Vietnamese Noodle Salad With Lemongrass Beef (Bun Bo Xao)

Bún bò xào is a noodle salad, but in Southeast Asia, bún bò xào would be considered a light meal rather than a starter course as a salad—as it's often defined in the West. Bún bò xào has everything that a balanced meal requires. It has meat, it has carbohydrates it has lots of vegetables and fresh herbs.

Bún bò xào is served in layers. At the bottom of the bowl are the cooked rice noodles (bún) cooled to room temperature. The noodles are topped with vegetables, both pickled and fresh. Next comes the beef (bò) that had been marinated with lemongrass then stir-fried (xào). The garnishes come last. Crushed roasted peanuts, fried crisp shallots, and lots of fresh herbs that may include cilantro, lemon basil, mint, perilla (shisho leaves), or all of them. A generous splash of nước mắm pha (more popularly known as nước chấm, the generic term for dipping sauce) is added, the contents of the bowl are tossed together and the bún bò xào is ready to be enjoyed.

Bún bò xào is comforting and familiar yet nuanced enough to be mysterious at the same time. It's all about the contrasting hues and textures of the ingredients which are happily brought together by nước mắm pha without which the salad is nothing but a discordant lump of colors and shapes.