A few nights ago my husband and I were Skyping with my daughter Erika's Vietnamese friend, Thanh. I've mentioned her before in some of my posts. She is the one who does the AMAZING street food tours in Hanoi. Well, we discussed various things, among them FOOD, of course! She told us "You guys need to make a popular authentic Vietnamese Beef Noodle Salad: Pho Tron." This dish is typical of Hanoi" Thanh told us.
We wanted to find out about some popular summer Vietnamese dishes. Yes, we're totally enjoying long summer days here in the northern US. We've waited a long time for this. Anyhow, I don't want do digress. During our conversation she mentioned 3 or 4 recipes that I will making in the coming weeks.
Ahh a Hanoian summer dish
The one I am making today is Pho Tron, it is like a noodle salad of sorts with a broth that is used as a "dressing." Think of it as the Vietnamese version of an American steak salad plus the noodles, but a lot healthier. It is a great dish for hot weather when you cannot sit down to a bowl of hot steaming broth.
Don't let all the steps in this delicious dish discourage you. Really, it's a matter of organization. No complicated techniques here.
Some tips for your pho tron
For the bean sprouts, I suggest you blanch them. And whatever you do, don't skip crisping the shallots; it really adds a lot to the overall texture and flavor of this dish. When we were in Southeast Asia last year, we found that crispy shallots are a common garnish.
By the way if you are looking for another popular Vietnamese dish, check out my recipe for bun cha. It's delicious. Also, many people like to enjoy Chả Giò with light meals, they're Vietnamese fried spring rolls dipped in a tangy sauce.
This recipe is similar to the popular Vietnamese soup Pho; you could even say that Pho Tron is Pho's fair-weather cousin. So basically what you are doing is creating a salad with various pho noodles, greens, beef and a broth like dressing that is a balance of flavors: sweet, salty, and sour. I think I've mentioned before that Southeast Asian food strives to create a balance of flavors. No flavor ever dominates.
Need some more summery flavors for the table? Try my Vietnamese Sweet and Sour Mango Salad. You've never had mangoes like this before.
A Southern Vietnamese variation of this dish, Bún Thịt Nướng, features grilled lemongrass pork instead of beef and a different selection of veggies and herbs. Try it!
Here are the step by step photos to make Pho Tron:
- Gather all your ingredients and have them chopped, measured and ready to go. Make the rice noodles according to the package instructions and then rinse with cold water and set aside. (I like to pour boiling water over them and let them sit for a few minutes until they are just soft and have a bit of chewiness. I then rinse them with cold water in a colander.)
- Mix together the marinade ingredients in a pitcher: Salt, ginger, black pepper, five spice powder, garlic and lime juice.
- Placed the sliced beef in a zip top bag and pour in the marinade.
- Purge the air and seal the bag. Give the bag a few squeezes to coat all the beef.
- To make the dressing, combine the vinegar, fish sauce, palm sugar (brown sugar will work), and tamarind paste.
- Whisk to combine until the sugar dissolves.
- Add the greens to a large bowl.
- Take the chilled blanched bean sprouts and toss with greens.
- Add 1 tbsp vegetable or canola oil to a skillet on medium heat and add the shallot slices. Fly them until crispy and brown.
- Place them on a paper towel to drain and cool until ready to serve as a topping for the salad.
- Cook the beef in a large skillet on medium heat with 1 Tbsp canola oil. (You can use the same skillet you just cooked the beef in.) Cook until the beef has browned and has nice crispy edges.
- Serve the greens in a bowl topped with the beef, shallots. Add the broth with the Thai chillies and rice noodles on the side. Enjoy!
This is a really easy recipe to make any weeknight.
I would love it if you leave me a comment AND share the recipe with your friends.
If you enjoyed this alternative pho recipe, check out some authentic Vietnamese recipes I have some to share that you can easily make in your home.
Bun cha: Vietnamese pork meatballs are served with a delicious golden broth, a variety of fresh herbs, greens, and rice noodles.
