Bun Thit Nurong (Make this!). Grilled Pork with Noodles

By stancec44

This is love in a bowl. If you’ve had bún thịt nướng you know what I’m talking about.

You have your sweet bits, sour bits, caramelization, some crunch, and aromatic herbs in a single, colorful arrangement.

Ingredients

• 1.5 pounds pork shoulder sliced (any cut will do)
• 1 package rice vermicelli small or medium thickness
• 4-6 egg rolls optional
• Marinade
• 3 tablespoons shallots minced
• 1.5 tablespoons garlic minced
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon thick soy sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon pepper
• 3 tablespoons neutral cooking oil
• Vegetables
• mint – rau thơm
• Vietnamese perilla – tiá tô
• Vietnamese balm – kinh giới
• cucumbers sliced
• Garnish
• Pickled daikon and carrots (đồ chua)
• 1/2 tbsp Scallion in oil (mở hành)
• 1/2 tbsp crushed peanuts
• Dipping Sauce: prepared fish sauce / nước chấm

Details

Servings 4
Preparation time 20mins
Cooking time 45mins
Adapted from hungryhuy.com

Preparation

Step 1

Tips:
Chop and prep all of your ingredients and combine in a bowl before adding the meat. This makes sure it mixes more evenly.

Add the pork to the mixture and mix. Pork shoulder has a nice balance of fat for this–pork butt is a bit too lean. Marinate for at least 1 hour, but for better results–marinate overnight.

Thịt nướng is usually barbecued, with a wire grilling basket like this one. If you want to make it traditionally, grill it over charcoals. I made this in the oven because it’s a lot easier and it is still delicious. If you have time, barbecuing it is worth the extra effort.

Boil the dried rice vermicelli (bún) according to the package instructions. This usually comes in small, medium, and large noodle thickness for about $1.50 per pack. I prefer small and medium thickness for this dish–thinner ones also cook much faster.

Don’t forget to prepare some super simple fish sauce for this bowl too. The meat is marinaded but the veggies and noodles still need seasoning.

Slice the uncooked pork thinly, about 1/8". It helps to slightly freeze it (optional).

Mince garlic and shallots. Mix in a bowl with sugar, fish sauce, thick soy sauce, pepper, and oil until sugar dissolves.

Marinate the meat for 1 hour, or overnight for better results.

Bake the pork at 375F for 10-15 minutes or until about 80% cooked. Finish cooking by broiling in the oven until a nice golden brown color develops, flipping the pieces midway.
Assemble your bowl with veggies, noodles, and garnish. Many like to mix the whole bowl up and pour the fish sauce on top, but I like to make individual bites and sauce it slowly.