Hot weather calls for Vietnamese grilled beef noodle bowl (bún thịt bò nướng). When you ordered this traditional Vietnamese dish at a restaurant, it comes with a bunch of different side ingredients. This makes it seem daunting to re-create the dish at home. But don’t be discouraged. I will show you how to make this dish at home.
What’s in the grilled beef noodle bowl?
Grilled beef noodle bowl is a traditional and popular Vietnamese dish that contains cold, rice vermicelli noodles topped with grilled meat, beans sprouts, pickled daikon radish & carrots, lettuce, basil, mint, crushed peanuts and a generous amount of nước chấm (a.k.a. Vietnamese salad dressing/dipping sauce). Because it is served cold, it’s a perfect dish for hot summer days. I’d say this is the Vietnamese version of the American salad.
There are many variations of the dish. You can order it with grilled chicken, grilled beef or grilled pork. You can also add Vietnamese egg rolls in addition to the meat.
As you can see from the ingredients listed above, the only ones that require “cooking” are the grilled meat, egg rolls and noodles. Bean sprouts, lettuce, basil, mint, pickled daikon radish & carrots, crushed peanuts and nước chấm (dressing) are all “garnishing” ingredients. Check out my pickled daikon radish & carrots and my nước chấm (dressing) recipes. Let’s talk about the grilled beef portion of the dish.
Marinade for the beef
The beef marinade is simple. It contains, freshly chopped garlic, garlic powder, fish sauce, sugar, soy sauce, pepper and chili garlic sauce. If you can find flank steak, it’ll be perfect in this recipe. Because beef sirloin was on sale, I used that instead and just cut them into 2-3 inch strips. Covered the beef the marinade overnight in the fridge and placed them on the grill the next day. That’s it, the meat is done.
Ingredients to assemble the grilled beef noodle bowls
Rice noodles
The rice noodles create a base for this dish. But it is overwhelming to choose which rice noodles you should use from the Asian grocery store. For this particular dish, I like to stick with thinner rice noodles instead of the thicker rice noodles. Look for noodle packages that says “bún thịt nướng” on the front. Thicker rice noodles are for pho soups.
Cooking rice noodles is similar to cooking pastas in that you need to salt the water. However, cook the rice noodles completely for this dish instead of al-dente.
Pickled daikon radish & carrots
Pickled daikon radish & carrots is one of my favorite condiments. They have a sweet, sour taste that deliciously compliments any rice, noodle or Vietnamese sandwich (bánh mì) dish…or can be eaten as a snack. The best part is they are so simple to make and stores well in the refrigerator for months.
Fresh herbs and veggies
Vietnamese cooking is big on using fresh herbs and veggies. When you go to a Vietnamese restaurant, the soups are always served with a side of either fresh bean sprouts, mints, lime wedges, lettuce and/or basil. Even the rice dishes comes with fresh veggies like sliced cucumbers. So it’s no surprise that the rice noodle bowls contain:
- Mint
- Basil
- Bean sprouts
- Lettuce
- Green onions
- Cilantro
Dressing (nước chấm)
This dressing or nước chấm in Vietnamese is a must because it adds moisture and a depth of flavor to the otherwise flavorless and dry noodles. It’s fish sauce combined with vinegar, sugar, lime, water, and freshly chopped garlic. If you’re like my husband and is not a fan of fish sauce, don’t worry, my nước chấm recipe does not taste fishy at all, but it is spicy. Just like anything homemade, you can adjust the seasonings to your linking. So whether you like a more spicy, more sweet, or more strong tasting nước chấm, don’t be afraid to play with the ingredients.
Vietnamese egg rolls
If you’ve never had Vietnamese egg rolls, you are missing out. This is my mom’s recipe and these egg rolls are filled with ground pork, shredded jicama, shredded carrots, vermicelli noodles, and shredded mushrooms. No cabbage filled egg rolls here. I make these and put them in the freezer for use as needed. They freeze well and reheat well in the oven.
If you have the egg rolls handy, cut them into 2-3 inch pieces to be placed on top of the noodles. If not, no worries.
Crushed peanuts
Depending on your preference, you can choose to add crushed peanuts or not. I prefer my grilled beef noodle bowls without the crushed peanuts.
Grilled Beef Noodle Bowl (Bún Thịt Bò Nướng)
Ingredients
- ½ package of thin rice vermicelli noodles
Ingredients for beef marinade:
- ½ tsp freshly chopped garlic
- ½ tsp fish sauce
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp chili garlic sauce
- ¼ tsp granulated garlic
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil or canola oil
- 1 pound flank steak
Ingredients for the garnish:
- chopped green onions The amount depends on your taste.
- cilantro The amount depends on your taste.
- bean sprouts The amount depends on your taste.
- basil The amount depends on your taste.
- shredded lettuce I used romaine, but you can use iceberg too.
- pickled daikon radish & carrots The amount depends on your taste.
- Vietnamese salad dressing or nước chấm The amount depends on your taste. I usually pour a generous amount in the rice noodle bowls.
Instructions
Instructions to marinade & cook the beef:
- Combine freshly chopped garlic, fish sauce, sugar, soy sauce, pepper, chili garlic sauce, oil and granulated garlic in a bowl. Mix well. Give the marinade a taste and adjust accordingly.
- Pour the marinade over the flank steak. Let the steak marinade overnight in the fridge in a sealed container.
- The next morning, place the steaks on the grill until it's cooked. Thinly sliced and set the steaks aside to assemble the noodle bowls.
Instructions to cook the rice noodles:
- Place water and salt in a pot and let them come to a boil.
- Add in the desired amount of rice noodles & let it cook until the noodles are tender, but not mushy.
Instructions to assemble the rice noodle bowls:
- Place the shredded lettuce into the bowl.
- Add the rice noodles on top of the lettuce.
- Garnish the noodles with thinly sliced marinaded beef, bean sprouts, basil, cilantro, chopped green onions, pickled daikon radish & carrots.
- Pour a generous amount of Vietnamese salad dressing, or nước chấm over the rice noodles & enjoy.
The next time you’re wondering what to make on a hot and humid day, grill up some flank steak and make this grilled beef noodle bowl.
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