Vietnamese Lemongrass Grilled Pork (Thịt Nướng)

Thịt Nướng is among one of the most popular dishes at Vietnamese restaurants. Unlike phở or egg rolls, thịt nướng is relatively easy to make. The marinade uses ingredients you can find at most grocery stores and it's easy to make on the grill or in the oven. Additionally, you can serve it a number of ways.

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Restaurants will usually serve lemongrass grilled pork as bún thịt nướng, which is a vermicelli rice bowl. The combination of the sweet and spicy fish sauce dressing, herbs, noodles and hot pork is irresistible! Often, restaurants will serve the bowls as a combo, with added grilled shrimp or egg rolls. The pork also tastes delicious in a bánh mì, or sandwich, with mayo, pickled vegetables and cilantro. Lemongrass grilled chicken or beef is also often available, but pork is my favorite.

At home, thịt nướng is often served at barbeques and parties. It's easy to make in bulk and is versatile to serve. I personally like to make gỏi cuốn thịt nướng, or grilled lemongrass pork spring rolls. I take all the ingredients that would go into a noodle bowl and wrap it up in rice paper. It's easy to take to work or school and I love eating with my hands!

Jump to:

• 🍖 Ingredients
• 🔪 Instructions
• 💭 Tips and substitutions
• 🍚 Serving suggestions
• 🥡 How to store or make in advance
• 👪 Serving size
• 📋 Recipe

🍖 Ingredients

You will need:

For the pork

• 1.5 to 2 lbs of a fatty cut of pork, like shoulder or belly. I like to use belly
• 2 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 3 tablespoon sugar or honey
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1-2 shallots, minced
• ½ cup minced lemongrass
• salt and pepper to taste
• bamboo or metal skewers (optional)

Suggested toppings/additions

• fish sauce dipping sauce
• scallion oil (sauté some chopped scallions in a neutral oil for a fragrant sauce)
• crushed peanuts
• pickled carrots and daikon
• bean sprouts
• mint
• thai basil
• cilantro
• green/red leaf or romaine lettuce
• cucumber
• sliced thai chiles or jalapeños
• rice vermicelli
• rice paper
• baguette

🔪 Instructions

Trim any large chunks of fat or gristle off of the pork. If you're using skin-on pork belly like me, trim the skin off as well. Slice the pork into thin strips about ¼ of an inch thick and add the fish sauce, oyster sauce, sugar or honey, garlic, shallots, lemongrass and salt and pepper. Mix the meat thoroughly and let it marinate for at least 30 minutes but preferably overnight.

I like to skewer the pork for easy grilling, but you could also spread the pork onto a wire rack on top of a cookie sheet and broil it in the oven. To make skewers, poke one end of a pork strip through the skewer, fold the pork over, and poke it through the skewer again. Keep a few inches on either end of the skewer empty.

You can grill these skewers over propane or charcoal. I used an indoor tabletop grill. You can also bake these at 375 degrees Fahreinheit, flipping every five minutes and broiling for a minute or two at the end for a nice char. They will take about 15-20 minutes to cook through. To grill them, simply flip them regularly to get an even char on all sides until cooked through.

💭 Tips and substitutions

I recommend using pork belly or shoulder for thịt nướng. You can use chicken thigh and make gà nướng or beef for bò nướng. I wouldn't recommend using chicken breast as it tends to be dry. The marinade also tastes delicious on tofu.

🍚 Serving suggestions

To make bún thịt nướng

Cook your rice vermicelli noodles according to the package instructions. Then, layer a bowl of noodles with the cooked pork, herbs, lettuce, bean sprouts, pickled daikon and carrot, cucumber, crushed peanuts and scallion oil. Pour a few spoonfuls of fish sauce dipping sauce (nước mắm pha) over the bowl, mix together and enjoy!

Get my recipe for fish sauce dipping sauce (nước mắm pha) here!

To make gỏi cuốn thịt nướng

Soak a piece of rice paper in lukewarm water and set it onto a plate. If you want the pork to show through the rice paper for a pretty look, add the pork first, then vermicelli, scallion oil, crushed peanuts, herbs and a thin cucumber spear. Otherwise, to make the roll easier to roll, add lettuce first. before adding the vermicelli, pork and other toppings. Roll the fillings into the rice paper once, then fold the two sides of of the paper towards the center before rolling the fillings all the way to the other end of the rice paper.

To make bánh mì thịt nướng

Toast a demi baguette or 6 inch piece of french bread and spread one side with mayonnaise and one side with pate (optional). Layer cooked pork, fresh cilantro, cucumber, pickled daikon and carrot and sliced chiles into the sandwich. You could also splash the sandwich with some Maggi seasoning or soy sauce to taste.

🥡 How to store or make in advance

You can let the meat marinate for up to 24 hours before cooking. Once cooked, the skewers can be frozen for up to six months and reheated in the oven at 250 degrees Fahrenheit until warmed through. Cooked skewers will last in the fridge for about a week.

👪 Serving size

Two pounds of pork made 18 skewers for me. I recommend 1-2 skewers per person.

📋 Recipe

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