Vietnamese BBQ Shrimp Vermicelli Recipe (Bun Tom Heo Nuong)

By Pattywak

Vietnamese BBQ Shrimp Vermicelli or Bun Tom Heo Nuong is one of my favorite Vietnamese bun dishes. If you have tried Vietnamese food, I am sure you are familiar with bun, or dry rice vermicelli in nuoc cham (fish sauce) and topped with either grilled pork (thit), BBQ shrimp, sugarcane shrimp (chao tom), cha gio, tau hu ky, or a combination of them. I love Vietnamese bun because it’s not only tasty, but very healthy as it’s not greasy and comes with all sorts of vegetables and herbs. Every bite is refreshing and appetizing; a noodle dish that is both filling and satisfying…

It’s really quite easy to make. All you have to do is gather your fresh vegetables: cabbage, carrots, bean sprouts, cilantro, and mint leaves. (You can also add herbs such as perilla and Asian basil leaves, if you like.) For the rice vermicelli, you can get them dry at Asian markets.

Please take note you will need rice sticks, which are slightly “fatter” than rice vermicelli. The packaging has Vietnamese and it will say “Bun” and the English label is “Rice Sticks.” For the fish sauce or nuoc cham, I have a great recipe that goes well with the vermicelli, as well as other Vietnamese recipes on this site.

If you love Asian noodles, this is a great dish to try. As I mentioned above, you can have a few toppings if you want—shrimp, pork, cha gio, tau hu ky, etc. Regardless of your choice, it’s absolutely pleasing to the palate.

Ingredients

• BBQ Shrimp Marinade:
• 8 oz rice sticks
• 12 medium-sized shrimp, shelled (but leave tail intact) and deveined
• 3 lettuce leaves, thinly cut
• 1/2 small cucumber, cut into thin strips
• 1 cup fresh bean sprouts
• 1/2 small carrot, peeled and cut into thin strips
• Some cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped
• Some mint leaves, coarsely chopped
• Some perilla leaves, coarsely chopped (optional)
• Some Thai basil leaves, coarsely chopped (optional)
• 3 tablespoons roasted peanuts, coarsely ground
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• 3 heavy dashes black pepper powder
• A pinch of turmeric powder
• Nuoc Cham (Fish Sauce or Vietnamese Dipping Sauce) Recipe
• 1/4 cup fish sauce
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup sugar + 1 tablespoon sugar (if you like it sweeter)
• 3 tablespoon lime juice
• Method:
• Add fish sauce, water, sugar and lime juice in a small bowl and mix well. Make sure the sugar is completely dissolved.

Preparation

Step 1

Cook the rice sticks according to the package instructions. Rinse with cold water thoroughly after cooking, drain in a colander and set aside.

Marinate the shrimp with all the ingredients in the BBQ Shrimp Marinade for 30 minutes. Prepare and cut all the vegetables and herbs.

Fire up your BBQ pit and grill the shrimp until they are properly cooked. Divide the rice sticks, vegetables and herbs into 3 portions and transfer them into 3 bowls. (The rice sticks should sit on top of the vegetables and herbs). Transfer 4 shrimps into each serving, sprinkle some ground peanuts, and pour some nuoc cham (fish sauce) into the noodles. Serve immediately.

Nuoc Cham (Fish Sauce or Vietnamese Dipping Sauce) Recipe

Ingredients:

1/4 cup fish sauce
1/2 cup warm water
1/4 cup sugar + 1 tablespoon sugar (if you like it sweeter)
3 tablespoon lime juice

Method:

Add fish sauce, water, sugar and lime juice in a small bowl and mix well. Make sure the sugar is completely dissolved.

Cook’s Notes:
1.To jazz up the taste, add some garlic chili sauce and mix well with the fish sauce (nuoc cham) before serving.
2.For the nuoc cham recipe, different brand of fish sauce tastes differently, so adjust the sugar, warm water level to your liking. If it’s too salty or strong for your taste, add more water and sugar.
3.For fish sauce, I recommend 3 Crabs brand Fish Sauce.