

That’s it, five easy steps to make a rice noodle bowl. Once you’ve done it three times you’ll think this is easy. After ten times it might become a regular on your meal rotation.
Nuoc cham is that thin, fishy sauce used in almost every Vietnamese and Thai recipe. It contains Asian fish sauce which is an essential ingredient for a gluten free pantry.
If you don’t have fish sauce yet check out either of these posts where I try to convince you it’s essential!
Once you’ve got fish sauce (it will last indefinitely) make the Nuoc Cham dipping sauce in advance. I measure right into a Mason jar, label it and get it in the fridge.
I’ve got other ways to use it so I always make the full recipe. You’ll find links to them at the bottom of this post.
The Vietnamese word for thin, rice vermicelli is bún and restaurants have whole sections on their menu for bún. Every name starts with the word bún followed by the name of the meat on top;
Everything goes on top but here I’m talking about the meat. For a simple version you can use plain cooked shrimp. Make a vegetarian version using tofu with the same lemongrass marinade (ideally give it thirty minutes to marinate).
When I order a Vietnamese Rice Noodle Bowl from a restaurant I like bún with lemongrass chicken. That’s the marinade I use in this recipe.
My version of the bún combo with chicken, pork and shrimp. I skipped the gluten filled, deep fried spring roll that is often included on restaurant menus in Canada.
When I make this version of my noodle bowl with ‘everything’, I call it my special occasion rice noodle bowl. It’s too much work for an everyday meal but I wanted you to see that you can easily do this.
I store my rice vermicelli noodles in a extra large ziplock bag and break off what I need from the bundle. This keeps the noodles in the bag and not flying all over an onto the kitchen floor.
In this video I show you how I soften rice noodles with boiling water (5 minutes, set a timer!) and the two sizes I have in my pantry. Thin rice vermicelli noodles are the size I like for this noodle bowl recipe.
Watch on YouTube
This post contains affiliate links. When you purchase using these links your cost is the same, but I receive a few cents for every dollar spent. I appreciate your support for this website.
Keep it simple to start. I always have carrots, cucumber and some kind of lettuce and that’s enough for an everyday version. I sometimes use a mandoline to cut perfect julienned carrot and cucumber but a good knife always works.
In the photo below I prepped veggies and noodles to make Salad Rolls. Since salad rolls and rice noodle bowls have similar ingredients this will give you an idea of what you might want.
This marinade adds flavour to any meat or tofu. I buy and store frozen, chopped lemongrass and love the convenience of being able to make recipes that call for it anytime.
For more on fresh vs frozen lemongrass check out this post (and video), How To Use Lemongrass.
That’s all my tips to make your Vietnamese Rice Noodle Bowl the way you like. Easy somedays and fancy when the occasion calls for it. I’d love to hear about your bowls in the comments below.
Here are three other recipes that use slight variations of nuoc cham. Use any version on any of these recipes. If you can identify that you like one combination over another then you’re a super taster. (I’m not.)
Ingredients |
Directions |
---|---|
|
|
Such an easy dish and perfect to make the next day for lunch! So ideal for meal prep. Good job Cinde!
Thanks Justin! I agree. My secret is keeping that Nuoc Cham dipping sauce in the fridge ALL THE TIME! It lasts for months and when I want to make the recipe it’s just that much easier.
Awesome!