Back to Recipes

Nem Nuong (Vietnamese Grilled Pork Skewers)

Nem nuong are the springy, caramelised pork skewers you smell before you see at Vietnamese restaurants and street stalls. Seasoned generously with garlic, shallot, fish sauce and a touch of sugar, they char beautifully on the barbecue and stay incredibly juicy inside.

Their signature bouncy texture comes from working the pork mince well and keeping everything cold, which is easy to do at home with a food processor or a bit of elbow grease.

Serve them with lettuce, herbs, vermicelli and nuoc cham for a classic spread, or tuck them into rice paper rolls or a crusty banh mi. However you go, they disappear fast.

Servings
4
Prep Time
45
mins
Cook Time
15
mins
Ingredients
15
Total Time
60
mins

Pantry bits

  • Food processor
  • 12 bamboo or metal skewers
  • Barbecue or chargrill pan
  • Tongs
  • Large serving platter

Ingredients

  • 800g fatty pork mince (shoulder mince is ideal)
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 2 shallots (eschalots), finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp fish sauce
  • 2 tbsp white sugar
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1 tbsp cornflour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp white pepper
  • 2 tbsp neutral oil, for brushing
  • 400g rice vermicelli noodles, cooked
  • 1 baby cos lettuce, leaves separated
  • 1 bunch mint and 1 bunch coriander
  • 1 Lebanese cucumber, cut into batons
  • 250ml nuoc cham dipping sauce

Instructions

  1. If using bamboo skewers, soak 12 of them in cold water for 30 minutes so they don't burn on the grill.
  2. Blitz the garlic, shallots, fish sauce, sugar, honey, cornflour, baking powder and white pepper in a food processor to a paste.
  3. Add the pork mince and pulse until the mixture is well combined and slightly sticky; this working of the meat is what gives nem nuong its signature springy bite. Chill for 30 minutes.
  4. With lightly oiled hands, shape the mixture around the skewers into sausage shapes about 10cm long, or roll into balls if you prefer.
  5. Heat a barbecue, chargrill pan or grill to medium-high and brush the skewers with oil.
  6. Grill for 10-12 minutes, turning every few minutes, until deeply caramelised on the outside and cooked through.
  7. Pile the skewers onto a platter with the vermicelli, lettuce, herbs and cucumber.
  8. Let everyone wrap pieces of pork in lettuce with herbs and noodles, dunking each parcel in nuoc cham as they go.

Other recipes

Nasi Kuning (Indonesian Yellow Rice)
Opor Ayam (Chicken in Coconut Curry)
Martabak Telur (Savoury Stuffed Pancake)

Never miss a recipe

Join thousands of subscribers and get our best recipes delivered to direct to your inbox!

Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.