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