Vietnamese Pork And Noodle Bowls
Based on the traditional Vietnamese street food, bun cha, these pork and noodle bowls consist of flavorful pork patties atop soft noodles, eaten with fragrant herbs, crisp lettuce, cucumber, and a rich, tangy sauce. Happily, we discovered shirataki noodles—a Japanese noodle made from the roots of the konjac plant
Ingredients
- ¼ cup unsweetened creamy peanut butter
- 3 tablespoons water
- 4 teaspoons fish sauce divided
- 1½ teaspoons grated lime zest divided, plus 1 tablespoon juice
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- ½ small Thai chile stemmed and minced
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 small shallot minced
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 12 ounces ground pork
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 2 7- to 8-ounce packages shirataki noodles, drained
- 3 ounces Boston lettuce torn into bite-size pieces
- ¼ English cucumber 4 ounces, peeled, quartered lengthwise, seeded, and sliced thin on bias
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves
- ¼ cup chopped fresh mint
Instructions
- Whisk peanut butter, water, 1 tablespoon fish sauce, ½ teaspoon lime zest, lime juice, oil, chile, and garlic together in bowl; set aside.
- Combine shallot, pepper, remaining 1 teaspoon fish sauce, and remaining 1 teaspoon lime zest in large bowl. Add pork and gently mix with your hands until thoroughly combined. Pinch off and roll
- mixture into 6 balls. Gently flatten balls into round disks, about ½ inch thick and 3 inches in diameter.
- Heat coconut oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add patties and cook until well browned on first side and crust forms, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip patties, reduce heat to
- medium, and continue to cook until well browned and crust forms on second side, about 5 minutes. Transfer patties to paper towel–lined plate.
- Meanwhile, bring 2 quarts water to boil in large pot. Stir in noodles and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes. Drain noodles well, then divide among individual serving bowls. Top with lettuce,
- cucumber, and patties. Drizzle with sauce and top with cilantro and mint. Serve