This is the dish by which we judge Vietnamese restaurants. There is a place up near where Bryce did his Motorola training that serves the BEST. It's B4 on their menu... and though the menu easily has over a hundred items on it, go in there any given lunch rush and at least half of the people there are eating B4's. Their's is the gold standard for bun thit nuong cha gio (with fried spring rolls... not included in this recipe).
To get the pronunciation about right say "boon tit noong"
Serves about 4. Taken largely from http://wanderingchopsticks.blogspot.com/2008/01/bun-thit-heo-nuong-tom-cha-gio.html
Meat:
1+ lbs pork shoulder or butt (or as Lee Lee's labels it "pork shoulder butt")
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 large shallot, minced
2 t. Nuoc Mam (Vietnamese Fish Sauce)
1 t. sugar
1 t. salt
1 t. ground black pepper
Slice meat about 1/4" thick and into pieces manageable in a bite or two with chopsticks. Mix with other ingredients and marinate until you're ready to cook or for the rest of the afternoon. Just before serving, grill over hot coals... you want some char.
Shrimp:
shrimp, peeled (8 large OR 16 medium)
1 T fish sauce
a few good grinds of black pepper
2 t. oil
Marinate in a bowl for 5-10 minutes. Skewer and grill with pork.
Pickled vegetables:
2 carrots
8-10" daikon (a mild white Asian radish that's that's about 2" in diameter and can get pretty long; if you can't find one, use a couple more carrots)
1 T. sugar
1/2 t. salt
1/4 to 1/2 cup white vinegar
Julienne (or spiral cut or...) the vegetables and spread them out in a shallow bowl and sprinkle just enough sugar for a light coating. Add a smidgen of salt. Then pour enough vinegar to submerge about half the vegetables. After about 15 minutes or so, stir the vegetables so the vinegar is mixed. The carrots and daikon should be lightly pickled after about half an hour. Store extra pickles in a glass jar in the fridge.
Sauce:
1/4 c. water
3 T. sugar (can do part splenda)
1/4 c. fish sauce
1/4 c. rice or white vinegar
chili-garlic sauce to taste (I started with about a teaspoon)
Dissolve sugar in water (may have to heat water). Stir in rest.
Bun:
Bun is a Vietnamese rice vermicelli... you want the fine stuff (1/16" to 1/8" in diameter)
Boil some water and dump in as much as your guests are likely to eat (like pasta, there's a wide range of preferences). Cook until just tender and rinse under cool water and drain.
Other veggies:
romaine lettuce, chopped
cucumbers, julienned
pea pods (non-traditional, but I like them), cut in half
AVOCADO! (A also non-traditional ...but you'll thank me)
cilantro &/or mint (traditional) or basil (because I don't care for cilantro or mint in this :-), coarsely chopped
Chopped peanuts
Although this is served constructed in restaurants (with just the sauce for you to pour on top), I like to let people construct theirs to taste.
Traditional construction: Place a little lettuce, cucumbers, pickled veggies in a large bowl. Top with a lot of noodles. Finish with meat, cilantro, & peanuts on top. Pour 2-3 T. sauce over the top.
I last ate this out at a restaurant that swapped the amounts of noodles and lettuce, basically making it a main dish salad... that's what I'll probably do at home for the most part.
