Next time you want something cool and refreshing for dinner think Vietnamese noodle salad bowl. Simple. Easy. Delicious.
It’s perfect for those hot summer nights. The ones where you just don’t really feel like heating up the kitchen.
It’s so easy to make a Vietnamese noodle salad
There’s almost nothing to making a Vietnamese noodle salad bowl. Prepare some rice noodles. Chop some vegetables. A few herbs. Some marinated pork. And a simple sauce to bring it all together.
It’s not zero work. Picking up the phone is zero work. But it’s fun. Do your prep with friends or family. Make it social. Have a cocktail. Simple party food.
Stir-fry marinated pork makes a Vietnamese salad bowl a meal
This version skips the usual grilled pork. Because it’s easier. Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t grill the pork. But it’s tricky.
This Vietnamese noodle salad bowl gets its substance from a bit of thinly sliced pork shoulder. That’s not easy to grill. If you want to jazz it up think bun this nyong. But if you want fast this way is easier.
But you don’t have to use pork. Use chicken. Or shrimp. It works with just about anything. You can even skip the marinade. This isn’t a bad meal with leftover shredded chicken. Have fun with it. Think outside the box.
Get your sliced pork shoulder from an Asian market
This is about easy. And slicing pork shoulder into 1/8 inch slices is not easy. You can do it. Cut it into manageable pieces. Partially freeze the pork. Get a really, really sharp knife. And go for it. Just not easy.
Or you can go to just about any Asian market and buy it pre-sliced. Ready to go. That’s easy. You can stock up on Asian ingredients while you are there. Worth the trip.
If you have a Korean market nearby that’s a good bet. They almost always have it fresh. They almost always have sliced pork belly as well. Korean’s know what to do with those wonderful rich bits of pork.
A butcher will probably do this for you as well. But you’ll need to call ahead. And pay more. Up to you.
Weeknight fun food
That’s about it. Not hard. And seriously tasty. Perfect when you need great food fast.
Next time you’re looking for a fun and delicious weeknight dinner think Vietnamese noodle salad.
vietnamese noodle salad bowl
Ingredients
Marinade
- 1/4 cup white granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp fish sauce
- 1 Tbsp garlic crushed
- 1 Tbsp soy
- 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp sambal oelek – srirachi would work as well
- black pepper to taste
Vietnamese Pork Bun
- 12 ounces pork shoulder – sliced thin
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/2 package of rice vermicelli
- shaved carrot
- sliced cucumber
- cilantro – chopped coarsely
- mint leaves – chopped coarsely
- Nuoc cham to serve
Nuoc Cham
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 Tbsp sugar – up to 3 if you like it a bit sweet
- 2 Tbsp fish sauce or more if you like it a bit saltier
- Juice of 1/2 lime
- 1/2 tsp sambal oelek – srirachi would work here as well
Instructions
Vietnamese Pork Bun
- Combine all marinade ingredients with the pork and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
- Pour boiling water over the rice noodles to soften (follow the instructions on the package) and chill the noodles. Running cold water over the noodles to chill works nicely.
- Pre-heat your frying pan or wok over medium high heat. Add the oil. When it starts to shimmer cook half the pork, flipping it regularly until it browns and is cooked through. This will not take long. A few minutes max. Remove the pork when cooked and repeat with the remaining pork.
- To serve, divide rice noodles into two bowls and top with chopped vegetables, cilantro and mint and pork. Pour 1/2 the nuoc cham over each bowl (or serve on the side and let people season to taste).
Nuoc Cham
- Combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan and heat to a simmer. Cool and serve.
Nutrition
vietnamese noodle salad bowl
Ingredients
Marinade
- 1/4 cup white granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp fish sauce
- 1 Tbsp garlic crushed
- 1 Tbsp soy
- 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp sambal oelek - srirachi would work as well
- black pepper to taste
Vietnamese Pork Bun
- 12 ounces pork shoulder - sliced thin
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/2 package of rice vermicelli
- shaved carrot
- sliced cucumber
- cilantro - chopped coarsely
- mint leaves - chopped coarsely
- Nuoc cham to serve
Nuoc Cham
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 Tbsp sugar - up to 3 if you like it a bit sweet
- 2 Tbsp fish sauce or more if you like it a bit saltier
- Juice of 1/2 lime
- 1/2 tsp sambal oelek - srirachi would work here as well
Instructions
Vietnamese Pork Bun
- Combine all marinade ingredients with the pork and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
- Pour boiling water over the rice noodles to soften (follow the instructions on the package) and chill the noodles. Running cold water over the noodles to chill works nicely.
