Vietnamese Pork Noodle Bowl

Quarantine cooking has brought home the real need to use everything up in your fridge before heading out to a market for new supplies. That being said, there is some good food being passed around the Internet these days and this is one of the noodle bowls that I saw recently.



The base of this pork noodle soup bowl is, for me, the back end of my Easter dinner pork tenderloin roast, the trimmings from egg roll squares that I trimmed out when I made potstickers a few nights ago, the last of my cocktail tomatoes that needed using, and ginger root, lime juice, and hot garlic chili sauce in a chicken broth. This is a simple soup that has nice big flavour.

Have the lime juice and Sriracha sauce nearby when you serve the soup up.  Bright and spicy !!
Here's how I did it.

Vietnamese Pork Noodle Bowl

Ingredients:

6 green scallions, washed and tipped, chopped into 1/4 inch coins

1 tbsp. peeled and minced ginger root

2 tbsp. peanut oil

6 - 8 chopped cocktail tomatoes (or 1 -2 plum tomatoes), washed and chopped

8 c. chicken broth

2 1/2 tbsp Asian fish sauce

2 tsp. Thai hot garlic-chili paste

1 1/2 c. thinly sliced pork tenderloin roast (or shredded pork roast)

1 can mung bean sprouts, rinsed really well

4 c. thinly sliced egg roll noodle wrappings ( or rice noodles)

1 c. chopped fresh cilantro leaves

2 tbsp. fresh squeezed lime juice

Sriracha sauce for drizzling

Lime wedges for squeezing

Making the Dish:

1. Heat the peanut oil in a large, heavy soup pot over medium heat.

2. Add the whites and soft green sections of the chopped scallions, reserving the dark green tops for adding later. Soften the scallions for a minute or two. Then, add the ginger root. Stir for another minute.

3.  Add the tomatoes, pork, chicken broth, fish sauce, Thai garlic chili paste, and simmer loosely covered for 15 - 20 minutes.

4. Set a pot of water on high heat and bring to a boil. Cook the noodles for 1 -2  minutes. Taste frequently to keep them somewhat firm. These are delicate so don't over cook them.

5. As the noodles finish cooking, drain them, and turn them into the soup with the bean sprouts, reserved dark green scallion coins, lime juice, and cilantro leaves. 

6. Turn the heat off under the soup. Let noodles and sprouts warm in the hot broth and the flavours combine for a minute or two, as the cilantro wilts.

6. Dish a generous mound of the noodles and pork into deep bowls,. Ladle broth over top. Garnish with more chopped cilantro, lime juice to taste, and a drizzle of hot Sriracha sauce.

7. Slurp to your heart's content !