Bún (Vietnamese Noodle Salad)

Cold rice noodles with grilled pork, fresh herbs, pickled vegetables, and nuoc cham dressing.

Ingredients

• 8 oz rice vermicelli, cooked and cooled
• 1 lb pork shoulder, thinly sliced, marinated in lemongrass-garlic-fish sauce
• Pickled carrots and daikon (quick pickle → foundation)
• 1 cucumber, julienned
• Bean sprouts
• Fresh mint, cilantro, Thai basil
• Crushed roasted peanuts
• Nuoc cham: 3 tbsp fish sauce, 3 tbsp lime juice, 2 tbsp sugar, 1 garlic clove, 1 Thai chile, 3 tbsp water

Method

1. Grill or pan-sear marinated pork 2 min per side. Slice.

2. Make nuoc cham: dissolve sugar in lime juice, add fish sauce, garlic, chile, water.

3. Build bowls: noodles, lettuce, cucumber, bean sprouts, pickled vegetables, herbs.

4. Top with grilled pork and peanuts. Pour nuoc cham over.

5. Toss everything together before eating.

What You're Practicing

• Bún is Vietnam's answer to a grain bowl — cold noodles, hot protein, fresh herbs, tangy dressing.
• Nuoc cham is the universal Vietnamese dipping sauce — sweet, sour, salty, spicy in perfect balance.
• The contrast of temperatures (cold noodles, hot pork) and textures (crunchy pickles, soft noodles) is the point.