Vietnamese Ground Pork Rice Noodle Bowl

Bring a large pot filled 2/3 with water to a boil while prepping the vegetables, bringing it back to a boil just before cooking the noodles.

Prep all of the vegetables. Set aside.

Combine soy sauce, oyster sauce, and brown sugar in a small bowl. Whisk to dissolve brown sugar. Add water and cornstarch. Whisk until cornstarch is smooth and incorporated. Set aside.

Preheat a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add oil. Add ground pork. Cook 1 minute, using a spatula to break the pork into chunks. Add lemongrass, onion, garlic, red pepper flakes*, and black pepper. Continue cooking and breaking up pork until the meat is cooked through, about 6 minutes.

*For our taste, 1/8 teaspoon pepper flakes is enough.

Add sauce, stirring to incorporate into the pork mixture. Sauce will thicken slightly. Cook for 1 minute, reducing heat to medium when sauce boils. Remove from heat.

Add rice vermicelli to boiling water, stirring gently to separate. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Noodles are done when they are tender but maintain body. Do not overcook as noodles will turn mushy quickly. Drain.

To serve, place some noodles in a large bowl. Top with 1/4 of the pork mixture. Add some cucumber, carrots, cilantro, or other vegetable condiments of choice.