Bun Bo Nam Bo (Vietnamese Beef Rice Noodle Bowl)

Name: Bun Bo Nam Bo (Vietnamese Beef Rice Noodle Bowl)
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 37 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Ingredients: rice vermicelli 180 g; beef 200 g; fish sauce 2 tbsp; lime juice 2 tbsp; sugar 2 tsp; lettuce 60 g; mint 15 g; roasted peanuts 25 g

Quick answer

Total time: 37 min
Level: Medium
Servings: 2 servings
Ingredients: 8

About this dish

Hold the lime and fish sauce dressing until the bowl is about to be eaten; once it hits the rice noodles, they start to go soft.

The beef is sliced thin against the grain and needs a pan that is already very hot, with room for the slices to lie in a single layer. Crowded slices give off water, so cook in batches and pull each one as soon as the edges brown and no raw red surface is left. Rinse the boiled noodles hard under cold water to wash off the surface starch, and lay the lettuce and cold noodles in the bowl before the warm beef goes on so the greens do not wilt.

Ingredients

servings

IngredientAmount

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Instructions

6 steps

1

Cook 180g rice vermicelli in boiling water for 3 minutes, just until tender.

Rinse immediately under cold water, rubbing lightly to remove starch, then spread in a sieve so excess water drains away.
2

Mix 1.5 tbsp fish sauce, 2 tbsp lime juice, and 2 tsp sugar.

Stir until no sugar grains remain, then set the dressing aside to add just before serving.
3

Slice 200g beef about 2mm thick against the grain.

Coat it evenly with 0.5 tbsp fish sauce, rest for 10 minutes, then let excess seasoning drip from the surface.
4

Dry 60g lettuce and 15g mint well so the bowl does not become watery.

Put the lettuce and cold noodles in serving bowls first, keeping the herbs ready so they stay fresh until assembly.
5

Heat the pan over high heat until very hot, then spread the beef in single-layer batches.

Remove it when the edges are brown and no raw red surface remains, before it overcooks.
6

Top the cold noodles with the warm beef, mint, and 25g crushed roasted peanuts.

Pour on the nuoc cham only right before serving, then toss lightly so the noodles stay springy and the temperature contrast remains clear.