Bun thit nuong, or Rice vermicelli with roasted pork and mixture sauce, is definitely an unforgettable speciality in Danang city . You actually might have come across this dish in Saigon or Hanoi but our version is… special, because we have a special sauce made from ground meat, liver, and fermented soy bean that give the dish a distinguished taste compared to the regular fish sauce dressing of the northern and southern counterparts. Seasoned pork, grilled over hot charcoal, served with cold rice vermicelli noodle, fresh herbs and vegetables, topped with the flavoful sauce, makes a delectable treat.
How to cook: Rice vermicelli with roasted pork and mixture sauce
For the grilled pork
Ingredients:
500 gr of pork butt or shoulder, thinly sliced about 0.5 cm thin, don’t slice too thin or the pork will dry out when grilled.
2 full tbsp of minced lemongrass (sa bam), you can use either fresh lemongrass or frozen lemongrass (cheaper)
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp thick soy sauce (hac xi dau)
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp five spices powder (ngu vi huong)
5 cloves of garlic, miced
5 shallots, miced
3 tbsp roasted sesame seed
1. Mix all the ingredients together (except sesame seed) in a mixing bowl, marinade for 2 hours or overnight
2. Spread the meat out in one layer in the grilling basket and grill over charcoal until golden brown. Brush the meat with a little of vegetable oil to keep the meat moist while grilling. After finish grilling, remove the meat from the basket and put into a large bowl, toss with the sesame seed.
Rice vermicelli with roasted pork and mixture sauce
For the salad:
1 large lettuce head, torn into pieces
1 bunch of mint, stem removed, roughly chopped
1 bag of beansprout (500gr)
1 large cucumber, half lengthwise, then thinly slice
Pickled carrot and green papaya (from recipe #7)
1 package of rice vermicelli noodle, boil in 6-8 minutes then drain and flush with cold water for 30 seconds, after that, put the noodle into the microwave for 2 minutes to firm up the noodle.
1. Mix all the vegetable together
2. set the pickle and noodle aside
Rice vermicelli with roasted pork and mixture sauce
For the garnish:
Crush toasted peanut
Fried shallot
For the sauce:
100 gr of pork liver, if can’t find pork liver, substitute with chicken liver, chop finely or grind in a food processor
100 gr of ground pork
250 ml of fermented soy bean sauce (this is not the same with soy sauce) – can be substituted with hoisin sauce if fermented soy bean sauce not available.
750 ml of water, divided into 2 parts
5 tbsp of sweet rice flour
5 tbsp of sugar
1 tbsp of minced shallot and garlic
1 tsp of cooking oil
5 tbsp of crushed toasted peanut
5 tbsp of toasted sesame seed
2 tbsp of coloring oil (mix 2 tbsp of vegetable oil with 1 tsp of chili powder or paprika powder and microwave for 1 min)
1. Heat up the oil, add in the minced shallow and garlic and stir until fragrant, then add the liver and pork, continue to stir for about 2 minutes, try to separate the meat in to fine grain as much as possible. Add in the fermented soy bean sauce and 500ml of water, sugar. Bring to a boil.
2. Mix the other 250ml of water with sweet rice flour and stir constantly on medium heat until forming a thick paste, add this paste into the meat sauce to thicken the sauce. (If you cannot find sweet rice flour, can substitute with 5 tbsp of sweet rice instead, cooking until forming a porridge and blend in the food processor until smooth.)
3. Add in coloring oil, peanut, sesame seed, stir to combine everything.
4. Taste again with some salt/sugar. The fermented soy bean sauce is already very salty so we mainly taste with sugar to balance out the flavor.
Assemble the bowl:
Put some vegetables onto the bottom of the bowl, then the noodle, top with grilled pork, pickle. Spoon the sauce over the pork and noodle, don’t put too much sauce.
Sprinkle crushed peanut and fried shallot on top. Can also serve with some chili sauce if desired.
Enjoy your RRice vermicelli with roasted pork and mixture sauce !
