If you’re looking for a break from decadent Valentine’s Day noshing, treat yourself to a light and tasty Vietnamese noodle bowl. I know I’ve said it a million times before, but my favorite thing about Vietnamese food is how incredibly fresh and colorful the ingredients are, something I haven’t learned to appreciate until realizing as a grown adult that fresh food is exceedingly difficult to incorporate into daily working life. Not only are Vietnamese dishes super healthy and light, but you never have to sacrifice flavor for healthiness. A fat-free comfort food? Count me in! Bún, the Vietnamese word for rice noodles, issuper easy to make and a great way to incorporate some leftover meat with fresh herbs and veggies. In this dish, my meat of choice was a spicy lemongrass pork but the recipe works well for all types of meat and even tofu. Sorry prospective Valentines, nothing comes between me and my bún.
Lemongrass Pork Noodle Bowl (Serves 2)
• 1 lb pork tenderloin
• 2 lemongrass stalks
• 2 cayenne peppers, sliced
• 4 garlic gloves, minced
• 1 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper.
• 2 servings rice vermicelli, prepared
• sesame oil
• Thai basil
• mint
• ladythumb
• pickled carrots
• fried shallots
• peanuts
• fresh lime
• prepared fish sauce
1. Chop lemongrass as finely as possible. You may be able to better achieve this texture using a food processor.
2. Slice pork tenderloin into 1/4 inch cuts.
3. In a skillet, heat sesame oil and stir fry lemongrass, garlic and cayenne peppers until golden brown.
4. Add in sliced pork and saute with sugar, salt and ground pepper for about 10 minutes or until meat is no longer red. I like frying the pork for a little longer to get a sweet, charred taste.
5. Serve over rice noodles and garnish with herbs, pickled carrots, fried shallots, peanuts and a fresh lime wedge. To prepare pickled carrots, use a mandoline to slice them thinly and microwave in 1-2 cups of vinegar. Feel free to add or remove any garnishes; in my opinion, the more the merrier! Don’t forget to top it all off with fish sauce. It’s the secret ingredient that ties everything together!