- Pre-heat your frying pan or wok over medium high heat. Add the oil. When it starts to shimmer cook half the pork, flipping it regularly until it browns and is cooked through. This will not take long. A few minutes max. Remove the pork when cooked and repeat with the remaining pork.
- To serve, divide rice noodles into two bowls and top with chopped vegetables, cilantro and mint and pork. Pour 1/2 the nuoc cham over each bowl (or serve on the side and let people season to taste).
Nuoc Cham
- Combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan and heat to a simmer. Cool and serve.
Nutrition
Have you heard about reverse sear steaks? Ever wonder how they get steaks perfectly evenly cooked in restaurants? How it’s pink from edge to edge?
If you already know how to reverse sear steaks there’s nothing new in this post. It’s a technique. If you know the technique you are golden.
But if you haven’t yet jumped on the reverse sear steak bandwagon then please read on. This is how to cook your steaks perfectly every time.
Restaurants don’t take chances. They don’t just throw steaks on a grill and hope. That’s never a good idea.
A lot of better restaurants use sous-vide. They bring the steak to just under the perfect temperature in a water bath. Then they hit it with fire to char up the outside. Some even use a blow torch. Really.
That’s one way. Reverse sear is another. Same idea really. You are cooking your steaks at a low temperature. Creeping up on your target. When you get close you pull the steaks. Set them aside.
Crank your grill up to as hot as it gets. If you can get it to 700F that’s good. Not critical. But it will impress your friends.
Once you get the grill screaming hot sear the steaks. Same technique as normal. But at the end. Not the beginning. Reverse sear. Get it?
One thing before you start. It’s a big one. You have to have an instant read thermometer to do this. You are cooking with the power of science here.
But you should have one anyway. It’s really not an option if you want things to work in general.
The steps are simple. Put your steaks out to warm up a bit. Stabilize your grill around 225F. Season your steaks.
Toss them on the grill and cook, covered, until you get an internal temperature of about 110. Takes around 10 minutes.
Pull the steaks at this point and tent with foil. Set them aside. Crank your grill. Really crank it. As hot as it goes. Until you are worried it’s going to melt.
Have all your sides ready. At this point you are seconds away from eating. Return the steaks to the grill. Cook them only long enough to colour up. Get some nice grill marks maybe. That’s it.
Check the internal temperature. You want to come in around 5 degrees lower than your final target.
If you want medium rare you are going for 125F. It will come up another 3-5 degrees as it rests. Tent with foil and let rest for about 5-10 minutes. And then dig in.
It seems like a lot of work but it really isn’t. In fact, while it does take a bit longer, reverse sear steaks pretty much guarantees that you will nail your steaks every time.
Took me a long time to get around to it but I was converted after the first try.
It’s counter intuitive but that’s the genius. Reverse sear steaks work. Really, really well.
reverse sear steaks
Ingredients
- 4 Sirloin striploin or rib steaks, one inch thick (or more)
- Salt
- Pepper coarsely ground
Instructions
- Take your steaks out about an hour before it’s time to cook. Let them warm up a bit. Have all your sides prepped.
- Pre-heat your grill to 225 to 250F.
- Season the steaks with salt and pepper.
- Grill the steaks at 225-250F until an instant read thermometer inserted in the thickest point in the steak reads around 110F. This will take somewhere around 10 minutes so pay attention. Remove the steaks and tent with foil.
- Turn the grill up to max. Let it get nice and hot. I did the steak in the picture at somewhere around 600F.
- Once the grill is screaming hot return the steaks to the grill and cook 1 to 2 minutes per side. Time depends on the target temperature.
- When you reach the temperature that corresponds to the guideline below remove the steaks from the grill. Tent with foil and let rest for 5-10 minutes.