Vietnamese coconut braised pork (Thit Kho Tau)is slow cooked, tender, salty and sweet.
Cá Sốt Cà Chua or Fish in Tomato Sauce will wow your tastebuds with aromatic dill, sweet tomato, and tangy shallots. Pair it with rice.
Bò Sốt Vang or Vietnamese Beef Stew will blow away any beef stew that you've ever had. The spices in this one are reminiscent of mulled wine and then each bowl is topped with a generous helping of fresh cilantro.
You have to finish off your meal with a traditional Vietnamese Egg Coffee or ca phe trung (cà phê trứng) is a Hanoi espresso with a sweet meringue like topping. Two other Vietnamese coffee drinks that I cannot get enough of are Ca Phe Sua Da or Vietnamese Iced Coffee with Condensed Milk was one of my favorite ways to cool off on a hot day along with Vietnamese Coconut Coffee.
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Vietnamese Beef Noodle Salad: Pho Tron
A perfect meal for any weeknight, or Sunday dinner. The bright flavors of authentic Vietnamese food shine through in this easy to make dish. This has some of the best Vietnamese contrasts of flavors: salty, sour, sweet, bitter and some hot chillies for some heat too!
Ingredients
- 8 oz rice noodles
Broth/Dressing:
- 6 Tbsp white vinegar
- 4 Tbsp fish sauce
- 1 ½ Tbsp palm sugar
- 1 Tbsp tamarind paste
Salad Greens:
- 1 head green leaf lettuce
- ¼ cup cilantro chopped
- 12 leaves Thai basil chopped
- 10 mint leaves chopped
- 2 oz bean sprouts blanched
Meat Marinade
- 1 lb sirloin sliced
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- ¼ tsp ginger ground
- ¼ tsp pepper cracked
- ⅛ tsp five spice powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 1 lime juiced
Topppings
- 2 Tbsp peanuts chopped
- 2 limes cut into wedges
- 4 shallots thinly sliced and quickly fried
- 2 Thai red chilies thinly sliced-optional
Instructions
Noodles
Cook noodles according to package instructions. Run under cold water and set aside.
To cook the meat
Slice the beef into very thin pieces. Combine in a pitcher the salt, ginger, pepper, five spice powder, lime juice and garlic powder. Place the meat slices in a zip top bag and pour in the marinade. Purge the air then seal the bag and be sure all the meat is coated. Squeeze the meat around the bag a bit to cover in the marinade. Place in the refrigerator for about two hours.
Heat oil on medium. Add the beef and cook about 1-2 minutes on each side until brown and cripy on the edges. Set the beef aside and allow to cool before serving.
While the meat is resting assemble your greens. Mix lettuce, cilantro, Thai basil, and mint, in a bowl.
- Blanch the bean sprouts, and when completely cool, add to the greens mixture.
Dressing/Broth
In a small bowl whisk together the vinegar and the fish sauce. Add in the sugar, and stir well. The flavor should be more along the lines of sweet and sour.
Crisping Shallots
Add 2 Tbsp of vegetable oil to a skillet on medium heat and place the shallot slices. Fry until crispy and brown. Remove and dry on a paper towel.
To assemble
Portion equal amounts of each item on a plate/bowl. Top with peanuts, crispy shallots and slices of Thai chilies if desired. Serve with rice noodles on the side.
Dominique | Perchance to Cook
This beef noodle salad looks sooo good! I'm sending this recipe to my father because he would love it! Yum!!
Analida
Thanks Dominique. I hope your father loves it! 🙂
Jenni
What a great recipe! This looks so flavorful and easy! Adding to my meal plan soon!
Analida
I hope you like it Jenni. I need to make it soon too. Have a great day!
Veena Azmanov
I love Thai food and those beef noodles look perfect. I love your clean crisp pictures too. I love rice noodles and these are so easy to make too. Definitely saving this for later.
