Cold Pork Rice Noodles With Cucumber and Peanuts

Name: Cold Pork Rice Noodles With Cucumber and Peanuts
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: thai
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons peanut, canola or grapeseed oil; 6 garlic cloves, pressed or minced; 1 pound ground pork; 1/2 teaspoon black pepper; 6 tablespoons fish sauce; 4 tablespoons brown sugar; 1 to 2 teaspoons sriracha or chile garlic sauce, plus more for serving; Kosher salt; 1 (8.8-ounce) package rice vermicelli; 4 small Persian or hothouse cucumbers, thinly sliced (about 4 ounces); 1 small bunch mint, leaves picked (about 1 cup); 1 small bunch Thai basil or regular basil, leaves picked (about 1 cup); 1/2 cup roasted peanuts, roughly chopped; 2 limes, cut in wedges, for serving

By Sarah Copeland

Total Time: 25 minutes
Rating: 5(1,106)
Comments: Read comments

Sometimes you want dinner to be cold. For those evenings, there's this make-ahead pork and rice noodle dish, offering a robust infusion of zing from garlic, fish sauce and tons of fresh herbs plus plenty of flexibility. Add more peanuts and basil, or go heavy on the mint and lime. Use pork tonight, and ground turkey or chicken the next time; it’s your choice. This basic formula is easily adapted, and the components pack up easily for a work lunch or another night’s dinner. To make this vegetarian, substitute semi-firm tofu, cut into ½-inch cubes, for the pork, and substitute a few tablespoons of soy sauce for the fish sauce.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

3tablespoons peanut, canola or grapeseed oil
6garlic cloves, pressed or minced
1pound ground pork
½teaspoon black pepper
6tablespoons fish sauce
4tablespoons brown sugar
1 to 2teaspoons sriracha or chile garlic sauce, plus more for serving
Kosher salt
1(8.8-ounce) package rice vermicelli
4small Persian or hothouse cucumbers, thinly sliced (about 4 ounces)
1small bunch mint, leaves picked (about 1 cup)
1small bunch Thai basil or regular basil, leaves picked (about 1 cup)
½cup roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
2limes, cut in wedges, for serving

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok over medium heat. Add the garlic, pork and black pepper and stir to brown evenly, 2 to 3 minutes. Add fish sauce, sugar and sriracha, and continue cooking until pork is just cooked through and evenly coated with sauce, 2 to 3 minutes more. Set aside.
Step 2
Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Add the rice noodles and cook until tender, 2 to 4 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water.
Step 3
Drain the sauce off the pork into a bowl, and toss it with the noodles to coat. Divide the dressed noodles across four bowls and top with pork, cucumber, herbs and peanuts (or toss all together and transfer to a bowl). Drizzle with sriracha to taste and serve with lime for squeezing.

Ratings

5 out of 5

1,106 user ratings

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Comments

Anna6 years ago

I let the cucumbers soak in vinegar while I made it. Gave it a nice kick and no need to worry about soggy fresh cucumbers the next days cause they’re already a bit pickled!

Janet6 years ago

Used tempeh in place of the pork. Is a great meatless alternative.

Matt6 years ago

Delicious! Reduced fish sauce to 4T + 1T soy sauce and flavors were spot on to our tastes

Charlotte3 months ago

I used Cholula Hot Sauce instead of Sriracha and surprisingly, it really worked!

tumi5 months ago

This is a Vietnamese-inspired dish. Where is the credits?

louisa7 months ago

So delicious! We devoured it. We upped the chilli for personal preference with some hot sauce. But it’s a perfect recipe

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