Noodle Bowl with Grilled Pork

Ingredients

Grilled Pork

• 2 lbs pork shoulder
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 1 tbsp shallots
• ~2 inch lemongrass bottom white part
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil

Noodles

• 7-8 oz dried rice vermicelli noodles

Vegetables and Garnishes

• 1 1/2 cups shredded cucumber
• 1 1/2 cups shredded carrots
• 1/2 cup rice viengar
• 1/2 cup hot water
• 1/4 cup sugar
• A few leaves lettuce
• A handful cilantro
• A handful mint leaves
• 1/2 cup chopped peanuts
• 1 fresh lime

Sauce (Nuoc Cham)

• 1/2 cup hot water
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 2-3 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice or to taste
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes or to taste

Instructions

Grilled Pork

• Remove some of the fat from pork shoulders (but it is not necessary to remove all the fat), and slice pork into thin slices. Bring them into a large ziplock bag.
• Combine and blend the rest of the ingredients listed under “Grilled Pork” in food processor/blender to create marinate, and add to zip lock bag. Make sure pork is evenly coated with marinate. Marinade pork for at least 1 hour, or up to a few hours.
• Grill pork on a grill pan or outdoor grill. Pork can be pan-fried on a skillet as well. Grill under indirect heat (if using charcoal grill), or medium/low heat (if using grill pan, electric grill, or skillet) to make sure the insides of the pork is completely cook. Note that because there is sugar in the marinate, pork will brown/burn quickly on the outside.

Pickled Vegetables

• Bring hot water and sugar (see ingredients under “Vegtables and Garnishes”) together in a bowl to dissolve sugar. Add rice vinegar. Stir to combine.
• Add shredded cucumber and shredded carrots to bowl with vinegar miture. Or, if desire, separate vinegar mixture into two bowls and separately pickle cucumber and carrots.
• Press the carrots and cucmber down so that they are completely submerged in the mixture. Pickle for 30-60 minutes.
• Drain vienegar mixture.

Other Vegetables and Garnishes

• Prep/chop the rest of the vegetables and garnishes – lettuce, cilantro, mint leaves, and peanuts. Slice lime into a few wedges.

Noodles

• Cook noodles base on package insutrctions. It’s usually cooks quickly! If noodles needs to sit for a while before combining with the other ingredients, rinse them in cold water to prevent them from sticking to each other, continuing to cook and turning mushy.

Sauce (Nuoc Cham)

• Combine hot water and sugar to completely dissolve sugar. Then add the other sauce ingredients. Stir to combine.

Combine

• Bring noodles to bowl, and top with grilled pork, vegetables, and garnishes. Serve with sauce, and enjoy!

ORIGINAL