The search for a flavor-packed, well-balanced healthy dinner option is over! These Vietnamese vermicelli bowls, otherwise known as bun thit nuong, are filled with tender grilled pork, pickled crisp vegetables, and perfectly cooked vermicelli noodles. These noodle bowls are packed with the perfect balance of savory, sour and sweet, making them anything but boring! The best part is all you need is 35 minutes!
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👩🏽🍳 Why This Recipe Works
- Full of flavor: Each element of these bowls is filled with perfectly balanced flavor, from lemongrass to sour pickled vegetables. There are no boring or plain bites in these bun thit nuong vermicelli bowls, which is always a win in my books!
- Quick cooking time: Vermicelli noodles are a quick cooking noodle option, which is perfect for a weeknight meal. Pork is an incredibly fast cooking protein, especially when sliced thinly like in this recipe. Combined, you do not need hours to prepare these bowls!
- Customizable to your liking: The best thing about noodle bowls, or bowls of any time really (like my Korean chicken bowls and Teriyaki chicken bowls) is that they are completely customizable. Kids can keep them simple, and grown-ups can load them up to perfection!
🥘 Ingredient notes
- Thinly sliced pork: I used boneless, centre-cut pork chops for this recipe. To get nice thin slices, I cut across the pork chops horizontally with a sharp knife. This ensures nice thin slices that stay tender, juicy, and cook quickly! Pork chops tend to be a readily available and easily found cut of pork, which is why they are my cut of choice.
- Fresh lemongrass: You can find lemongrass in two preparations, generally. You will either find lemongrass in full stalk form, or you can find pre-ground lemongrass in a tube. If using a fresh stalk of lemongrass, you will want to cut off the dry brittle top, as the flavor is primarily in the bottom of the lemongrass stalk.
- Rice vermicelli noodles: You can often find rice vermicelli in your local Asian grocery store, or in the international food aisle of your regular supermarket. Rice vermicelli look similar to bean thread noodles, however they are not interchangeable for this recipe.
- Daikon: Daikon is a slighly mellow, slightly spicy radish that adds a crunchy bite to the pickled vegetables in this bowl.
A full list of ingredients with measurements is located on the recipe card, below.
📖 Substitutions
- Centre-cut pork chops: You can use thinly sliced pork shoulder in place of pork chops, if you can find it. Pork shoulder is more traditionally-used cut for this recipe.
- Brown sugar: Regular granulated sugar or honey are great substitutions for brown sugar.
- Soy sauce: Coconut aminos will work in place of classic soy sauce.
- Mint: Fresh basil or thai basil, or cilantro can be used in place of fresh mint.
- Daikon radish: Jicama or regular radishes are great substitutes for daikon radish.
🔪 Variations
- Vegetarian: Use this lemongrass marinade on firm tofu, for a vegetarian version of this recipe. You will want to omit the fish sauce to make this a true vegetarian recipe.
- Different proteins: You can use chicken thighs, thinly sliced beef, or even shrimp for a variation of protein.
- Spring rolls: Many Vietnamese restaurants have a variation of this dish topped with a fried spring roll - top this recipe with a spring roll for a crispy treat!
⏲️ Step-by-step Instructions
Prep Work Before Cooking
- Collecting all your ingredients: This will make cooking so much easier. Gather all the spices you will need, and keep them nearby.
- Prep the vegetables: Julienne the cucumbers, carrot and daikon into even-sized matchstick pieces.
- Slice the pork: If you are using centre-cut pork chops, cut the pork into long, thin slices by cutting across the pork chop horizontally with a sharp knife.
- Boil water: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the water liberally once it has come to a boil.
Mix together the ingredients for the nuoc cham sauce, in a small bowl or jar. Set aside.
Boil the vermicelli noodles according to the package directions - they generally take 7-8 minutes to cook through. Drain the noodles, and rinse with cold water. Set the cooked noodles aside.
Add the pork marinade ingredients to a bowl or measuring cup, and combine until the sugar has completely mixed in. [photo 1]
Pour the marinade over the thinly sliced pork in a medium-sized bowl, and marinade for 10-15 minutes minimum. [photo 2]
While the pork is marinating, prepare the quick-pickled vegetables. Mix together the cucumber, carrot and daikon with vinegar and sugar. The sugar will feel gritty initially, however, as the vegetables sit in the vinegar mixture the sugar will dissolve and melt into the vinegar and vegetables. [photo 3]
Heat a large skillet or grill pan over medium-high heat. Spray the skillet or grill pan with avocado oil cooking spray, and sear the pork until it is charred on both sides and cooked through. As the pork is sliced thinly, it will only need a minute or two on each side to cook through. [photo 4]
Assemble the bowls with a layer of vermicelli noodles, cooked pork, pickled vegetables, fresh mint, crushed peanuts, and a drizzle of nuoc cham on top.
