Vietnamese lemongrass pork
I’ve been wanting to recreate the chargrilled lemongrass marinated pork you find “everywhere” on the streets of Vietnam for years – but it always came out dry. Finally figured out the secret to keeping it juicy, so I had to share the recipe immediately! 😂 Across Vietnam, variations of this lemongrass pork are served in various forms. On rice, soups, in rice paper rolls, even in Banh Mi. While all are delicious, my favourite are the popular Vietnamese noodle bowl salads, bun thit nuong. Thin rice noodles, topped with this pork, pickled vegetables, lettuce, a smattering of peanuts, lime and served with nuoc cham, that sauce served with “everything” in Vietnam. I’ve shared the pork noodle bowl as a separate recipe as I wanted to publish the marinated pork separately because I think it’s worthy of your attention! Here’s a photo of the pork rice noodle bowls. I actually took this photo in Vietnam – it’s a dish I bought from a street vendor in Saigon and took back to my hotel to take a photo: Oh look! And said vendor in Saigon. 🙂 They cooked the pork on skewers over charcoal. I’m doing a home version – steaks on a stove. So you can make this any night of the week – rain, hail or shine!
Why you need this Vietnamese pork in your life!
Excellent value – It’s made using economical pork shoulder that is tenderised so it’s juicy like premium pork chops! Flavour plus value – The meat is sliced and pounded thinly for maximum flavour penetration and so less meat goes further. Something different but yet so easy, with ingredients you can get from the local shops. Versatile – Serve at your next BBQ with coconut rice and Asian slaw. Or wait until Friday to make Vietnamese noodle bowls! Deliciousness factor is extremely high for relatively small effort
And because I know someone will ask – yes you can make this with chicken, here it is! 🙂
What you need
Here’s what you need to make this.
Pork shoulder – Generally, this economical, tough cut of pork is slow cooked until it becomes fall-apart tender. Today, we’re using it in a really different way. Sliced thinly, then marinated with baking soda which tenderises it so when it’s cooked hard-and-fast like steak, it is tender like a pricey pork chop. (Links again for glowing reader reviews who have discovered the wonder of this technique with chicken and beef!). Baking soda – also known as bi-carb / bi-carbonate. As noted in the point above, this is what tenderises the tough pork shoulder meat. Lemongrass – For unmistakable, irreplaceable beautiful Vietnamese flavour! Limes – For tang. A Vietnamese food favourite. Sugar – For sweet and caramelisation. Soy sauce and fish sauce – The saltiness. I like to use both to get the right flavour balance. Only fish sauce = too fishy. Only soy sauce = lacks complexity of flavour. Garlic – Lots! Oil – To increase the volume of the marinade so there is the right flavour infusion for the volume of meat we’re using. (Initially I just had more of all the other ingredients but the pork was too salty).
How to make Vietnamese lemongrass marinated pork
The key to this recipe is to slice and pound the pork as thinly as you can. This serves a few purposes:
head start tenderising the flesh opens up the fibres to allow the marinade to penetrate thoroughly increases surface area and flattens the pork to improve surface area char – for optimum real chargrilled street-food flavour! allows us to make this with economical pork shoulder rather than pricey pork tenderloin or chops.
NOTE: Meat tenderised using the baking soda method will be pink inside even when it’s cooked to well done! It’s just what happens. It happens with beef too. 🙂 PRO TIP: To get even(ish) pieces without pulling out the scales, cut the pork shoulder in half, then each half in half again, then each in half again. Voila – 8 pieces! Why mix separately first? To ensure really good, even distribution of the small amount of bi-carb across quite a lot of surface area. I wouldn’t ask you to dirty a bowl unnecessarily 🙂 Why a ziplock bag? Because it keeps the meat completely coated in a relatively small amount of marinade. If you prefer a container, use a small one so the meat is as snugly fitted as possible and toss the pork once or twice during the marinading time. STILL TENDER! Technically, with 2 1/2 minutes of high heat blasting, the thin pork should be overcooked and dry inside, not to mention the tough pork shoulder hasn’t been slow cooked as it should so it should be horridly tough. Nope! The inside is still juicy, and it’s more tender than you ever imagined pork shoulder could be, thanks to the baking soda (read more on this above in the ingredients section). As mentioned above, I’ll share the Vietnamese Pork Noodle Bowls recipe on Friday (UPDATE: here it is!). But think beyond the noodle bowl! Serve it with a side of coconut rice, Vietnamese red fried rice or plain jasmine rice with a side salad. Try one of these:
Vietnamese Chicken salad – minus the chicken Asian Slaw Chang’s Crispy Noodle Cabbage Salad Asian Side Salad Steamed vegetables or any leafy greens drizzled with Asian Sesame Dressing
And just before I sign off, one more look at the pork noodle bowl: It’s so good! ADORE the contrasting textures of the fresh vegetables and herbs with the flavourful marinated lemongrass pork all doused in nuoc cham, the Vietnamese chilli-garlic sauce served with “everything”. What do you think?? Have I convinced you to give this Vietnamese pork a go? I hope so!!! If anything, it’s worth experiencing the magic of the marinade and how tender it makes pork shoulder steaks. Try it!! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
I adore Vietnamese food!
See?
Life of Dozer
When Dozer was in the paper over the Easter break. Specifically, the Good Weekend Magazine! If you wish to continue to believe I’m an innocent angel, please do not read the article.
