Bún Thịt Nướng (Vietnamese Lemongrass Pork Noodle Bowl)

Method

1. Make the đồ chua (pickled carrot and daikon) first. Cut the carrot and daikon into thin 5–6 cm matchsticks, put them in a bowl with the vinegar, sugar and salt, squeeze together with your hands and leave for at least 20 min, until floppy, sweet and sour.

   Add in this stepCarrot 60 gDaikon radish 60 gRice vinegar 2 tbspSugar (pickles) 2 tspSalt 1 pinch

2. Peel the outer layers off the lemongrass and very finely chop only the tender lower part; finely chop the shallot and garlic too. Mix them in a bowl with the fish sauce, sugar, black pepper and half the oil. Slice the pork 3 mm thick into bite-sized pieces (half an hour in the freezer makes it easier), massage it into the marinade and refrigerate for 30 min; overnight is even better.

   Add in this stepPork shoulder or neck, thinly sliced 240 gLemongrass stalk 1Shallot 1Garlic cloves (marinade) 3Fish sauce (marinade) 4 tspSugar (marinade) 3 tspBlack pepper 1 pinchVegetable oil 1 tsp

3. Make the nước chấm. Dissolve the sugar completely in the warm water, add the fish sauce and lime juice, then float in the finely chopped garlic and sliced chilli. Taste: salty, sweet and sour should be in balance. It is a dressing to pour generously, so it should taste fairly light.

   Add in this stepFish sauce (nước chấm) 2 tbspSugar (nước chấm) 2 tbspWarm water 90 mlLime, for juice 1Garlic clove (nước chấm) 1Bird's eye chilli 1

4. Bring a 2 L pot of water to the boil on high heat, add the vermicelli and cook for 4 min, loosening it with chopsticks (follow the packet if it differs). When a strand has no hard centre, drain, rinse under cold water while rubbing gently, and drain very well.

   Add in this stepDried thin rice vermicelli (bún) 120 g

   high heat

5. Slice the spring onions and put them in a heatproof bowl. Warm the scallion-oil oil in a small pan on medium heat for 1 min until it shimmers, then pour it over the spring onions so they sizzle. Take care, the oil can spit.

   Add in this stepSpring onions 2Vegetable oil (scallion oil) 2 tbsp

   medium heat

6. Heat a 26 cm griddle or frying pan on medium-high heat, add the rest of the oil and lay the pork out in a single layer. Cook for 6 min in total, turning once, until the edges are caramelised and browned and there is no pink inside. If the pan is full, cook in batches (the time is the total). The sugar burns quickly, so lower the heat if it starts to blacken.

   Add in this stepVegetable oil 1 tsp

   medium-high heat

7. Line each bowl with torn lettuce, cucumber matchsticks, bean sprouts, mint and perilla, then add the noodles. Top with the grilled pork and the pickles, spoon over the scallion oil and scatter with roughly chopped peanuts. Pour over a ladle of nước chấm and toss everything together before eating.

   Add in this stepLettuce leaves 4Cucumber ½Bean sprouts 60 gMint 6 gPerilla (tía tô) or shiso leaves 4Roasted unsalted peanuts 20 g