Great Vietnamese Recipes

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Bun Cha Ha Noi (Obama Noodles)

Ingredients

Noodles and Salad

  • 8 ounces rice vermicelli
  • 1 head Boston lettuce 8 ounces, torn into bite-size pieces
  • 1 English cucumber peeled, quartered lengthwise, seeded, and sliced thin on bias
  • 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves and stems
  • 1 cup fresh mint leaves torn if large

Sauce

  • 1 small Thai chile stemmed and minced
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 garlic clove minced
  • ⅔ cup hot water
  • 5 tablespoons fish sauce
  • ¼ cup lime juice 2 limes

Pork Patties

  • 1 large shallot minced
  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce
  • 1 ½ teaspoons sugar
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • 1 pound ground pork

Instructions

FOR THE NOODLES AND SALAD:

  • Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Stir in noodles and cook until tender but not mushy, 4 to 12 minutes. Drain noodles and rinse under cold running water until cool. Drain noodles very well, spread on large plate, and let stand at room temperature to dry. Arrange lettuce, cucumber, cilantro, and mint separately on large platter and refrigerate until needed.

FOR THE SAUCE:

  • Mash Thai chile, 1 tablespoon sugar, and garlic to fine paste using the side of a chef's knife on a cutting board. Transfer to medium bowl and add hot water and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Stir in fish sauce and lime juice. Set aside.

FOR THE PORK PATTIES:

  • Combine shallot, fish sauce, sugar, baking soda, and pepper in medium bowl. Add pork and mix until well combined. Shape pork mixture into 12 patties, each about 2½ inches wide and ½ inch thick.
  • Preheat grill pan until smoking. Lightly brush with oil just before adding pork patties.
  • Cook patties until well charred, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer grilled patties to bowl with sauce and gently toss to coat. Let stand for 5 minutes.

Assemble

  • Transfer patties to serving plate, reserving sauce. Serve noodles, salad, sauce, and pork patties separately.
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Pho

Phở, pronounced "fuh," is a Vietnamese soup that is normally made with a bone-beef broth, banh pho noodles, and thinly sliced beef, that's often served with bean sprouts and other fresh herbs on the side.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Vietnamese
Keyword Beef

Ingredients

For Soup

  • 10 lb mixed beef leg bones shin, knuckle and marrow bones
  • 12 oz ginger 2 large hands, halved lengthwise
  • 1 head large garlic halved crosswise
  • 4 kg medium yellow onion halved lengthwise
  • 8 sticks cinnamon
  • ¼ cup whole black peppercorn
  • 6 pods whole star anise
  • 1 lb beef brisket
  • kosher salt
  • ¼ cup fish sauce plus more to taste
  • 1 lb boneless sirloin steak
  • 1 lb flat rice noodle cooked according to package instructions

For Garnish

  • 2 cups fresh mung bean sprouts
  • 1 small red onion very thinly sliced lengthwise
  • 1 jalapeño sliced into thin rounds
  • 1 large bunch fresh thai basil
  • 1 lime cut into wedges
  • hoisin sauce
  • sriracha

Instructions

Make Stock

  • Place the beef bones in a large stock pot, then add enough cold water to cover by 2 inches (5 cm). Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat and cook for 10 minutes to blanch the bones and remove any impurities.
  • Set a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the broiler.
  • Drain the bones in a colander and rinse under cold running water. Return the blanched bones to the stockpot.
  • Arrange the ginger, garlic, and onions cut-side up on a rimmed baking sheet and broil on high until the aromatics are deeply charred in spots, 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and add to the stockpot with the bones.
  • Combine the cinnamon sticks, peppercorns, and star anise in a medium skillet over medium-high heat and toast, shaking the pan occasionally, until the spices are darkened in spots and extremely fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add the toasted spices to the stockpot.
  • Season the brisket liberally with salt and add it to the stockpot.
  • Fill the pot with enough cold water to cover everything by 1 inch (2 cm). Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium to maintain a gentle simmer, skimming off and discarding any fat that floats to the top as needed, until the brisket is fork-tender, 2-3 hours.
  • Using tongs, transfer the brisket to a plate and let cool completely. Refrigerate the brisket until ready to serve.
  • Continue to simmer the broth to get as much flavor out of the bones as possible, 3-4 hours more.
  • Using tongs, remove and discard the bones and aromatics. Slowly strain the broth through a fine mesh strainer set over a large pot. Skim and discard the fat from the broth, then stir in the fish sauce. Taste and add more as desired. Serve immediately or refrigerate.

Assemble

  • Thinly slice the brisket. Very thinly slice the raw sirloin steak against the grain.
  • Divide the noodles among 6-8 large bowls, then top with the brisket and raw steak. Ladle the hot broth over the noodles and meat and serve immediately with the bean sprouts, onion, jalapeño, Thai basil, lime wedges, hoisin sauce, and Sriracha alongside.

Notes

Learn more about Pho: https://spoonuniversity.com/how-to/what-is-pho
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Banh Mi

Street food at it's finest: this popular Vietnamese sandwich combines sweet, sour, crunchy and soft in one delicious—and portable—package.
Course Lunch, Sandwich
Cuisine Vietnamese
Keyword Culinary 4

Ingredients

For Marinated Vegetables

  • ½ cup rice vinegar
  • ¼ cup water
  • ¼ cup white sugar
  • ¼ cup carrot cut into 1/16-inch-thick matchsticks
  • ¼ cup white daikon radish, cut into 1/16-inch-thick matchsticks
  • ¼ cup thinly sliced white onion

For Chicken

  • 1 skinless boneless chicken breast half
  • garlic salt to taste
  • ground black pepper to taste

For Assembly

  • 1 12 inch French baguette
  • 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • ¼ cup thinly sliced cucumber lengthwise, to create long strips
  • 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro leaves hand torn
  • 1 small jalapeno pepper seeded and cut into 1/16-inch-thick matchsticks
  • 1 wedge lime

Instructions

Marinade Vegetables

  • Place rice vinegar, water, and sugar into a saucepan over medium heat, bring to a boil, and stir until the sugar has dissolved, about 1 minute. Allow the mixture to cool.
  • Pour the cooled vinegar mixture over the carrot, radish, and onion in a bowl, and allow to stand for at least 30 minutes. Drain off the excess vinegar mixture after the vegetables have marinated.
  • While the vegetables are marinating, preheat the oven’s broiler, and set the oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source. Lightly oil a slotted broiler pan.

Prepare Chicken

  • Sprinkle the chicken breast with garlic salt and pepper, and broil on slotted broiler pan, turning once, until the center of the chicken breast is no longer pink and the surface has browned, about 6 minutes per side. Remove the broiled chicken, and slice into bite-size pieces.

Assemble

  • Slice the baguette in half the long way, and pull the center of the bread out of the baguette halves, leaving a cavity for the filling. Place the baguette halves under the broiler to lightly toast, 2 to 3 minutes.
  • Spread each half of the toasted baguette with mayonnaise, and fill the cavity of the bottom half of the bread with broiled chicken, cucumber slices, pickled carrot, onion, and radish, cilantro leaves, and jalapeno pepper. Squeeze a wedge of lime over the filling, and top with the other half of the baguette.