VIETNAMESE GRILLED LEMONGRASS PORK VERMICELLI BOWLS

As you can tell from my posts, I enjoy all cuisines. I adore Vietnamese vermicelli bowls. The flavours are beautifully fresh & you leave the table full but not in the uncomfortable heavy way. This recipe is very easy but does take prep work preparing the veggie toppings & slicing the pork but it is worth the extra time. Marinate the pork the day or even several hours before.

INGREDIENTS:

2 lbs Pork Loin or shoulder, sliced into 1/3” thick pieces

1 pkg vermicelli noodles

MARINADE:

7 cloves garlic

2 shallots or one yellow onion

2 stalks lemongrass (peel outer parts off and keep the whitish/light green parts)

1 tbsp soy sauce

1/4 cup fish sauce

3 tbsp oil

1 tsp coarse black pepper

1/2 cup honey (or white sugar)

NUOC CHAM SAUCE

* 1/2 cup hot water

* 3 tbsp sugar

* 2 tbsp fish sauce

* 1 tbsp fresh lime juice or to taste

* 1 tbsp rice vinegar

* 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

VEGETABLE TOPPING SUGGESTIONS:

Julienned carrots (very thinly sliced & cut into matchsticks)

Julienned English cucumber

Green onions, chopped

Cilantro

Thai basil

Lime slices

Chopped peanuts

Julienned daikon

Bean sprouts

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place garlic, shallots, lemongrass, dark soy sauce, fish sauce, oil, honey (or sugar) & pepper in a food processor & purée.

2. Add sliced pork to ziplock plastic bag & pour marinade in. Squish around to evenly coat the pork. Allow to chill for at least 6 hours or overnight.

3. Prepare vegetables while pork is marinating.

4. Grill pork on a griddle or outdoor grill over medium/low heat until thoroughly cooked and no pink remains. It can be pan-fried in a cast iron skillet as well. *The pork will brown/burn quickly on the outside because of the honey/sugar in the marinade so turn it often.

5. Cook vermicelli noodles as per package directions. Drain.

6. Make the Nuoc Cham Sauce by whisking all of the sauce ingredients together until sugar is dissolved. *Feel free to adjust ingredients to make it more sweet or vinegary to your taste preference. Set aside.

7. Assemble bowls with noodles on the bottom & adding the grilled pork and vegetable toppings. Pour sauce over each prepared bowl and serve.