Vietnamese Cold Rice Noodle Bowl with Lemongrass Pork (Bun Thit Nuong)

Ingredients

• 600 g pork shoulder steaks
• 250 g rice vermicelli noodles
• 2 lemongrass stalks
• 4 tbsp fish sauce
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 3 tbsp lime juice
• 1 cucumber
• 20 g fresh mint
• 2 red chilli

Method

1. 1

   Finely chop the lemongrass and garlic. Mix with 2 tbsp fish sauce and 1 tbsp sugar to make a marinade. Coat the pork steaks and leave for at least 15 minutes.

2. 2

   Meanwhile cook the vermicelli noodles in boiling water for 3–4 minutes, drain and rinse under cold water. Set aside.

3. 3

   Make the dipping sauce (nuoc cham) by combining the remaining fish sauce, lime juice, remaining sugar, sliced chilli and 4 tbsp water. Stir until the sugar dissolves.

4. 4

   Grill or griddle the marinated pork steaks over high heat for 3–4 minutes per side until charred and cooked through. Rest for 5 minutes, then slice.

5. 5

   Divide the cold noodles between bowls. Top with sliced cucumber, mint leaves and the sliced pork.

6. 6

   Drizzle the nuoc cham dressing generously over each bowl and serve immediately.