Ingredients:
For the meat:
- 300g pork belly
- 250g minced pork shoulder
- 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
- 1 large red onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 4 tablespoons neutral oil (for cooking)
For the meat marinade:
- 1.5 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons nuoc mam (fish sauce)
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon neutral vegetable oil
For the vegetables and marinade:
- 2 large carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
- ½ green papaya, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 turnip, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon salt (for sweating the vegetables)
- 60g powdered sugar
- 120ml rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
For the accompaniment:
- 400g rice vermicelli (bún)
- ½ bunch of coriander
- ½ bunch of Thai basil
- Some périlla leaves (or shiso)
- Some romaine lettuce leaves
For the serving sauce (one small bowl per person):
- 150ml boiling water
- 150 mL nuoc mam (fish sauce)
- 100 mL rice vinegar (or lime juice)
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1 red chili, finely chopped
- Some slices of marinated carrots in the sauce
- Some slices of marinated green papaya in the sauce
Instructions:
Marinating the vegetables:
- In a large glass container, mix the vegetables with salt and let sweat for 15 minutes.
- Rinse and dry the vegetables with a towel.
- In a jar, dissolve the sugar in the rice vinegar. marinate the carrot, green papaya, and turnip slices in the mixture.
- Refrigerate for 2 hours.
Accompaniment:
- Boil water in a pot. Cook the dried rice vermicelli according to the package instructions.
- After cooking, drain and immediately rinse the vermicelli under cold water until lukewarm.
- Drain and place the vermicelli in a large dish.
Serving sauce:
- Prepare the sauce by mixing all the ingredients.
- Add some slices of carrots, turnips, and green papaya reserved in the sauce.
Pork:
- Divide all the ingredients in half to marinate the two meats separately.
- In two separate containers, marinate the pork belly and minced pork shoulder with finely chopped red onion, garlic, and all the ingredients for the meat marinade except for the oil. Mix well.
- Let it rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
- Pour a tablespoon of oil into the minced pork shoulder. Mix well.
- Form small meatballs from the minced pork, about the size of a ping pong ball, flatten them slightly, and set aside.
- In a pan, heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium-high heat.
- Brown the meatballs on both sides.
- In another pan, heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium-high heat, then reduce to medium heat and brown the pork belly slices on both sides.
Plate assembly:
- Arrange the meats, rice vermicelli, herbs, and romaine lettuce in a large dish.
- Place a bowl of sauce with some slices of carrots, turnips, and green papaya in the dish.