Whoa, this is a great dish. The mild-flavored grilled pork is perfectly matched with the sweet and spicy cucumber sauce. This is pretty much the real-deal recipe, though I did swap in rice noodles for rice vermicelli, as the rice noodles have a little more bite to them.
Please note that the recipe has a three-hour-minimum marinade time.
What you’ll need for the pork
- 2T fish sauce
- 1T dark sugar, such as muscovado, brown or even palm sugar
- 1 large shallot, finely chopped (use onion, in a pinch)
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2t palm or white sugar
- 1 lb. (500g) ground pork
- 8 oz (250g) rice noodles or vermicelli, cooked and warm
- A small bunch each of cilantro, mint and holy basil leaves
- 4 oz (125g) bean sprouts (I skipped these due to food safety risks)
What you’ll need for the cucumber dipping sauce
- Half a medium cucumber, peeled, deseeded and grated
- 0.25 cups lime juice—fresh from a couple of limes is best
- 2 fl. oz (50ml) cold water
- 2T fish sauce
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1 small Thai chili, finely chopped—deseed it for less heat, if you wish
- 0.75t caster sugar—palm sugar is a good substitute
What to do for the dipping sauce
Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until use. Stays good for a few days when covered in the refrigerator.
What to do for the pork
Melt the sugar and 1T of the fish sauce over medium-low heat—stir often. When the sugar has melted, let it cool for a bit before pouring it into a medium bowl. Add the shallot, garlic, palm or white sugar, and remaining fish sauce; stir well. Mix in the ground pork with your hands to ensure all the ingredients are evenly distributed. Don’t overmix or the pork will be tough. Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 3 hours or up to overnight.
When you’re ready to cook, fire up your grill or oven’s broiler. If grilling, clean and oil the grates. If broiling, line a rimmed sheet pan with foil and put cooking grates on the foil. Spray with cooking spray.
While things are heating, shape the ground pork into little flattened patties about 1.5” in diameter. Place on the grates and cook for about 3.5 minutes before turning them over for another 3.5 minutes. They should be 165 degrees F inside when they’re done.
For serving, divide the rice noodles between serving bowls before topping with the pork, bean sprouts (if using) and herbs. Spoon the dipping sauce over the whole lot before serving.
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