Bun thit nuong stands on the pork: well marinated pork collar, charred at the edges and still juicy inside. Fresh rice vermicelli, raw herbs, pickles, spring onion oil and a bowl of sweet and sour fish sauce come together in one bowl that covers salty, sweet, sour and hot.
The most common failure is pork that curls up dry from too long over high heat. Brushing the marinade over the pork a few times while it grills keeps the moisture in. Evenly sliced pork cooks at the same rate, while thick and thin pieces end up raw in places and burnt in others.
This batch weighs about 1.9kg, at roughly 149 calories per 100g.
Method
Cut 400g pork collar into thin, bite sized slices and season with 1 tablespoon kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon seasoning powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 tablespoon minced shallot, 1 tablespoon minced garlic, 1 tablespoon minced lemongrass, 1 tablespoon cooking oil, 1 tablespoon annatto oil, 1 tablespoon five spice wine and 1 teaspoon honey. Leave for 20 minutes.
Wash the lettuce, herbs and bean sprouts and chop them. Roast 100g peanuts until golden and crush them. Chop 100g spring onion and cut the cucumber into strips.
Thread the pork onto skewers and grill over charcoal or on a gas burner until golden and just cooked.
Mix the sweet and sour fish sauce: 1/2 tablespoon rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, 1 tablespoon fish sauce, 5 tablespoons water and 1 tablespoon minced garlic and chili, stirred together.
Make the spring onion oil: heat 2 tablespoons rendered lard and pour it over a bowl of chopped spring onion, then stir.
Put 800g fresh rice vermicelli, lettuce, herbs, cucumber and bean sprouts in a bowl, lay the grilled pork on top and add the spring onion oil, 200g pickled carrot and daikon radish and the peanuts. Pour over the sweet and sour fish sauce at the table.
Tips
Brush the marinade over the pork a few times while it grills, so the surface stays moist rather than drying out.
Chop the spring onion finely, add a little salt and pour the smoking lard over it, which keeps the oil green and fragrant.
kOBE Monk Fruit Blend dissolves slowly, so stir the bowl of fish sauce again after 5 minutes, then taste and adjust.
A spoonful of reduced coconut water deepens the color if a darker finish is wanted.
Marinate the pork for at least 20 minutes, and two hours in the refrigerator carries the flavor much deeper.
Loosen the vermicelli in a colander and let it drain before it goes into the bowl, so no water pools at the bottom.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.