Y’all know I have many loves in this world…Coffee, Tacos, Noodles, Lemongrass and my Traeger Grill! I’m going to combine a few of my loves (lemongrass, noodles and my bbq) to make an epic noodle bowl!

The great thing about this recipe is that you can grill up the meat and repurpose in multiple ways for leftovers.

First thing you want to get started on is the marinade for the meat. I typically use pork in this dish but if you aren’t down with that, sub chicken or beef…they all work! The simple marinade is made up of lemongrass, fish sauce, garlic, water, soy sauce and sugar. (If you want to kick it up a notch in the spice department add some sriracha or sambal oelek).

Next you want to get out your boneless pork cutlets and pound them with a mallot to make sure they are thin.

Add the pork to a large ziploc bag and then pour the marinade in to the bag, seal and place in the fridge overnight ideally. The longer you let this marinade, the better the flavour will be.

If you want to get a head start on the dressing that goes over the noodle bowl, go for it. It can be made a head of time and placed in the fridge for when you are ready to use. I love making this Nuoc Cham style dressing because it brings the bowl together. Get out a mason jar (with a lid so you can shake it up afterwards) and place all the ingredients for the dressing inside. Sugar, fish sauce, fresh lime juice, chilli flakes, crushed clove of garlic and warm water. I typically use warm water because it will melt the sugar granules.

Now it’s bowl assembly time!! Prepare your rice noodles according to the package directions. Honestly, I typically put the dried noodles in a bowl and the pour hot water from my kettle over top covering the noodles. After a few minutes, test that the noodles are done and if they are, drain the water and set noodles aside. Fool proof and no cooking required!

Chop all of the veggies and herbs you want to have in your noodle bowl. I typically have a variety of the following veggies, julienned carrots, chopped cucumbers, green onions, bean sprouts, cilantro, mint, shredded lettuce and some chopped/crushed peanuts.

Grill your meat on the bbq and when it’s done, let it rest for 10 min to keep the moisture in. Then I slice the pork in to fine slices and get ready to assemble one heck of an awesome bowl!!

When assembling the bowls, place a handful of noodles in the bottom of a bowl, then arrange your veggies and meat. Top with fresh chopped herbs and crushed peanuts and then pour desired amount of sauce over the bowl. Get ready to CRUSH THIS BAD BOY!! So good and so fresh!!

I often take leftovers for my lunch to work the next day, Hot tip though…make sure you put the nuoc Cham dressing in a sealed container and even put that container in a ziploc bag…you don’t want fish sauce spilling all over your stuff…TRUST ME! Fish sauce is crazy delicious but man it stinks!! Other repurposed meals I typically make with this lemongrass pork are: Banh Mi Sandwiches, lettuce wraps and more noodle bowls.

Lemongrass Pork Noodle Bowls

Ingredients

Marinade for the meat

• 2 Stalks of Lemongrass chopped super fine. *If you can’t find lemongrass, don’t sweat it, use lemongrass paste (2 tbsp) from the store or you can make lemongrass paste like I do, check out the recipe:Lemongrass Paste
• 1 Tbsp Fish Sauce
• 2 Garlic Cloves minced
• 1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
• 3 Tbsp water
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp sriracha or sambal oelek (Optional)

Meat

• 6 boneless pork cutlets (or meat of your choice)

Nuoc Cham Dressing (makes about 3/4 cup of dressing)

• 3 Tbsp Fish Sauce
• 4 Tbsp Lime Juice
• 3 Tbsp Sugar
• 1 crushed garlic clove
• 3 Tbsp warm water (more if you think the fish sauce is too pungent)
• Pinch of chilli flakes

Noodle bowl fixin’s

• Chopped cucumber, green onions, julienned carrots, shredded lettuce
• Beansprouts
• Herbs: Cilantro, Mint (optional)
• Crushed peanuts
• Prepared rice noodles

Directions

1. Make your marinade for the meat
2. Prepare your Nuoc Cham dressing by pouring all dressing ingredients in a glass jar and then shake it up.
3. Pound your meat using a mallot to flatten it out a bit
4. Add meat to a large ziploc bag and pour marinade over it. (Let marinade for a few hours, ideally overnight)
5. Grill meat, let rest for 10 minutes afterwards and then chop in to slices
6. Assemble noodle bowls: noodles on the bottom and then add all of your desired fixin’s and meat
7. Add crushed peanuts on top and then pour desired amount of sauce over the noodle bowl

Hope you enjoy this lovely dish because it packs a great punch!! Pack your leftovers up for an awesome little lunch the following day 🙂