Vietnamese caramel pork noodle salad
Serves: 4
Prep time: 25 mins Total time: 
Recipe photograph by Toby Scott
Vietnamese caramel pork noodle salad
Recipe by Ailsa Brown
Serves: 4
Prep time: 25 mins Total time: 
See more recipes
Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
610Kcal
Fat
16gr
Saturates
4gr
Carbs
80gr
Sugars
32gr
Fibre
4gr
Protein
34gr
Salt
2.2gr
Ailsa Brown
Ailsa is our former Food Assistant. She loves creating delicious food that can be whipped up without a fuss and is always thinking about her next meal. She has a thing for pickles, anchovies and Japanese street food.
See more of Ailsa Brown’s recipes
Ailsa Brown
Ailsa is our former Food Assistant. She loves creating delicious food that can be whipped up without a fuss and is always thinking about her next meal. She has a thing for pickles, anchovies and Japanese street food.
See more of Ailsa Brown’s recipes
Ingredients
- 1 large carrot, peeled
- 3 spring onions
- 1 head Chinese leaf
- 4 nests of flat rice noodles (we used Mama instant rice noodles)
- ½ x 31g pack coriander, leaves only
- 50g peanuts, chopped
For the dressing
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- ½ tsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp groundnut oil
- 1 tsp runny honey
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
For the pork
- 1 tbsp groundnut oil
- 100g caster sugar
- about 400g pork tenderloin, trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1-2 bird eye chillies, deseeded if you like, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- juice of ½ lime, plus lime wedges to serve
Step by step
- Cut the carrot into thin matchsticks and finely shred the spring onions and Chinese leaf. Cook the noodles according to the pack instructions; briefly rinse under cold water to ensure they don’t stick together and then drain thoroughly. Once drained, tip into a bowl.
- Mix together all the dressing ingredients and toss through the noodles, making sure they are well coated. Mix in the Chinese leaf and the coriander, reserving a few coriander leaves for garnish.
- Heat the groundnut oil in a wok or large frying pan on a low heat and add the sugar. Once it has melted and starts to turn golden brown, turn up the heat and add the pork, fish sauce, half of the chilli and the garlic; give it a good stir. Add 100ml water plus the lime juice and bring to a simmer.
- Continue to cook for 10-15 minutes on a medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the pork is cooked and the sauce is reduced and thick. The caramel sauce does bubble vigorously, so take care.
- Put the noodles in 4 bowls and spoon over the pork and some sauce. Add the carrot and spring onions around the side of the bowl and garnish with the remaining coriander leaves, chilli, peanuts and lime wedges, if you like.
