Vietnamese Lemongrass Beef Salad (Bun Bo Xao)

One of the most common Vietnamese dishes is some form of grilled, marinated beef served on, in, or at least near some rice noodles. Just like tex-mex food in Jim Gaffigan's words (tortillas with meat, cheese, or vegetables), bun bo xao is one such construction of beef with rice noodles and cilantro, and is on almost every Vietnamese menu other than at pho restaurants. I've made pho before, but have actually never made this dish until now. It turns out that not only is it somewhat simple, it's also incredibly delicious, and replicates the restaurant version almost identically.

I made this dish by merging a few different recipes, some coming from the very excellent book Vietnamese Street Food, by Tracey Lister and Andreas Pohl. The key components of the dish are the lemongrass marinated beef, the raw salad components, and the seasoning sauce, nuoc cham truyen thong.

Lemongrass Beef over Rice Noodles, Bun Bo Xao
Adapted from Vietnamese Street Food

• 10.5 ounces lean beef, such as top round steak
• 2 shallots, roughly chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 3 lemongrass stems, white part only, roughly chopped
• 1 long red chile, seeded and roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
• 2 tsp fish sauce
• 6 cups cooked vermicelli rice noodles
• 1/2 cup cilantro sprigs
• 2 cups mung bean sprouts
• 4-6 perilla leaves, if you can find them
• 4 lime wedges

• 3 tbsp fish sauce.
• 3.5 fl oz lime juice
• 1 tsp rice vinegar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 long red chile, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp julienned carrot strips
• 2 tbsp julienned daikon strips

Thinly slice steak and place in a bowl. Place shallots, garlic, lemongrass, and chile in a mortar (or food processor) and break down into a paste. Add the sesame seeds and crush. Spoon the paste and fish sauce over the beef and let sit, covered, in the fridge for 1 hour. Meanwhile, soak 12 bamboo skewers. When ready, thread steak onto skewers. Heat grill to high and cook for 3-4 minutes, until lightly charred and cooked through.

For the seasoning sauce, combine fish sauce, lime juice, vinegar, and sugar in a bowl, and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add garlic, chile, and julienned vegetables.

To assemble the dish, drain the noodles and divide into four bowls. and place small mounds of sprouts, cilantro, shredded perilla leaves, and whatever other garnishes you like (cabbage, carrot, daikon, etc.) Place four skewers' worth of meat on top of the plate, and set a lime wedge on the plate. Take a quarter of the sauce and place in a small serving bowl to present with the dish.