💭 Expert Tips
- Get the most flavor out of lemongrass: If you are using fresh lemongrass, give it a good smash with the back of your knife to release the flavorful oils into the marinade.
- Remove the lemongrass pieces before cooking: Fresh lemongrass is hard to finely mince, so you will likely end up with large pieces in the marinade. Before searing the pork, wipe off the large pieces of lemongrass to avoid burning.
- Thinly slice pork with ease: Put your pork into the freezer for 20-30 minutes before slicing it, to make it easy to get beautiful thin slices of pork.
🍽 Make Ahead & Storage
- The pork can be marinated one day in advance, and kept in an airtight container in the fridge.
- Pickled vegetables will keep well in the fridge for 1-2 days, in a sealed container.
- Leftover cooked pork can be refrigerated for 2-3 days, and reheated on the stove in a skillet.
- Prepared nuoc cham sauce can be stored in the fridge for up to 1 week, in the fridge.
⭐ Recipe FAQs
Nuoc cham is a balanced Vietnamese "vinaigrette" that is packed with savory fish sauce, sweet sugar, tangy lime and lots of garlic. Depending on your taste, you can also add some chopped birds eye or fresno chilli for a special kick.
I strongly recommend rinsing your cooked vermicelli - in fact, most package directions encourage it as well. This will ensure that your noodles do not stick together as they cool, and it will stop the cooking process too!
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Bun Thit Nuong {Vietnamese Pork Vermicelli Bowls}
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb Centre cut pork chops - thinly sliced
- ¼ cup Soy sauce
- ¼ cup Brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon Fish sauce
- 1 stalk Lemongrass - smashed and chopped
- 1 Lime - juiced
- 3 cloves Garlic
Pickled Vegetables
- 1 cup Carrots - julienned
- 1 cup Daikon radish - julienned
- ½ English cucumber - julienned
- ½ cup White vinegar
- 2 tablespoon Granulated sugar
Nuoc Cham Dressing
- ½ cup Hot water
- 1 tablespoon Granulated sugar
- ½ tablespoon Fish sauce
- 1 Lime - juiced
- 1 Fresno chilli - finely minced
- 1 clove Garlic - finely minced
To Assemble
- 1 lb Rice vermicelli noodles
- ½ cup Peanuts - crushed
- Fresh mint - torn
Instructions
- Mix together the ingredients for the nuoc cham sauce, in a small bowl or jar. Set aside.½ cup Hot water, 1 tablespoon Granulated sugar, ½ tablespoon Fish sauce, 1 Lime, 1 Fresno chilli, 1 clove Garlic
- Boil the vermicelli noodles according to the package directions - they generally take 7-8 minutes to cook through. Drain the noodles, and rinse with cold water. Set the cooked noodles aside.1 lb Rice vermicelli noodles
- Add the pork marinade ingredients to a bowl or measuring cup, and combine until the sugar has completely mixed in.¼ cup Soy sauce, ¼ cup Brown sugar, 1 tablespoon Fish sauce, 1 stalk Lemongrass, 1 Lime, 3 cloves Garlic
- Pour the marinade over the thinly sliced pork in a medium-sized bowl, and marinade for 10-15 minutes minimum.1 lb Centre cut pork chops
- While the pork is marinating, prepare the quick-pickled vegetables. Mix together the cucumber, carrot and daikon with vinegar and sugar. The sugar will feel gritty initially, however, as the vegetables sit in the vinegar mixture the sugar will dissolve and melt into the vinegar and vegetables.1 cup Carrots, 1 cup Daikon radish, ½ English cucumber, ½ cup White vinegar, 2 tablespoon Granulated sugar
- Heat a large skillet or grill pan over medium-high heat. Spray the skillet or grill pan with avocado oil cooking spray, and sear the pork until it is charred on both sides and cooked through. As the pork is sliced thinly, it will only need a minute or two on each side to cook through.
- Assemble the bowls with a layer of vermicelli noodles, cooked pork, pickled vegetables, fresh mint, crushed peanuts, and a drizzle of nuoc cham on top.½ cup Peanuts, Fresh mint
✱Recipe Notes
- Get the most flavor out of lemongrass: If you are using fresh lemongrass, give it a good smash with the back of your knife to release the flavorful oils into the marinade.
- Remove the lemongrass pieces before cooking: Fresh lemongrass is hard to finely mince, so you will likely end up with large pieces in the marinade. Before searing the pork, wipe off the large pieces of lemongrass to avoid burning.
- Thinly slice pork with ease: Put your pork into the freezer for 20-30 minutes before slicing it, to make it easy to get beautiful thin slices of pork.
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