Vietnamese Pork and Noodle Salad Bowl with Vietnamese Nuoc Cham Dressing
When you want a salad for dinner, but don't really want salad...this is the salad bowl to have. The co-mingling of caramelized pork, vermicelli noodles and our Vietnamese Mint Lime and Chili Nuoc Cham Dressing is spot on. The boneless rib pork in this recipe is delicious. It tastes just like sweet spicy tender, Asian restaurant style pork.
Vietnamese Pork and Noodle Salad Bowl with Vietnamese Nuoc Cham Dressing
Ingredients
2 lbs boneless ribs
Vermicelli thin rice noodles (1 package)
Oil
Vietnamese Pork Marinade Ingredients
3/4 Cup brown sugar
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/2 tsp fresh minced or zested ginger
1 large garlic clove minced
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Vietnamese Salad Ingredients
Matchstick cut carrots (quick pickled if desired- see below)
1/2 Small Red Onion sliced thin
1 English cucumber sliced thin
a few sprigs fresh mint and cilantro (leaves removed from stems)
Fresh Lime
Sesame Seeds For Garnish (optional)
Wozz! Vietnamese Mint Lime and Chili Sauce and Dressing
Step 1: Quick Pickle Your Carrots (if desired otherwise - you can just throw in the salad raw)
*If you are pickling your carrots for this recipe, I would use about a pound of carrots, you can even buy a bag (usually 10 oz in bag) of pre-cut matchstick carrots. If you are just going to use raw carrots than all you need is a few carrots for salad. Just if you are going to pickle your carrots you mine as well make extra to have on hand for a couple days for sandwiches, salads, etc.
2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
3 Tbsp Sugar
2 Tbs Kosher Salt
In a medium saucepan, bring apple cider vinegar, sugar and salt to a boil, add carrots, immediately remove from heat and let sit 1 hour refrigerated.
Step 2: Make Caramelized Pork Marinade
Combine all marinade ingredients in medium bowl.
Step 3: To make Vietnamese Caramelized Pork
Turn oven on 400 degrees F Bake
Remove boneless ribs from package. Cut extra fat off if needed. Dredge each boneless rib in marinade. ( Leave excess marinade for later.)
In a large (oven proof skillet or pan) turn stove top on medium high heat, add a couple tablespoons of oil and sear ribs until browned on all sides. If soy sauce/brown sugar starts burning, just add a bit of water to pan.
Once browned on each side, put pan in oven (you can add a splash of little more water if needed to keep from burning-the pan will get a bit dark from the sugar). Bake for 25 minutes. **while your pork is baking get your water boiling for noodles and prepare salad ingredients)
Remove ribs from oven and slice thinly. Place pork back into pan on stove top. Turn on medium high heat, add what's left of marinade, stir and cook for a couple more minutes. Remove from pan.
To make Vermicelli Noodles
Add Noodles to pot of boiling water and cook for 2-4 minutes. Remove and drain. Briefly run under cold water. (I just followed packaged directions) Drain.
Assemble salad - add noodles, add caramelized pork, cucumbers, matchstick carrots, fresh mint leaves, fresh cilantro and red onion. Dress salad with Wozz! Vietnamese Mint Lime and Chili Sauce and Dressing. Squeeze fresh lime over top and garnish with sesame seeds and additional lime wedges.
If you want some extra chili heat, add additional chopped fresh chili or add a little Wozz! Super Hot Chili Sambal
