Vietnamese Noodle Bowl
What to prep in advance:
- Thinly slice your beef against the grain (you can also ask your butcher to do this, about 2mm in thickness).
- Wash and dry vegetables and herbs and sprouts
- Peel your carrots
- Have all your ingredients mise en place this means measured out and set up.
Kitchen Utensils
- Chopsticks (eating utensils)
- 4 large bowls or plates for serving
- Grill pan (or bbq)
- Small bowl for marinade
- Skewers (wooden or metal skewers used for kebabs)
- Large pot for cooking noodles
- Colander or strainer to drain the noodles
Ingredient boxes for this cooking class, (all your ingredients except the protein) are available for curbside pick up in Vancouver. Click Here To Order
Vietnamese Noodle Bowl
Servings
4
Prep Time
15 minutes
Bún is what we call rice-vermicelli in Viet. It is so common in many of our meals that any dish that includes rice-vermicelli is called Bún. In most restaurant menus, Bún has its own category which usually include BúnBò Nướng (grilled Beef), BúnGà Nướng (Grilled Chicken) or BúnChả Giò (Spring Rolls).
Bún is a light meal that can be eaten anytime of day often anytime after breakfast and before dinner. We call it a light meal instead of a snack. On a hot day, Bún can also be a refreshing and substantive dinner.
Ingredients
500g or approx. 1lb 1-inch thick sirloin steak
1 stalk lemongrass thinly sliced then chopped finely *(or 2 Tbsp frozen)
1 generous pinch roasted and freshly ground pepper
1 Clove of garlic, rasped
1 Tbsp fish sauce
2 carrots thinly sliced
3-4” piece of daikon (feel free to use radish instead)
3 green onions
1/2 C neutral oil (i.e Sunflower)
50g roasted unsalted peanuts, roughly chopped
1/2 English cucumber thinly sliced and julienned (optional for garnish)
1 head Green or Red Lettuce or approx 2-3 large leaves per serving
12-15 pieces mint leaves 3-4 leaves per serving (Viet or Persian grocer)
200g Dried, thin rice vermicelli noodles (I use Kong Moon brand or something Similar)
200 g bean sprouts
4 lime wedges and sliced chilies for serving
1 Lime juiced
2T or 50g white sugar (or Erythritol)
100ml or ¼ C good quality fish sauce
100 ml or 1/4 C water (adjust to taste)
2 red Thai chilis, thinly sliced (optional)
Protein Marinade
Noodle and Vegetable Base
Dressing
Directions
Prepare marinade by adding fish sauce, garlic, minced lemongrass, pepper, slice beef thinly cross-grain in long strips, mix well and set aside. Optional ingredients: Sesame seed oil (.5 tsp) and soy sauce (1Tbsp)
Cut in matchsticks or julienne carrots and daikon mix in 1tsp of salt and set aside.
- Slice green onion cross wise, heat about .5 C oil to cover the bottom of a small pan. Touch the bottom of the pan with a chopstick, if bubbles start to appear then its hot enough, add green onion, stir, remove from heat and set aside
Prepare Nuoc Mam dressing by starting with juice of one lime, add 2T of white sugar then 3-4T of fish sauce of choice and about the same amount in water, taste and adjust with additional amounts of these ingredients to achieve the balance of salty, sour and sweet. Add sliced fresh chili and set aside.
Roast peanuts in a hot pan keep it continuously moving until aroma starts to impart. Alternatively, 90 sec on full power in a microwave, stir and repeat. Cool to touch, then hull and chop roughly and set aside.
Julienne cucumber and set aside
Wash lettuce, mint, beansprouts spin dry and set aside.
Bring a large pot of water to a full boil, add dried vermicelli stir and wait for water to come back to boil, turn off heat and let it sit in hot water for 3min, drain well and portion to serving size while hot and let rest.
Skewer strips of beef and threading it on a skewer and bunch it to resemble a kebab. Cook beef in a hot pan or grill to the desired doneness, and set aside.
Final assembly: Fill half of the bowl with lettuce ripped to bite-size pieces, put one serving size vermicelli on the other half, top noodles with green onion oil, add kebab, top with quick pickles, julienned cucumbers, sprouts, peanuts, mint, and serve. People usually add their own dressing to the desired taste before eating. Enjoy!
Recipe Note
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