Tony Zentgraf
Skewered Street Food Around The World
This recipe for Vietnamese Grilled Pork Skewers goes in a different direction than the other skewers in the series so far. Most have been diced or sliced meats that are marinated, then skewered.
These Vietnamese Grilled Pork Skewers are made with ground pork and other ingredients and then formed onto skewers. Then they are grilled.
It may seem like it may not stay on the skewer but with the way the ingredients are pureed together the meat becomes easy to form and stays on the skewer when grilling. Brush on the basting liquid and serve with the spicy sauce.
You will enjoy the sweet coating of the basting liquid and the vinegar heat of the dipping sauce. Give this recipe a try. It is unique and delicious.
Hailing from Northern Vietnam
Vietnamese Grilled Pork Skewer or NEM NƯỚNG (sometimes referred to as grilled pork sausage) is from the northern region of Vietnam.
Khánh Hòa Province is known for their NEM NƯỚNG. The skewered ground meat is most often made with a higher amount of fat, 25-30% pork belly to meat ratio.
Just as in other countries such as Indonesia with the satays, depending on where you are in Vietnam and depending on what family is making the Nem Nuong they will vary in how they are made and eaten.
One Name but Served Different Depending on Where You Go
After making the mix, forming onto skewers then grilling the cooked pork skewer can be served a variety of ways. One of the more popular ways to eat is to wrap the grilled pork into rice paper with veggies and eat with a dipping sauce.
Another way is to eat them over rice noodles. In this recipe I served the skewers over a rice noodle salad. However you choose to eat them, the glaze you will baste on will give a sweetness to the grilled pork.
Paired with the dipping sauce it is delicious without adding other side dishes but I recommended to wrap in rice paper with veggies or serve with a cold noodle salad.
Enjoy!
Vietnamese Grilled Pork Skewer (GF) – NEM NƯỚNG
Print RecipeEquipment
- 12 Bamboo Skewers - (soaked in water 2 hrs to overnight)
Recipe Multiplier
Pork Fat Base Ingredients
- 6 oz Bacon diced (or pork belly)
- 5 ea Cloves Garlic
- 2 ea Shallots
Pork Grind Ingredients
- 1 ⅓ lb Ground Pork
- 2 ½ tbsp Fish Sauce
- 1 ½ tbsp Palm Sugar
- 1 ½ tbsp Glutinous Rice Flour or Potato Starch
- ½ tsp White Pepper
- ½ tsp Kosher Salt
Honey Fish Sauce Glaze
- 2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
- 2 tbsp Honey
- 2 tbsp Fish Sauce
- 3 tbsp Water
Nuoc Cham (Vietnamese Dipping Sauce)
- 3 tbsp Fish Sauce
- 2 tbsp Lime Juice
- 2 tbsp Rice Vinegar (or Pickled Ginger Juice)
- 2 tbsp Palm Sugar
- 1 ea Thai Chili sliced
- 1 ea Garlic Clove minced
Instructions
Making the Pork Mixture
Step 1 – Pork Fat Base Process
- In a food processor, add the bacon, shallots and garlic.
- Pulse the food processor until the ingredients are chopped and beginning to combine.
- Turn on the food processor and let it run for 2-3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Start the food processor and run until the ingredients begin to smooth out into a paste, approximately 2-3 additional minutes. The fat will form a ball and roll around the food processor bowl like dough but eventually it will begin to smooth out around the sides. You may need to scrape the bowl and smooth out the fat to help the processor break down the fat.
- Once the ingredients have reached a smooth paste consistency, remove from the bowl and reserve for later use.
Step 2 – Pork Grind Process
- No need to wash the bowl. Add to the bowl the ground pork, fish sauce, palm sugar, white pepper, and salt.
- You will repeat the process, pulse the ingredients to begin the chopping.
- Once the ingredients are beginning to come together, turn on the processor and let it run for a couple of minutes.
- Scrape down the bowl and smooth out the pork mix.
- Continue to process the mixture for another 2-3 minutes.
- Stopping to scrape as needed.
Step 3 – Combining the two Pork Bases
- Once the mixture is beginning to look smooth, add the fat mixture and the glutinous flour to the bowl.
- Turn on the food processor to incorporate the two mixes, approximately 2-3 minutes. Stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl.
- Once the two mixes are incorporated, remove from the bowl and place in a resealable bag or wrap in plastic wrap flat. The mix will be warm from running the processor.
- Place the flattened mixture in the freezer for 1 hour to cool down and allow the mixture to rest and firm up. The mixture texture should have some springiness to it once cooled.
Skewering the Pork Mixture
- There are different methods for forming the mixture on the skewer. 1) The skewer can be coated fully from the tip to about 2-3 inches form the end of the skewer. 2) The mix can be made into meatballs on the skewer and separated by a half inch between meatballs. 3) Or as I did in the pictures and video, make into football shapes and formed around the skewer. Placing 2-3 on a skewer.
- Be sure to form the ends of the meat tight around the skewer, this will help the meat stay on the skewer.
- Refrigerate the skewers until you are ready to cook.
Making the Honey Fish Sauce Glaze
- Combine all ingredients and mix well to combine. The oil will separate, be sure to remix before brushing the skewers.
Making Nuoc Cham
- Slice the Thai chili and mince the garlic.
- Combine all ingredients and mix well to dissolve the sugar.
Grilling the Pork Skewers
- Preheat the grill, brush the grill grates with oil to keep the meat from sticking.
- Grill the meat over medium high heat. Rotating every couple minutes.
- Baste the skewers with the honey mixture when you rotate the skewers. Watch for flare ups because of the oil in the basting mix.
- Try to get a decent char all around the skewers.
- Remove the skewers when the internal temp is approx 140° Serve the skewers with Nuoc Cham dipping sauce. Traditionally the meat can be used in a Vietnamese Spring Roll or served with a noodle salad. Enjoy!
I love the flavor of the pork skewers and the dipping sauce.