Vietnamese rice noodles with pork and vegetables (Bun thit nuong)

Bun thit nuong is a simple and favorite meal in Vietnam consisting of cold rice vermicelli mixed with fresh vegetables and topped with hot barbecued pork. Served with nuoc cham sauce, it is a good summer dish — light, lowfat, healthy and cool.

Ingredients

• Pork butt, partially frozen, then thinly sliced — 1 pound
• Shallots or scallions, minced — 3
• Garlic, minced — 2 cloves
• Thai or serrano chile peppers, minced — 1 to 3
• Sugar — 2 teaspoons
• Fish sauce — 2 tablespoons
• Lime, juice only — 1
• Salt and pepper — to taste
• Carrots, julienne or grated — 3
• Rice vermicelli — 1 (8-ounce) package
• Oil — 2 tablespoons
• Mung bean sprouts — 2 cups
• Greenleaf or romaine lettuce, shredded — 1/2 head
• Cucumber, peeled, seeded and thinly sliced — 1/2
• Cilantro — 1/2 bunch
• Mint — 1/2 bunch
• Roasted peanuts, roughly chopped — 1/4 cup
• Nuoc cham — 1 cup

Method

1. In a large bowl, mix together the pork, shallots or scallions, garlic, chile peppers, sugar, fish sauce, lime juice, salt and pepper. Set aside to marinate for 15-30 minutes.
2. Bring a large saucepan of water to boil. Add the carrots and blanch for about 30 seconds. Remove the carrots with a slotted spoon to a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking.
3. Place the rice vermicelli in a heat-proof bowl and pour the boiling water over them. Let them set for 5-8 minutes until softened through. Drain, rinse in cold water and set aside.
4. Heat the oil in a sauté pan or wok over medium-high flame. Remove the pork from its marinade and sauté quickly until just cooked through, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
5. Add equal amounts of the carrots, sprouts and lettuce to each 2 or 3 deep serving bowls. Place equal amounts of rice noodles on top of the vegetables. Then place a spoonful of pork on top of the noodles to cover them about 1/3 of the way. Place the sliced cucumber neatly over another 1/3 of the noodles. Finally, lay sprigs of cilantro and mint over the remaining 1/3 of the noodles.
6. Sprinkle peanuts over each dish and serve with nuoc cham to pour over the noodles to taste.

Variations

• Bun Cha Gio Thit Nuong: add a deep-fried imperial roll to the top of the dish with the bbq pork.
• Bun Bo Nuong: substitute beef for the pork.
• Bun Ga Nuong: substitute chicken for the pork
• Bun Tom Nuong: substitute peeled whole shrimp for the pork.
• A Japanese-style mandolin slicer works well to julienne the carrots. You can also shred them with a box grater, in which case blanching is unnecessary.
• Thai basil is also good as an herb garnish for this dish.