–Sigh–. Vietnamese vermicelli. This is by far one of my favourite dishes in Vietnamese cuisine. It’s simple, fresh, colourful, tasty and healthy. It’s also one of the dishes where I find newbies to Viet food are wary to try unless a friend in the know suggest it, which is why I am recommending it to all of you!
Grilled pork vermicelli
So what are vermicelli dishes? In a nutshell, it is a combination meat/salad dish over thin rice vermicelli noodles, where the vermicelli (usually cold or room temperature) is topped with charcoal-grilled, thinly-sliced marinated meats or seafood such as chicken, pork, beef, meatballs, shrimp, or calamari, and then finished with fresh salad greens, bean sprouts, fresh herbs including mint and coriander, chopped peanuts (beware allergies!!) and a pickled assortment of carrots, cucumber and daikon radishes.
Mix this all up together with some choice additions of lime, srirachi hot sauce and the robust Nuoc cham sauce made with fish sauce, lemon juice, vinegar, garlic, sugar and chili sauce, and the end result is a medley of absolute goodness! Also, a vermicelli bowl is almost always served with a crispy spring roll making it the perfect combo meal for one.
Spring roll vermicelli
Vermicelli can be found on the menu of every Vietnamese restaurant so be sure to give it a shot next time: I recommend the grilled pork or chicken, which really soak up the bold flavours of the marinating liquid to give you a true taste of Vietnamese ingredients.
Photo Credit: Thanh Tran
Seriously salivating looking at the pics! The grilled pork looks delicious!
Fish sauce, too!
sometimes a bowl of vermicelli looks like an oversized individual salad to me. i love to get the fried spring rolls with it.
you’ve gotta try the dish called bun cha hanoi. it is the best! not sure where you can get it in toronto though
the spring rolls are my favs in this dish