Analida
Hi Veena. I hope you get to make it. Thanks for commenting. BTW... my husband is the photographer! 🙂
Kathryn @ FoodieGirlChicago
This dish looks delicious! Nice mix of flavors and not too complicated to make!!
Analida
Kathryn, it's really easy to make. Yes, the flavor combo is really nice.
Amanda Mason
This dish looks amazing and what a perfect dinner item here!! I love that you used bean sprouts - those are my favorite! And never would I skip out on those shallots! That provides so much flavor!!
Analida
Hi Amanda. I hope you like it. I am looking forward to summer so I can make this. It really is an amazing dish. Thanks for commenting.
Julie
This looks SO good! I love that the beef is served over salad greens - what a great way to keep food light, fresh, and summer appropriate. Can't wait to give this a try!
Analida
Julie, I hope you like it. It's one of our favorites. I can't wait for summer so I can make it.
Abby @ WinsteadWandering
How fun that you have someone to personally recommend authentic Vietnamese dishes to you! This definitely sounds like a great one to start with.
Kushi
Totally in love with the recipe! Looks so yummy. Pinned for later!
Analida
Thanks Kushi! I hope you have a chance to try it soon. 🙂
Paige
This looks healthy easy and tasty! Thanks for all the tips too, I will give it a try!
Analida
I hope you get to try it soon Paige. Thanks for commenting. Yes, it is indeed healthy, easy, and tasty. Now, I need to make some soon too.
Sues
This salad is all kinds of wonderful! The beef looks perfect and everything else looks so fresh and delicious!
Stacey
All of these flavors sounds incredible and are some of my favorites! I'm looking forward to giving this a try!
Analida
Stacey, I hope you get to try it soon. The flavors are indeed incredible. 🙂 Thanks for your kind comment.
Matt Kearns
Oh man I bet there is so much flavor in this salad! Vietnamese food is some of the best out there!
Analida
Thanks for commenting Matt! Yes, Vietnamese food is some of the best. Everyday I am learning more about it.
Michelle
This looks like a really great noodle salad! Love all the flavours in this, and love how authentic this is too!
Sharon
This pho noodle salad is just the kind of light comfort food that I love. This would make a great lunch.
Lindsey Pine
It sounds like there's so much flavor coming from this dish! I've never made vietnamese food at home, but I think that's about to change!
Kylee from Kylee Cooks
This is the kind of salad my husband dreams of! It's a lot of ingredients, but I like that each one adds a specific element to the dish. This is soooo delicious looking!
Michelle
I love Vietnamese food. There's allot of love and delicious flavor in this dish. I have no idea where to start with making something like this, so I'm happy I found this recipe. Looking forward to trying it.
Mama Maggie's Kitchen
Hmmmmm yum! I am so loving this Vietnamese Beef Noodle Salad! Really looks soooo tasty and I am sure my husband will love this too.
Cathleen @ A Taste of Madness
I like that you have a link to what blanching is. I have always seen the word then quit the recipe because I didn't know what that was, haha.
This looks so tasty. I always order something like this when I go for pho, but now I can make it at home 🙂
Anna
I have felt in love with Vietnamese cuisine when we visited this country last year. Your version of this beef salad looks amazing, and so flavoursome, looking forward to trying it very soon!
Amy
I have never hand anything like this before! I love how easy it is to put together. This looks like it’s pact with flavor. I can’t wait to try!
Amanda Mason
Ok, yum! This looks so good and full of amazing authentic flavors!! I've not made many authentic Asian dishes but this one looks like the perfect recipe for me to make!!
Jagruti Dhanecha
A great noodle salad for summer, loving five-spice powder and always love to make authentic recipes.
Natalie
I love the sound of this dish. I never cooked Vietnamese food but now you got me convinced to give it a try. I have a store near my house with all sorts of exotic foods where I can get all the ingredients to make this. Can't wait to give it a try!
Stephanie
I enjoyed reading your recipes. I would definitely try making the Vietnamese salad, thanks! 🍀✌💗