Grilled Pork and Vermicelli Noodles (Bun Thit Nuong)

Posted on | November 23, 2009 | Asian, Recipes, Vietnamese | No Comments

Grilled Pork and Vermicelli Noodles 2

When I invited a couple of friends over for a casual lunch, I never expected an extremely hot day (41°C). My plans for a backyard lunch so that the kids could play and run wild outside was foiled. Ten people in one room and my air conditioner struggled to keep every one cool.

Luckily I had always planned to cook Vietnamese for this lunch. I made grilled pork with vermicelli noodles, prawns and pork salad and che sam bo luong. The grilled pork with lemon grass and vermicelli noodles was perfect for the hot day. The meat was so flavoursome with the lemon grass and the cold noodles and fresh herbs was very refreshing. Unfortunately I had to use the oven to grill the meat instead of the barbeque because it was too hot outside.

Ingredients

500g pork neck
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp honey
4 tbsp fish sauce
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tsp ground pepper
2 tbsp sesame oil

250g rice vermicelli noodles

5 Vietnamese mint leaves
5 perilla leaves
l Lebanese cucumber, halved and sliced
2 handful bean sprouts
lettuce, shredded
4 tbsp crushed roasted peanuts

Method

Marinate the Pork:
In a large mixing bowl, combine lemon grass, garlic, sugar, fish sauce, honey, pepper and sesame oil. Mix until sugar has dissolved. Taste and adjust if needed. Add sliced pork neck and marinate for at least 2 hours, overnight is even better.

Cook the Noodles:
Cook vermicelli in boiling water for about 10 minutes, stirring regularly so that the noodles don’t clump together and stick to the bottom of the pot. To check if ready, take a strand of noodle and press against your nail of your thumb and index finger. This should break apart easily. Drain and rinse noodles under cold water.

Cook the pork:
Thread the pork into the skewers and char grill on medium for 1-2 minutes on each or until brown and cooked.

To serve:
In large bowl, combine vermicelli noodles, fresh herbs, cucumbers, bean sprout. Place grilled pork, put spring onion oil on grill pork and spring crushed roasted peanuts. Serve by pouring dipping fish sauce.

Grilled Pork and Vermicelli Noodles