Recipe: Grilled Vietnamese beef vermicelli bowl

Grilled Vietnamese Beef Vermicelli Bowl, or Bún Bò Xào, is everyone’s favourite Vietnamese noodle salad…at home! Perfectly marinated, then grilled Vietnamese beef is a delicious topping to fresh vegetables and vermicelli noodles. 

While it may seem like there are a lot of ingredients in this dish, each component has a role to play in the overall flavour explosion.

Grilling the marinated meat is very quick while slicing the carrots may take just a bit longer. Once you have all the components ready to go, it’s very easy to assemble each bowl. 

Vietnamese food is so fresh and delicious, from perfectly marinated Lemongrass Grilled Pork Chops to Fresh Shrimp Salad Rolls, I love it all! 

Ingredients

• 1 lb beef sirloin; thinly sliced

FOR THE MARINADE

• 2 garlic cloves; minced
• 4 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 red Thai Chili; finely minced

TO ASSEMBLE

• 1 large carrot; cut into matchsticks
• 1/2 cucumber; peeled, seeded, and cut into batons
• 4 cups mung bean sprouts; washed
• 4 cups shredded lettuce
• handful fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup crushed roasted peanuts
• handful fresh mint; chiffonade
• hoisin and hot sauce to taste
• 1 package thin vermicelli noodles; prepared as per package directions

FOR THE NUOC CHAM

• 2 cloves garlic; minced
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1/2 cup fish sauce
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• handful of carrot matchsticks

Instructions

MARINATE THE BEEF

1. In a medium bowl place minced garlic, fish sauce, sugar, lime juice, and minced red chili.
2. Separate the beef slices and add to the marinade. Let sit for around an hour or so.

FOR THE NUOC CHAM

1. Place garlic and sugar in a small bowl or 2 cup measuring cup. Mash them together into a paste.
2. Add fish sauce, boiling water, lime juice, vinegar, and matchstick carrots. Let sit.

ASSEMBLE THE BOWLS

1. Arrange vegetables in the bottom of four large bowls.
2. Top vegetables with prepared vermicelli noodles.
3. Heat a lightly oiled barbecue wok (the kind with the holes in it) on high barbecue setting.  Stir fry marinated beef in batches.
4. Place cooked beef on top of vermicelli noodles and top with cilantro, mint, peanuts and Nuoc Cham. Add hoisin or hot sauce, if desired.

Enjoy!

You can find the full post for this recipe, including more great photography, on Dish ‘n’ the Kitchen.