Pork is marinated with lemongrass, fish sauce and citrus then grilled on skewers. Served with a light and crunchy salad including cucumber and cilantro.
Courtesy of Katerina Wright.
Directions for: Vietnamese-Style Pork Skewers with a Crunchy Salad
Ingredients
Pork Marinade1 stalks lemongrass
1 Tbsp onion
1 clove garlic
1 tsp black pepper
2 Tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp sriracha (or other hot sauce)
500 g pork butt or shoulder
Saladcucumber
1 large carrot
1 scallion
cup cilantro leaves
2 serving of rice vermicelli (approximately 125g)
Dipping Saucecup fish sauce
1 lime, juiced
2 Tbsp brown sugar
3 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 small fresh red chili, de-seeded and finely chopped
1 Tbsp grated carrot
cup water
AssemblyDirections
Pork Marinade1. To make the marinade, trim the ends off your lemon grass stalk and remove the hard outer most leaves. Roughly chop and add to a mini food processor bowl (or mortar and pestle) along with the onion, garlic, pepper, fish sauce, brown sugar, sriracha and a tablespoon of water.
2. Pulse the mixture together, scraping down the bowl as necessary until all the ingredients form a rough paste.
3. Cut the pork into roughly 1 cubes.
4. Combine the pork and the marinade and refrigerate for 4- 24 hours.
Salad1. For the salad, you want the cucumber and carrots to be in thin long strips. The easiest way to do this is with a vegetable peeler or mandolin. Once you have thin slices, cut them lengthwise so nothing is wider than approximately 1 cm.
2. Add to a medium bowl along with the cilantro leaves.
3. Trim the ends off the scallion and cut into 4 long pieces. Cut each piece lengthwise into a strip as thin as you can and add to the salad.
Dipping Sauce1. Combine all ingredients for the dipping sauce in a small bowl and taste. If it is too strong add 1-2 tablespoons more water as fish sauces vary and the sauce should be pungent but mild.
Assembly1. Heat your barbecue to high heat and lightly oil the grate.
2. Remove the pork from the marinade and put on skewers.
3. Cook the vermicelli according to the package directions. Once cooked rinse under cold water to cool. Drain the noodles. Toss the noodles with the other salad ingredients along with 3-4 tablespoons of the dipping sauce or enough that the noodles are well coated.
4. Grill pork skewers over medium-high direct heat until crispy and lightly charred on all sides and cooked through, about 8-10 minutes.
5. Serve skewers hot on top of the Vietnamese salad with extra dipping sauce on the side.
See more: Dinner, Main, Pork, BBQ, Low-Fat, Summer