc-cham
2 Cloves Garlic, Finely chopped
2 Red Chilli & 1 Chilli Padi, Finely chopped
1/4 Cup Lime Juice
1/8 Cup Vietnamese Fish Sauce
1 Tbsp Rice Vinegar
4 Tbsp Caster Sugar or more to taste
1/2 Cup Water
Mix in all the ingredients and stir till sugar is well dissolved.
Method
Mix well all the marinade ingredients in a bowl and add in the pork shoulder, making sure the marinade is evenly applied onto each slice of meat.
Marinate the pork shoulder for at least a couple hours, best overnight.
Pre-heat oven to 190 Deg Celsius.
Place pork shoulder on a rack over a baking sheet. Place in the oven to roast for about 10 minutes. Then switch on the grill and grill the pork shoulder for about a couple mins each side or till well caramelised.
If using BBQ, grilled till cooked and well caramelised at the edges.
Alternatively, cook the pork slices on a grill pan on the stove. Giving each side a good 2 minutes or till cooked on medium high heat.
Assemble a bowl with vermicelli, grilled pork shoulder, topped it with spring onion and some of it's oil, carrot and daikon pickles, cucumber slices, herbs & garnish with toasted peanuts.
Serve with Nuoc-Cham and Chả Giò.
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