3 Ways to Make the Best Central Vietnamese Fermented Fish Noodle Dish at Home

Prepare Ingredients

Pork belly bought should be rubbed with salt to eliminate any odor, then rinsed twice with clean water and drained.

Pineapple can be peeled by the seller for convenience; at home, you just need to wash it, cut off the core, and then slice it into small pieces.

Peel the garlic and chop it finely, while the chili should also be stemmed and chopped.

Boil the Pork

Put the pork belly into a pot with 500ml of water, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate, then place it on the stove.

Cover the pot and boil the pork on medium heat for about 10 minutes until the pork is tender and can easily be pierced through with chopsticks, then turn off the heat, remove the pork, let it cool, and slice it into thin pieces.

Make the Mam Nem sauce

Next, add the ingredients including: garlic and pineapple sliced, along with half of the chopped chili into a blender, cover the lid and blend at high speed for about 3 seconds until the pineapple, garlic, and chili are finely mixed together, then stop.

Open the lid, remove the blade, then add 250g of good Mam Nem and 2 tablespoons of sugar, stir well and mix until the sugar is completely dissolved, and you have finished making the Mam Nem sauce!

Completion

Finally, you just need to prepare a bowl of white vermicelli, then thinly slice the cucumber and add the washed herbs along with the sliced pork.

Pour in a little bit of the prepared fish sauce, add two small slices of chili, then mix well and enjoy!

Final Product

The vermicelli with fish sauce and boiled pork after completion will have an enticing aroma characteristic of the fish sauce blended with a hint of fragrant garlic.

When eating, you will taste the fresh, crunchy vegetables combined with the sweet, fatty boiled pork that is cooked just right, mingling with the well-prepared fish sauce that is deliciously flavorful.

Prepare the ingredients

The fish cake you buy should be put in a pan to fry briefly until hot, then cut into small, bite-sized pieces.

For convenience, you should ask the seller to peel the pineapple and remove the eyes, then wash it clean, discard the core, and chop finely.

Shallots and garlic should be peeled, crushed, and minced. Remove the stems from the chili peppers and mince them finely. Take 1 stalk of lemongrass, wash it clean, and chop it finely.

Fresh herbs served with the dish should be sorted, washed clean, and drained. To eliminate the odor from the pork, rub salt around the surface of the meat and then rinse it twice with clean water.

The pig’s ears should be washed clean to remove any bad smell, put into a pot with 1 piece of ginger and 3 stalks of crushed lemongrass, then blanch in boiling water for about 8 minutes until the ears are firm, then remove.

Next, wash again with clean water, then use a knife to scrape off all the dirt and hair remaining on the pig’s ears, then soak the ears in diluted salt water for about 5 minutes, wash clean, and let drain.

Boil and slice the meat and pig’s ears

Place a pot on the stove, then add about 500ml of water along with the pig’s ears and pork that have been deodorized, along with 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of MSG.

Cover the pot, boil the meat and pig’s ears on low heat for about 15 minutes until the pork and pig’s ears can easily be pierced through with chopsticks, then turn off the heat.

Remove the meat, let it cool, and slice it thinly. After removing the pig’s ears, soak them in a bowl of cold ice water for about 3 minutes to maintain their crunchiness, then slice them with a knife.

Mixing the dipping sauce

Add 2 teaspoons of annatto oil, minced shallots, minced garlic, minced lemongrass, and minced chili into the pan, sauté evenly over low heat for about 1 minute until the ingredients become fragrant, then use a sieve to add 100g of dipping sauce into the pot.

Then, add 1 tablespoon of sugar and 100ml of water, cook over medium heat while stirring for about 3 minutes until the spices dissolve completely and the dipping sauce starts to boil, then add the minced pineapple into the sieve, and use a spoon to press down so that the pineapple juice falls into the dipping sauce pot.

