This Vietnamese beef vermicelli dish takes a bit of time and coordination, but you will be rewarded for your efforts once you taste it! This dish is fresh, savory, and full of flavor...one of our favorite dishes in our house.
Presenting my first Vietnamese recipe on the blog!
Cue the trumpets!!! 🙂
I love Vietnamese food. LOVE. IT.
I think it is one of the most delicious cuisines out there, and I am so so excited to share this beef vermicelli dish as the first Vietnamese recipe on A Day In the Kitchen!
Vietnamese food is one of my all-time favorite cuisines and judging by all the requests I’ve received to develop Vietnamese recipes, I take it I’m not the only fan!
This Vietnamese beef vermicelli was inspired by a trip to Hoi An where my family and I attended a cooking class and made a similar dish. In fact, you can read all about our trip in A Day Out In Hoi An and see what I'm talking about!
Thuan Tinh Cooking Tour class, with the southern-style beef vermicelli dish that inspired my recipe!
It seems like quite the complicated dish, and granted, it takes a bit of organization to bring everything together. Vietnamese dishes aren’t exactly known for being boring or for having few ingredients.
But the result of all the effort put into it is SO worth it!
How can you go wrong with tender beef, fresh and crisp cucumber and carrots, fried shallots and garlic, chopped peanuts, all on a bed of rice vermicelli noodles and drizzled with a flavorful sauce?
It is a delicious blend of textures and flavors and fresh ingredients that are characteristic of Vietnamese dishes we love, and I'm thrilled to share this recipe that is reminiscent of our trip to Hoi An. I make this dish frequently in our house and love that I can bring these Vietnamese flavors to the table! I hope you enjoy this dish as much as we do!
~ Lisa.
Savory Vietnamese Beef Vermicelli
Ingredients
- ½ lb. (225g) dry rice vermicelli noodles
- 1 lb. (454g) thin sliced beef (I use hot pot beef)
- 4 cups finely chopped leaf lettuce
Fried Shallots and Garlic:
- 3 shallots thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves thinly sliced
- 3 tbs light olive oil
Sauce:
- ¾ cup beef broth
- 3 tbs soy sauce (tamari for gluten-free)
- 2 teaspoon fish sauce
- 1 tbs honey
- 1 teaspoon tapioca starch (cornstarch will work, too)
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Garnishings (optional):
- Carrots julienned
- Cucumber thinly sliced or julienned
- Bean sprouts
Toppings (optional):
- Mint leaves
- Cilantro
- Chopped green onion
- Chopped peanuts
- Chopped fresh chili peppers
Instructions
Fried Shallots and Garlic:
- In skillet over medium-high, heat the 3 tbs of light olive oil.
- Add thinly sliced shallots and garlic and cook for about 1 minute.
- Turn heat down to medium and continue to cook shallots and garlic, stirring frequently so that they do not burn.
- Cook until the shallots and garlic become a light golden color, about 8 minutes. Watch them carefully.
- Remove shallots and garlic from pan with a slotted spoon and let drain and cool on a paper towel. Set aside until ready to use. (Shallots and garlic will crisp up as they cool.)
- Reserve the shallot and garlic flavored oil in the skillet.
Noodles and Beef:
- Arrange chopped lettuce with any other garnishings in bowls or plates; set aside.
- Combine all sauce ingredients in a bowl or measuring cup and mix well. Set aside.
- Cook vermicelli noodles according to package directions.
- Rinse under cool water and drain well.
- Divide evenly among bowls/dishes, placing a mound of noodles on top of the chopped lettuce.
- In the same skillet you used for the shallots and garlic, heat the reserved oil over medium-high heat.
- Add the thinly sliced beef and cook until nicely browned.
- Divide cooked beef to each dish, topping the vermicelli noodles.
- Add any garnishes to each bowl, as desired.
- Stir sauce ingredients once more before adding to hot skillet, scraping any bits from the pan and incorporating into the sauce.
- Spoon the sauce over the beef and vermicelli noodles.
- Top with fried garlic and shallots, chopped peanuts, and green onions, if desired.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- The rice vermicelli noodles I use are about the diameter of a spaghetti noodle. They are not the angle hair ones as I find the slightly thicker noodles give a better chew and substance to the dish.
That being said, the thinner rice vermicelli noodles work just as well. - Prepping all the fresh ingredients ahead of time will help tremendously in putting this dish together. Do all your fresh vegetable washing and slicing and then put them aside until ready.
- Getting the shallots and garlic crisp, but not burned requires slow frying, so be patient and watch carefully.
If you make this dish, share your photo on Facebook or Instagram and tag me @dayinthekitchen!
You might also like:
- Korean Sweet Potato Noodles (Japchae)
- Pepper Beef Rice Skillet
- Mom's BBQ Pork Chow Mein
Gabby
Awesome post! I love taking cooking classes when I travel! The ones I did in Valencia and Bangkok have been my favourite so far, and now I neeeed to go to Vietnam!
I have been to Vietnam twice and did cooking classes both times with two different companies. Loved both classes and thoroughly enjoyed the food!
Kristen
Yes to this 100%. I could eat this any day!
Thanks, Kristen! Us, too!!
Nicoletta @sugarlovespices
Both me and my husband love Vietnamese cuisine, I am pescetarian though, so this is a dish he would love! He also loves to make Vietnamese food and I know it is not at all boring or lacking ingredients and flavor! This is a great dish, that you made!
Thanks, Nicoletta!