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Air-Fryer Vietnamese-Style Rice Noodle Salad with Pork

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on February 14, 2020

Time

50 minutes (16 minutes cook time)

Yield

Serves 4

Air-Fryer Vietnamese-Style Rice Noodle Salad with Pork

Ingredients

2 tablespoons fish sauce 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar 1½ teaspoons Asian chili-garlic sauce 1 teaspoon vegetable oil 1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed and halved crosswise8 ounces rice vermicelli ¼ cup lime juice (2 limes), plus lime wedges for serving1 carrot, peeled and grated½ seedless cucumber, cut into 2-inch-long matchsticks2 tablespoons dry-roasted peanuts, chopped2 teaspoons chopped fresh mint

Instructions

  1. Whisk 1 teaspoon fish sauce, 1½ teaspoons ginger, 1 teaspoon sugar, ½ teaspoon chili-garlic sauce, and oil together in large bowl. Pat pork dry with paper towels, add to fish sauce mixture, and toss to coat. Arrange pork in air-fryer basket, spaced evenly apart. (Tuck thinner tail end of tender loin under itself as needed to create uniform piece.) Place basket in air fryer and set temperature to 350 degrees. Cook until pork registers 140 degrees, 16 to 21 minutes, flipping and rotating tenderloin pieces halfway through cooking. Transfer pork to carving board, tent with aluminum foil, and let rest while preparing noodles.
  2. Place noodles in separate large bowl and pour 6 cups boiling water over top. Stir noodles briefly to ensure they are completely submerged, then let soak, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 2 minutes. Drain noodles, rinse under cold water, then drain well again; set aside.
  3. Whisk lime juice, remaining 5 teaspoons fish sauce, remaining 1½ teaspoons ginger, remaining 2 teaspoons sugar, and remaining 1 teaspoon chili-garlic sauce in separate bowl until sugar has dissolved. Slice pork ½ inch thick. Divide noodles among individual serving bowls and top with pork, carrot, and cucumber. Whisk any accumulated pork juices into sauce and drizzle over each bowl. Sprinkle with peanuts and mint. Serve with lime wedges.
Air-Fryer Vietnamese-Style Rice Noodle Salad with Pork
Photography by Steve Klise. Styling by Kendra Smith.

Air-Fryer Vietnamese-Style Rice Noodle Salad with Pork

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By America's Test Kitchen
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Time

50 minutes (16 minutes cook time)

Yield

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
1½ teaspoons Asian chili-garlic sauce
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed and halved crosswise
8 ounces rice vermicelli
¼ cup lime juice (2 limes), plus lime wedges for serving
1 carrot, peeled and grated
½ seedless cucumber, cut into 2-inch-long matchsticks
2 tablespoons dry-roasted peanuts, chopped
2 teaspoons chopped fresh mint

Ingredients

2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
1½ teaspoons Asian chili-garlic sauce
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed and halved crosswise
8 ounces rice vermicelli
¼ cup lime juice (2 limes), plus lime wedges for serving
1 carrot, peeled and grated
½ seedless cucumber, cut into 2-inch-long matchsticks
2 tablespoons dry-roasted peanuts, chopped
2 teaspoons chopped fresh mint

Ingredients

2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
1½ teaspoons Asian chili-garlic sauce
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin, trimmed and halved crosswise
8 ounces rice vermicelli
¼ cup lime juice (2 limes), plus lime wedges for serving
1 carrot, peeled and grated
½ seedless cucumber, cut into 2-inch-long matchsticks
2 tablespoons dry-roasted peanuts, chopped
2 teaspoons chopped fresh mint

Why This Recipe Works

The air fryer offered a hands-off way to roast the pork and gave us perfectly cooked results. To create bold flavors, we briefly marinated the pork in ginger, fish sauce, sugar, and chili-garlic sauce before roasting it, and then we used the same seasonings plus lime juice to build a bright dressing for the noodles. While the cooked pork rested, we set up our noodle bowls, slicing the pork thinly and laying it on the noodles along with cucumber, carrot, mint, and chopped peanuts.

Instructions

  1. Whisk 1 teaspoon fish sauce, 1½ teaspoons ginger, 1 teaspoon sugar, ½ teaspoon chili-garlic sauce, and oil together in large bowl. Pat pork dry with paper towels, add to fish sauce mixture, and toss to coat. Arrange pork in air-fryer basket, spaced evenly apart. (Tuck thinner tail end of tender loin under itself as needed to create uniform piece.) Place basket in air fryer and set temperature to 350 degrees. Cook until pork registers 140 degrees, 16 to 21 minutes, flipping and rotating tenderloin pieces halfway through cooking. Transfer pork to carving board, tent with aluminum foil, and let rest while preparing noodles.
  2. Place noodles in separate large bowl and pour 6 cups boiling water over top. Stir noodles briefly to ensure they are completely submerged, then let soak, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 2 minutes. Drain noodles, rinse under cold water, then drain well again; set aside.
  3. Whisk lime juice, remaining 5 teaspoons fish sauce, remaining 1½ teaspoons ginger, remaining 2 teaspoons sugar, and remaining 1 teaspoon chili-garlic sauce in separate bowl until sugar has dissolved. Slice pork ½ inch thick. Divide noodles among individual serving bowls and top with pork, carrot, and cucumber. Whisk any accumulated pork juices into sauce and drizzle over each bowl. Sprinkle with peanuts and mint. Serve with lime wedges.

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