Sort Of Vietnamese Style Rice Noodle Bowl With Stuff

Rice Noodles and Stuff Bowl a la some Vietnamese restaurants I’ve been to: A Recipe

one day I'll get good at food photography maybe

For 4 people

You Will Need: 4 Bowls

You Will Also Need:

-          rice noodles for 4 people

-          coarsely chopped peanuts

-          1 big tomato, cut in 8 wedges

-          lettuce, shredded

-          fresh mint

For the stir-fried veggies:

-          6 carrots chopped VERY THIN or grated

-          1 or 2 red peppers, cut into strips

-          3 onions sliced

-          4 cloves of garlic minced

-          thumb sized piece of ginger minced

-          1 hot pepper (optional)

-          oil for frying

-          soy sauce

For the beef:

-          beef (tender, cut into small strips)

Marinated in:

-          soy sauce

-          apple cider vinegar

-          black pepper

-          honey

And:

-          something crunchy and spring-rolls-esque. I deep fried okra the first time I made this, and the second time I totally cheated and bought an order of spring rolls from a restaurant and chopped them up. You can probably use corn chips, broken up pappadams, or your imagination.

OTHER THINGS: this meal is really easy to add lots of fun extra stuff too. Suggestions:

-          any pickled veggies, especially jalapeno peppers or carrots

-          bean sprouts

-          fresh herbs

-          egg or spring rolls

-          dumplings (easy addition if you have them frozen or pre-made)

What you do:

I think in real Vietnamese restaurants this is often made with pickled veggies but this is MY version so we’re doing it MY WAY. So there. Fry onions, carrots, garlic, and ginger, with oil and soysauce, on low heat for a long time, so that the carrots get nice and soft—add water if you need to so they don’t stick.

(If you are doing okra, cut it into inch pieces and put it in a pan with a lot of oil, and leave it there on medium high heat for about 20 or 30 minutes or until it is crunchy and brown, then pat off grease with paper towel and salt it.)

While the stuff is frying, marinate your beef. I used a lot of honey and pepper, because that is delicious. The soy sauce and cider vinegar are mostly for liquidification of the marinade. You can also add crushed ginger and garlic to it if you are not lazy like I was.

When your veggies are almost cooked, throw the beef on a hot pan with a teensy bit of oil—sear it on both sides, make it tender, you know what I’m talking about. I am not an expert beef-cooker but this was surprisingly (to me) not difficult.

Cook the rice noodles.

Now make your bowls. In each bowl, layer in this order: rice noodles, lettuce, fried veggies, beef. Top with lots of chopped peanuts, mint, tomato, and whatever else you’re adding. EVERYONE WILL BE SO IMPRESSED. Also, this seems complex but really there isn't much cooking, so it’s an easy thing to throw together for yourself, for lunch or whatever, especially if you have pre-cooked any of the ingredients.

Mangez!