Grilled Meat Noodle

This is my version of quite a popular dish in (the south of) Vietnam called Bún thịt nướng. It's perfect for a summer day although I tend to make it whenever I feel like regardless of what the weather is like. But that's because I grill my meat using an over-the-stove griddle. If you are into grilling outside during the summer, all the more you should try this.

In Vietnam, or in my hometown at least, it's traditionally made with pork, perhaps because it's the cheapest kind of meat there. However, here in the US, if you order it at any Viet restaurant, you have the option of having any of meats you prefer. Also, back in my hometown, the only extra you can add is fried spring rolls but here you may choose to add grilled shrimps, fried rolls or nem nướng. I almost always make it using beef because I think it's tastier than chicken and marinade better than pork, and I often marinade overnight but if you decide to make it on the day, it works fine with an hour of marinading time. This is how the meat looked right before I did the cooking:

Most non-soup noodle dishes in Vietnam are served with smaller kind of noodles because they soak up the fish sauce well. In my hometown we buy freshly made bún (which translates to round rice noodles) whenever we eat them and the choice is really easy: small or large. Here though, round rice noodles can mean so many things, for example, the Chinese mai-fun is thinner than what we have at home. So here I include a photo of the type of noodles I use (easily available at Asian grocery stores) and my favorite herb: (Thai) basil:

Having said that, I once made this dish and served it with wheat noodles as I didn't have access to an Asian grocery store at the time, and it was fine. So let's get started.

INGREDIENTS:
Make about 4-5 servings

For the marinade:
1 lb beef, thinly sliced
1 large shallot, finely minced
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 Tsp finely minced lemongrass
2 tsp honey
2 tsp fish sauce
2-3 Tsp cooking wine
White sesame seeds
2 tsp sesame oil

1 package of fine rice vermicelli
3 spring onions
Lettuce and herbs (such as basil, cilantro, mint, etc)
Roughly chopped roasted peanuts
Quick pickled, finely julienned carrots and daikon, recipe here
Cooked Dipping/Sauce to serve, recipe here

METHOD:

For the marinade: Add everything except beef and sesame oil and mix well in a bowl. Then add the beef slices and toss well to make sure all the slices get some marinade. Cover and refrigerate. Before cooking, add the sesame oil and toss well.

Bring water to a boil, add the rice noodles, stir well to prevent sticking. Once the noodles are cooked (about 4-5 min for the thin ones), strain and rinse with cold water, shake off the excess water and let stand. Toss now and then to prevent the noodles from lumping together and taking on the shape of your strainer/colander.

Thinly slice the spring onions, both white and green parts. Heat a little oil in a skillet and give the onions a stir. Remove from heat. (You could also put the onions with some oil in a microwavable bowl and microwave for 30s or more depending on how much onions you have and your microwave setting.)

In my hometown, the most common lettuce are Boston and escarole. Since Boston lettuce bruises easily, escarole finds its way into a lot of noodle dishes. For this one, herbs and escarole leaves are thinly sliced and then place at the bottom of a bowl before serving. I do that now and then but when I'm lazy, I just tear Boston or redleaf lettuce and herbs, which is what I did for this post.

Grill the meat right before serving. (Or stir fry if you don't have a grill.)

Place lettuce and herbs in the bottom of a bowl/deep dish, followed by noodles, then topped with grilled meat, pickled carrots and daikon, onion and chopped peanuts. Serve fish sauce in a bowl on the side for people to add, like this:

Pour fish sauce over the noodles, mix and enjoy.