Saturday, June 4, 2011

Bun Thit Nuong Cha Gio - Vermicelli Noodle with Grilled Pork and Vietnamese Egg Rolls

A great dish for this time of year; you can practically see, smell, and taste summer in every bowl. I love the smell of marinated pork hitting the hot grill, which gives out this wonderful lemon grass and garlic aroma. You can add an array of fresh herbs, sliced vegetables, and pickled vegetables that makes this dish both delicious and healthy to eat.

If you don't have a grill or simply do not want to deal with the hassle, use the stove top. Pan fry the pork on medium to high heat, constantly flipping the meat on both side until it has a nice char. Cook the noodles to an al dente texture, and give it time to cool down to achieve springiness. When you pull the noodles apart you should be able to hear a faint snap. I also fried up some egg rolls from the freezer and added to my bowl, sometimes more can be a good thing.

Ingredients:

(Pork marinade)
2 lbs of sliced Boston butt pork roast
1 tablespoon of spoon of minced lemon grass
1/2 tablespoon of minced garlic
1/2 tablespoon of minced shallots
1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
1/2 tablespoon of brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon of fish sauce
1/4 tablespoon of mushroom seasoning
skewers (if grilling)

vermicelli noodle
1 cucumber
lettuce
herbs
prepared fish sauce
crust peanuts

1. Marinate the pork with oyster sauce, brown sugar, fish sauce, mushroom seasoning, garlic, lemon grass, and shallots. The longer you let the pork marinate, the flavor will soak through the meat more.
2. If you are using wooden skewers, soak the skewers in water to avoid burning on the grill. Skewer enough meat on the skewer.
3. Cook the vermicelli noodle and let dry.
4. Wash and pick out the lettuce and herbs.
5. Slice the cucumber into thin slices or strips.
6. Cook the pork skewers on the grill.
7. Build a bowl to your preference, add your finest batch of prepare fish sauce, and enjoy!

9 comments:

Kim said...

This is my favorite 'go to' quick lunch or sometimes dinner meal. You are right about the smell of the grilled meat, and combined with a good dousing of nuoc cham, it's simply a wonderful meal. You are making me hungry Thuy.

Kim said...

I forgot to mention this one important thing. I like that you used crushed roasted peanuts to top it off. What flavor!

Thuy said...

You only need a little bit of crushed roasted peanuts but it does wonders tying all the ingredients together!

PFx said...

Hey Thuy,
Funny coincidence, I met a new student nurse yesterday named Thuy too... then somewhat unconsciously I was craving for some Vietnamese. So I had this exact same thing with the egg roll too!
Well that's pretty much the only delicious thing in Wellington's Vietnamese restaurant. I agree, crushed peanuts are essentials.

Salt Neutraliser said...

I am food lover and like to make new dishes so I am glad i visited this blog.

50 pound bag salt said...

Thanks I appreciate the comments :)

50 pound bag salt said...

It looks GORGEOUSl Unfortunately, I can only imagine the smells and tastes.

Anonymous said...

what is mushroom seasoning? i see that you use it in a few of your recipes.

Thuy said...

Mushroom seasoning is a flavor enhancer like msg, but it's made with mushroom extract and salt. A lot of of Asian cuisine use msg to bring out a wholesome flavor, however there's always been a stigma with msg. I don't really mind using msg if you use it in moderation, and when I say moderation I mean very little. I just prefer the flavor or mushroom seasoning over msg. If you are against using flavor enhancer you are welcome to omit them from the recipe. You can check out the link to a blog entry below that will have more information about msg and mushroom seasoning. Thanks for stopping by.

http://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blog/2011/07/msg-salt-mushroom-seasoning.html