Juicy, caramelized and tender Vietnamese style grilled pork. Charred to perfection.
Thit nuong in Vietnamese translates to grilled meat or barbecued meat. Typically, you'll find pork to be the preferred meat of choice but this recipe also works well with chicken and beef. Thit nuong is commonly served with vermicelli noodles (bun) or broken rice (com tam), an array of fresh vegetables and side of fish sauce (nuoc cham) for dipping.
This grilled pork recipe is the perfect balance of sweet and savory with a nice charred flavor. For this recipe, I typically like to use pork shoulder that I'll thinly slice, as it has a nice ratio of lean meat and fat and it's relatively inexpensive. You can also use pork chop or pork loin if you prefer leaner cuts of meat. For best results, I recommend using a grill basket similar to this one as you're working with thinner slices of meat and this will make flipping a lot easier. I bought mine from my local Asian grocery store which has a wood handle.
Grilled basket used to grill thit nuong.
Juicy, caramelized and savory pork with delicious charred bits.
Com Tam Thit Nuong: Thit nuong, broken rice, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, do chua (pickled carrot and daikon) and a fried egg. Served with nuoc cham or Vietnamese dipping sauce made of fish sauce, sugar, garlic, Thai chilis and lime juice.
Ingredients:
1 lb of pork shoulder, thinly sliced
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp light brown sugar
2 tsp thick soy sauce
1 tbsp garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
Mince garlic and shallots and place in a small bowl and mix in fish sauce, sugar, thick soy sauce, salt, and pepper until thoroughly combined.
Slice the pork shoulder into quarter-inch thick slices and place into a large mixing bowl.
Pour the marinade onto the sliced pork and mix well to ensure that all pieces are thoroughly coated.
Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for a minimum of 1 hour, or overnight for best results.
Preheat the grill to medium heat for 5 mins.
Lightly brush the grill basket with vegetable or canola oil, place the marinated pork in a single layer onto the basket.
Place the grill basket onto the grill and cook for 10 mins or until fully cooked, flipping the basket on each side every 2 - 3 mins to evenly char both sides. Repeat with remaining pork.
Slice the pork and serve with rice or noodles, vegetables and a side of fish sauce for dipping. Enjoy!
