Pork is marinated with lemongrass, fish sauce and citrus then grilled on skewers. Served with a light and crunchy salad including cucumber and cilantro.

Prep Time

    •    Prep time: 25 minutes
    •    Cook time: 15 minutes
    •    Yield: Serves 2

Ingredients

For Pork Marinade:

    •    1 stalks lemongrass
    •    1 Tbsp onion
    •    1 clove garlic
    •    1 tsp black pepper
    •    2 Tbsp fish sauce
    •    1 tsp brown sugar
    •    1 tsp sriracha (or other hot sauce)
    •    500 g pork butt or shoulder

For Salad:

    •    ½ cucumber
    •    1 large carrot
    •    1 scallion
    •    ¼ cup cilantro leaves
    •    2 serving of rice vermicelli (approximately 125g)

For Dipping Sauce:

    •    ½ cup fish sauce
    •    1 lime, juiced
    •    2 Tbsp brown sugar
    •    3 Tbsp rice vinegar
    •    1 small fresh red chili, de-seeded and finely chopped
    •    1 Tbsp grated carrot
    •    ¾ cup water

Method

For Pork Marinade:

1. To make the marinade, trim the ends off your lemon grass stalk and remove the hard outer most leaves. Roughly chop and add to a mini food processor bowl (or mortar and pestle) along with the onion, garlic, pepper, fish sauce, brown sugar, sriracha and a tablespoon of water.
   
   
2. Pulse the mixture together, scraping down the bowl as necessary until all the ingredients form a rough paste.
   
   
3. Cut the pork into roughly 1” cubes.
   
   
4. Combine the pork and the marinade and refrigerate for 4- 24 hours.
   
   

For Salad:

1. For the salad, you want the cucumber and carrots to be in thin long strips. The easiest way to do this is with a vegetable peeler or mandolin. Once you have thin slices, cut them lengthwise so nothing is wider than approximately 1 cm.
   
   
2. Add to a medium bowl along with the cilantro leaves.
   
   
3. Trim the ends off the scallion and cut into 4” long pieces. Cut each piece lengthwise into a strip as thin as you can and add to the salad.
   
   

For Dipping Sauce: Combine all ingredients for the dipping sauce in a small bowl and taste. If it is too strong add 1-2 tablespoons more water as fish sauces vary and the sauce should be pungent but mild.

For Assembly:

1. Heat your barbecue to high heat and lightly oil the grate.
   
   
2. Remove the pork from the marinade and put on skewers.
   
   
3. Cook the vermicelli according to the package directions. Once cooked rinse under cold water to cool. Drain the noodles. Toss the noodles with the other salad ingredients along with 3-4 tablespoons of the dipping sauce or enough that the noodles are well coated.
   
   
4. Grill pork skewers over medium-high direct heat until crispy and lightly charred on all sides and cooked through, about 8-10 minutes.
   
   
5. Serve skewers hot on top of the Vietnamese salad with extra dipping sauce on the side.
   

This great family recipe is thanks to Food-Network Recipes at https://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/vietnamese-style-pork-skewers-with-a-crunchy-salad/12099/