Fresh and Fast Vietnamese Noodle Salad – Bún Chay

Who else is a fan of the delicious, refreshing and moreish Bun Thit Nuong – or Vietnamese Grilled Pork Noodle Salad?! It’s one of my favourite Vietnamese dishes and with this recipe, I can now enjoy it anytime I want at home!

This recipe is for Bún Chay, the Vietnamese noodle salad on its own. Just add your favourite meat (grilled pork / chicken / prawns) or leave it out to make this dish vegetarian.

I have serious cravings for Mama Tran’s Bun Thit Nuong – that’s Grilled Pork Noodle Salad in Vietnamese. It used to be my work friend’s and my weekly treat and it’s something I miss now that I no longer work nearby.

What do I love most about this dish? It’s the combination of fresh salad, smoky grilled pork, flavourful fresh mint and that chilli hit that gets me every time. Like many Vietnamese dishes, it’s the perfect blend of sweet, salt and heat that leaves a lasting impression on your taste buds. The meat and noodles are filling and the salad is light, nutritious and fresh.

Start by grilling or cooking your meat. Once done, keep warm or allow to cook while you make the salad. You can also prepare the meat the day before. This salad is incredibly quick to make and having meat ready to go will make it even quicker!

Now to make the all-important dressing! The dressing is what really makes this dish. Note that my recipe makes enough for two meals so you will end up putting half in the fridge for another day. You could halve the dressing ingredients but it is a bit harder to make in a small quantity and who doesn’t want some of this delicious dressing ready to go for the next night?!

Boil the kettle with enough water for the dressing and to also pour over the rice noodles.

Next, make the dressing: add sugar to a glass measuring jug, pour over the boiling water and mix until the sugar has dissolved. Add in the lime juice, fish sauce and chilli flakes, mix until combined. As much I try to avoid using sugar, it is essential to balance the salty fish sauce, tart lime juice and heat of the chilli. Overall, this is a small amount of sugar to what you might find in traditional creamy dressings, so I don’t worry about it. You could use honey instead of sugar if you would like a more whole food alternative but it will change the flavour.

In one large bowl, or two smaller bowls, place in the lettuce. To get a variety of greens I like to use mixed lettuce leaves but you can also just use iceberg or cos lettuce and shred them.

Thinly slice the capsicum, remove the mint leaves from their stems, and use a vegetable peeler to make ribbons with the carrot. Add them to the bowl/s with the lettuce and toss / mix together.

Place the rice noodles into a heat proof and pour over the boiling water until they are fully submerged. Leave to soften (about 4 minutes).

Once cooked, drain in a colander or sieve and place them back into the bowl. Pour half of the dressing onto the noodles and mix through so that all the noodles are coated. Pour the other half of the dressing into a glass jar and save for another night (place the leftover dressing into the fridge).

Finely slice the spring onions and chillies. Add ¾ of this to the salad and mix through. Keep the other ¼ to garnish with before serving.

Add in the noodles and using your hands, gently toss them through the salad until mixed and the dressing is coating all the salad ingredients.

Finally, add in your cooked meat. Either mix it through the salad or place on top. If I’m feeling extra hungry I also poach or soft boil some eggs and add these.

Sprinkle over some dry-roasted cashews and the remaining spring onion and chilli.

Serve with fresh lemon or lime wedges to squeeze over, more mint and a drizzle of Sriracha if you like it hot!

Nutrition information (below) does not include your choice of meat and only 1/2 of the dressing as per recipe instructions.

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