Next, scoop 1 tablespoon of the pineapple pulp that has been pressed for juice into the pot and stir until the pineapple pulp is blended into the dipping sauce, then turn off the heat.

Completion

Finally, you just need to put a sufficient amount of white noodles into a bowl, then arrange cucumber, bean sprouts, fresh herbs, fish cake, pig’s ear, and pork in it.

Then, pour a little of the freshly mixed dipping sauce into the noodle bowl, mix well, and enjoy!

Final Product

After completion, the bun mam nem cha ca will have a very beautiful and attractive color from the ingredients. When eaten, one can feel the pork ear that has been boiled to a rich, soft, and crunchy texture that is quite enjoyable, while the fish cake is chewy and delicious, fried to a fragrant and hot perfection.

Not only that, but the fresh herbs served alongside are also fresh and tasty with the just-made white noodles, fragrant with rice aroma, all mixed evenly with the rich and aromatic mam nem sauce, creating an incredibly alluring flavor that anyone who has tasted it will remember forever!

Prepare Ingredients

To eliminate the unpleasant odor from the pork, use 3 slices of smashed ginger and 1 tablespoon of salt to rub on the surface of the meat until the salt is mostly dissolved. Then wash it thoroughly with water two times and make a long cut down the middle of the meat to help the seasoning penetrate better.

After having the seller peel off the skin and eyes, remove the core of the pineapple and chop it into small pieces. Peel the garlic, and for the chili, just remove the stem and cut it into small pieces using scissors, then put everything into a multifunctional blender. Blend at high speed for about 10 seconds until the ginger, garlic, and chili are finely chopped, then stop and transfer to a bowl.

For the accompanying vegetables, simply rinse them clean, remove the leaves, and let them drain.

Marinating and Roasting Meat

First, add 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 3 teaspoons of sugar, 1.5 tablespoons of seasoning powder, 1/3 teaspoon of monosodium glutamate, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 tablespoon of garlic powder, 1/2 tablespoon of ginger powder, 1/2 tablespoon of five-spice powder, and 1 piece of fermented tofu into a bowl.

Then wear gloves and mix all the spices together. Next, use the mixed spices to massage evenly around the meat of the pork belly so that the spices coat the meat evenly, then stop.

Flip the pork belly over and use a paper towel to wipe off any spices sticking to the skin while marinating the meat. Then add 1 teaspoon of salt and 2 tablespoons of vinegar into the bowl, stir well until the salt dissolves, and use a brush to spread the mixed vinegar evenly over the skin until it is wet, then stop.

Place it in the refrigerator refrigerator and let it marinate overnight for about 6 – 8 hours to keep the meat fresh and evenly absorb the spices.

Next, put the marinated pork belly in the oven, cover it, and roast for about 30 minutes at a temperature of 200 degrees Celsius until the meat is evenly browned, then flip it over so the skin is on top and use a brush to apply a layer of the mixed vinegar and salt onto the skin.

Cover the oven again and continue roasting for another 30 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius until the skin is golden and crispy, then remove the roasted pork.

Mix the dipping sauce

Add to a bowl containing the fragrant mixture of garlic and finely chopped chili 150ml of dipping sauce, 1 tablespoon of sugar, then stir well until all the ingredients dissolve.

Completion

After removing the roasted pork, place it on a cutting board and use a knife to cut it into thin slices about 1/3 of a finger thick.

Next, add a little washed bean sprouts along with white noodles, sliced roasted pork, fresh herbs, and chopped cucumber into a bowl, then drizzle a portion of the mixed dipping sauce on top, mix well and enjoy!

Final Product

When eating the noodle dish with roasted pork and fermented fish sauce, you will experience the rich and enticing flavor of the fermented fish sauce combined with the fresh and crunchy taste of vegetables and the crispy, fatty, and flavorful aroma of the roasted pork.

This dish is perfect to make and enjoy with family and friends during weekend gatherings; it’s simply the best! Give it a try!