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Vietnamese Beef Noodle Salad: Pho Tron

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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.

two bowls of pho tron with chili peppers, onions, and soy sauce on the leftWe 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.

two bowls of pho tron with chopsticks, a large bowl of salad, a bowl of noodles and bowls of sides on the left

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 so it offers a nice summer dish with traditional Vietnamese flavors.

a close up of a bowl of pho tron with red chopsticks

Don’t let all the steps in this delicious dish discourage you. Really, it’s just a matter of getting organized. No complicated techniques here.

a close up of pho salad with yellow chopsticks and a serving dish above

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.

two bowls of pho tron with colored chopsticks

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 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.

This is a really easy recipe to make any weeknight, or for a Sunday meal with family and friends.

I would love it if you leave me a comment AND share the recipe with your friends.

If you want to 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 is one you have to try!

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.

 

You will love this cool salad with authentic Vietnamese flavors! Vietnamese Beef Noodle Salad (Phở Trộn) is a delicious recipe for noodle salad for the hot summers in Hanoi or anywhere when you need a cool dish for lunch or dinner. This has some of the best Vietnamese contrast of flavors: salty, tangy, sweet, butter and some hot chillies for some heat too! Try some Pho Tron! | ethnicspoon.com
5 from 9 votes
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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!

Course Main dish
Cuisine Vietnamese
Keyword Hanoi recipe, hot weather food, noodle salad, pasta salad
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings: Change to adjust-> 6 servings
Calories 324 kcal
Author Analida Braeger

Ingredients

  • 8 oz rice noodles

Broth/Dressing:

Salad Greens:

  • 1 head green leaf lettuce
  • 1/4 cup cilantro chopped
  • 12 leaves Thai basil chopped
  • 10 mint leaves chopped
  • 2 oz bean sprouts blanched

Meat Marinade

Topppings

  • 2 Tbsp peanuts chopped
  • 2 limes cut into wedges
  • 4 shallots thinly sliced
  • 2 Thai red chilies thinly sliced-optional

Instructions

Noodles

  1. Cook noodles according to package instructions. Run under cold water.

To cook the meat

  1. Season the beef with salt, ginger, pepper, five spice powder, and garlic powder. Rub on both sides of the meat, and then squeeze the lime juice on both sides of the meat.  Place in the refrigerator for about two hours.

     

  2. slice the beef into very thin pieces. Heat oil on medium. Add the beef and cook about 1 minutes on each side. Transfer it to a cutting board, and cover with aluminum foil. Allow it to rest for about 5 minutes.

  3. While the meat is resting assemble your greens. Mix lettuce, cilantro, Thai basil, and mint,  in a bowl. 

  4. Blanch the bean sprouts, and when completely cool, add to the greens mixture.

Dressing/Broth

  1. 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.

To assemble

  1. Portion equal amounts of each item on a plate/bowl. Top with peanuts, crispy shallots and slices of Thai chilies  if desired.

Nutrition Facts
Vietnamese Beef Noodle Salad: Pho Tron
Amount Per Serving
Calories 324 Calories from Fat 45
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 5g 8%
Saturated Fat 1g 5%
Cholesterol 46mg 15%
Sodium 1471mg 61%
Potassium 624mg 18%
Total Carbohydrates 47g 16%
Dietary Fiber 3g 12%
Sugars 7g
Protein 21g 42%
Vitamin A 95.3%
Vitamin C 48.8%
Calcium 8.5%
Iron 17.2%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

 

 

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. This beef noodle salad looks sooo good! I’m sending this recipe to my father because he would love it! Yum!!

    Reply

  3. 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.

    Reply

  5. 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!!

    Reply

  6. 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!

    Reply

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