The Illusive Pork Noodle Bowl
This originally appeared on Sugar and Lard and is writen by our own Scott Phillips.
This is one of my favorite dishes, and one that (for me) has a long and convoluted history. For a city of almost half a million people (the greater metro area, at least) we’re not exactly overrun with Vietnamese restaurants. By not exactly overrun, I mean there aren’t any. And by aren’t any, I mean that I don’t know of any that are still around.
About seven or eight years ago, there was a really good Vietnamese restaurant here in town. With its gaudy wallpaper and its bad music, (think Celine Dion by way of Ho Chi Minh City) it was never going to win any awards for ambiance, but the food was great, and the proprietors were friendly and attentive. It immediately became a favorite spot, and the Pork Vermicelli was my go-to dish. A combination of smoky grilled pork and rice noodles, it seemed simplistic on the surface. But digging a little deeper, the fresh mint, bean sprouts, and cucumbers gave it a clean complexity.
For nearly a year, I ate there as often as I could. Then things started to get…well, different. One week the Pork Vermicelli was # 39 on the menu. The next week it was #45 and the friendly Vietnamese couple that ran the place was gone, replaced by Koreans. Not that there’s anything wrong with Koreans, but the food was never the same. Also, they could never stick to a name. Sometimes it was Hong Tran, sometimes it was Saigon Noodle, sometimes it was Saigon Noodle and Deli.
The place eventually closed. Eventually, though, a new Vietnamese restaurant opened up a few blocks from home. I suspect that it was somehow associated with the restaurant I remembered, the food was very similar, but I never confirmed my suspicions. After a year or two, though, it closed too. A month later, it reopened as an all you can eat southern buffet. They didn’t even bother to change the name (Watermill,) they just added a banner underneath (Country Buffet. All you can eat. $5.99 With Ice Tea.)
I always wondered if my pork noodles were still on the menu, sandwiched between the macaroni and cheese and the collard greens, but I never had the heart to actually go in and see. Within another couple months, they were closed for good. I still have the noodles from time to time, though, I just have to make them myself.
This dish is not overly complicated, but like many Asian recipes, there is a good bit of prep involved. It’s not really even a recipe, it’s more like a salad, and you can feel free to alter the proportions and ingredients to suit yourself.
I usually begin with the dressing. Add about a tablespoon of Chili Garlic Sauce to 1/2 cup of rice wine vinegar. Mix it well and let it sit while you make your other preparations.
For the pork, I often use a cheaper cut (in this case, tidbits that I salvaged from a couple of neck-bones.) It doesn’t take much and I find that a little fat is a good thing. I sometimes use leftover pork if I have any.
I like to cook the pork in a skillet on the grill. While this may be overkill for such a small amount of meat, I think the smokiness is worth it. A dash or two of soy sauce and a little olive oil goes on the pork before it hits the pan, which has been sitting on the grill long enough to get VERY HOT. A couple of minutes is all it takes to fully cook.
I usually let the pork cool a bit while I finish the rest of my ingredients. Again, you can adjust the ingredients and proportions to your liking. You can make this as individual servings, or in a large family size bowl to share, just adjust your amounts as needed. My Noodle Bowl goes something like this:
The Illusive Pork Noodle Bowl
Place a layer of red leaf lettuce in the bottom of a large bowl.
Add a layer of cooked rice vermicelli noodles (more on this later.)
Add the cooked pork along with fresh bean sprouts, thinly sliced cucumber, and fresh mint leaves. Top with shredded red onion and crushed peanuts.
Pour on as much of the rice vinegar/chili sauce dressing (remember, it’s hot!) as you think is safe and serve with Hoisin Sauce. If you need any extra heat, add some Sriracha Chili Sauce. Sriracha may be the holy grail of hot stuff.
I don’t bother to toss the ingredients together or anything. It generally gets mixed up pretty well when I go at it with the chop sticks.
One last word on the rice vermicelli; The Rhee Brothers were apparently so confident in my culinary skills, that they didn’t even bother including cooking instructions on my package of noodles. Thanks, Guys! Unlike lots of noodles, you don’t have to boil these. Just put them in very hot water and let them steep for about 10-15 minutes. When they are done, drain the noodles and rinse them thoroughly as they tend to be pretty starchy.
The Illusive Noodle Bowl makes for a great lunch or dinner on those hot summer days when you don’t want to heat up the kitchen. Just be careful with those hot sauces.
