Vietnamese Grilled Beef and Vermicelli

Also known as Bún bò Nam Bộ, this is a delicious dish we often would get somewhere in Chinatown and bring home for supper. The more common type is with grilled pork, but we happened to have beef on hand. As usual, SO had the good idea for this. I started off with the Canadian Living version that SO emailed me, but as usual we didn't have some of the ingredients and/or I didn't like something about the method. But changing things up is how you discover and invent, right? Well, when it works out it is good. 

There is a fair amount of prep involved here, but the cooking part is very quick. Our expectations were fairly low this first time I tried it, but wow it turned out really great. I think the key to this was the marinating of the meat. The sauce, called Nuoc Cham, is also important, but more so for the balance between acidity and the fish sauce. The little carrots you see, pickled or otherwise, I think are more for decoration. Huh, probably wrong there.

Grilled Beef and Vermicelli. The regular portion on the
right, and the slightly deconstructed version for the
fussier little guy in the family.

We didn't end up plating this in an entirely authentic manner; there is no lettuce leaves, no carrot, the beef was fast-fry instead of thicker pork, it was pan fried instead of grilled, etc.  But nonetheless, it was delicious. At least according to me and SO. Not so much according to SSO.

Next Time:  will grill some pork

Me: 10/10
SO: 10.5/10
SSO: 2/10

Vietnamese Grilled Beef and Vermicelli
This was just enough for the 3 of us.
Ingredients - beef and marinade

• Beef or Pork, maybe 1lb for 4 people(?). I had two packages of fast-fry, two pieces each, and it was a bit too much for 2.5 people
• 2 minced shallots
• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 1 Tb sugar
• 2 Tb of fish sauce

Ingredients - Nuoc Cham

• juice from one lemon, aiming for 1/3 cup or a bit more
• 2-3 Tb of fish sauce
• 1 Tb sugar
• 1 garlic cloved, pressed
• minced hot chilies to your taste, bird's eye, habanero, etc.  

Ingredients - Noodles and Salad

• Rice Vermicelli noodles. I used 2 out of 3 folded noodle "packets"
• half an English cuke, sliced into very narrow strips 3" long
• 1/3 cup roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
• large lettuce leaves to put the vermicelli on (optional)
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh basil leaves

Method

1. Boil some water, and pour over the noodles in a large bowl. Poke them down until submerged, and let  sit for 5-8 minutes until cooked. Drain, and cool with cold water.
2. Meanwhile, slice up the beef across the grain, thin slices (maybe 1/4") and 3" to 4" long. Combine the marinade ingredients, and toss the beef thoroughly. Let sit for at least 20 minutes, tossing occasionally.
3. Mix the Nuoc Cham ingredients, mixing well several times until the sugar dissolves.
4. Finally, fry or grill the meat until done.
5. For assembly: first the leaves if you are using them, then the noodles, then the beef strips and all the other stuff (cuke, peanuts, basil). Let the ravenous hordes pour their own sauce over the noodles. You don't need much, it isn't a soup!