Bun For A Bottomless Pit...

My roughly half year stint of cooking for big, tall, white boys (other than the Man) is coming to a close, and I've discussed some of the inherent challenges of cooking for them here.

While (some) big, tall, white boys are disadvantaged by the limitations of their palate, they have a distinct advantage in sheer body area over which to spread the calories they consume. Unfortunately for me, in accommodating their 6'3" corn-fed palates, I have corn fed my 5'3" ass to the point of muffin tops and cottage cheese thighs. And since I'm being kept for the time being by a very patient man trying to complete and publish my e-cookbook, I hardly think it appropriate or fair to blow money on a new wardrobe. As such, a reversion in eating habits seems to be in order.

I've always been a high volume eater (my co-workers from a past corporate life used to call me The Bottomless Pit). In years past, that volume used to come in the form of fresh fruit and salad. In the past 6 months, however, I have probably eaten more bread, rice, pasta and potatoes than in the 2 years before it. And while I have enjoyed every bite of my carb-loaded meals, I realize it's time to reduce the starch and up the roughage if I don't want to be making a fashion (don't) statement of stretched out yoga pants and the Man's XL beer tees.

One of my favorite high volume meals is bun (pronounced boohn) or Vietnamese noodle salad. Just a handful of rice noodles (or angel hair pasta in a pinch), a modest portion of grilled Vietnamese pork chop (it's also commonly made with other grilled proteins and/or spring rolls), sliced into bite-sized pieces, and a whole mess of fresh, crisp veg and herbs including lettuce, cucumber, bean sprouts, cilantro and mint, topped off with the sweet and sour crunch of quick-pickled carrots and radish, and lightly dressed with a fish sauce-based dressing called nuoc cham (noohk CHAHM).

Light, refreshing, flavorful and super satisfying... 

This dish naturally works well with this recipe for thit heo nuong (Vietnamese pork chops), but Korean BBQ would make a really good substitute.

VIETNAMESE COLD NOODLE SALAD

- grilled Vietnamese pork chops (or Korean BBQ works too), sliced into bite sized pieces. the salad tastes best when the meat is still warm while the other components are still cool and crisp

- cucumber, cut into matchsticks

- lettuce

- fresh bean sprouts

- cilantro

- mint

- pickled carrots and/or radishes (You'll need white vinegar, sugar and salt)

- bun (Vietnamese rice noodles) or angel hair pasta, cooked per package instructions

- nuoc cham (fish sauce dressing/dipping sauce - see Steps 1 & 2)

1) Prepare grilled pork and dressing following the recipes here.

2) Add two tablespoons of water to the dressing. (This isn't exactly a traditional nuoc cham recipe, but the flavor is quite close, and using the marinade as a base for the dressing makes for efficient use of effort and ingredients.)

3) Cut 1 carrot into matchsticks and toss with 2 tablespoons white vinegar, 2 teaspoons sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt and let pickle for at least 15 minutes.

sweet & sour crunch

4) Assemble the salad. No precision here - just a handful of noodles, a modest portion of meat sliced into bite-sized pieces, as much veg and herbs as you like, all tossed with about 3 tablespoons of the dressing to start. (You can always add more.)

I like to add a squeeze of sriracha and fresh lime for some added zip and zest. Composed bites of noodle, veg, herbs and meat together create a delicious balance and contrast of flavors and textures that is super satisfying to the palate.

For me, eating high volume food that's naturally healthy and wicked tasty is sooooo much easier than counting calories and opting for low-fat, low-flavor (and likely highly processed) diet food.

Too bad (some) white boys...

...prefer pizza and hot dogs.

shinae