Bo Bún cha giò (Vermicelli Beef Salad with Fried Spring rolls)

In Vietnamese, ?Bo? refers to Beef; ?Bún? means the White rice noodles and the spring roll is called ?cha giò?.
All I could say is just try out this simple (except for the Spring rolls) and delicious bowl of rice noodles and beef with sliced cucumber, grated carrots and fresh soybean sprouts, perfumed with fresh herbs, tucked with some deep fried spring rolls,topped with roasted sesame seeds and finally moistened with some nuoc mam Mmmmm?.We (my Hum Hum, my two teddies, and myself) simply love it.


What we need for the recipe: (for 4)
450 gm boneless beef steak, sliced into 2-cms strips
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 spring onion sliced
1 teaspoon finely minced lemongrass
2 tablespoons fish sauce
½ teaspoon sugar
200 g rice vermicelli (or as necessary)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, sliced finely round pieces

For Salad and Garnishing:
16 Spring rolls (or as necessary) (My folks take great pleasure in food, so, I planned 4 each)
2 cups fresh soybean sprouts
2 cups shredded red or green lettuce leaves
1 cucumber, peeled, de seeded, and cut into julienne strips
1 carrot, peeled and grated
A handful each of fresh mint, coriander
Asian basil (I didn?t have it for this recipe)
2 tablespoons roasted sesame seeds(the traditional recipe uses peanuts)

Nuoc Mam: It is a traditional Vietnamese dipping sauce. It's basically a combination of garlic, chili peppers, fish sauce, sugar, vinegar, lime juice, and salt.

For the Nuoc Mam:
2 fresh red chilies
A clove of garlic sliced very finely lengthwise
2 tablespoons of sugar
¼ cup lime juice
¼ cup fish sauce
¼ cup warm water
1 tablespoon thinly shredded carrot (optional)
Preparing Nuoc Mam: Mix together all the above ingredients.


Method:
Mix together the sliced beef with minced garlic, lemongrass, nuoc mam, and sugar in a bowl and let it marinate for 30 minutes.
Cook the rice vermicelli by bringing a large of quantity of water to a rolling boil. Add the noodles and cook 3 to 5 minutes or according to the instructions on the packet. Drain and rinse in cold water for few seconds. (It can be very well prepared in advance and kept at room temperature for several hours.)

Just before serving, heat the vegetable oil in a wok or a large skillet and sauté the sliced onion until translucent. Add the marinated beef and stir-fry on high heat until brown for about 1 minute. (Beef steaks should always be juicy and not chewy. So it?s preferable to avoid cooking beef steaks for more than 2 minutes. Reserve it.

The presentation:

Line the bowl with some lettuce leaves followed by the carrots and then the cool vermicelli noodles. Sprinkle some of the soy bean sprouts, arrange the caramelized beef in the middle, and place the sliced cucumber around the meat.

Sprinkle a handful of each herb (Mint, Coriander, Basil).

Garnish with the roasted sesame seeds and drizzle over the Nuoc Mam sauce all over the whole thing.
?n ngon nhé / Chúc ngon mieng!(Enjoy your meal!)

PS: The dish can also be served by arranging all the prepared ingredients on a platter and one can compose his/her bowl individually according to the needs.