Bun Nem with Prawns
You are a fan of Asian cuisine? Do you already know Bun Bo? Here is a recipe inspired by But Bo but in a pesco-vegetarian version: Bun Nem with Prawns.
What is Bo Bun and Bun Nem?
The Bo Bun is a classic of Vietnamese cuisine. It is a very fresh dish perfect for the summer! This is a salad made from rice noodles. The rice noodles are cooked then served cold with raw vegetables such as carrots, cucumber, salad leaves and especially Vietnamese aromatic herbs such as coriander, mint, Thai basil. This salad is accompanied by a sauce made from fish sauce.
“Bo” means “beef” in Vietnamese, hence the name “Bo Bun” when this salad is served with thin slices of beef. In the following recipe, the beef is replaced by spring rolls and is therefore called “Bun Nem”.
Here I added some extra prawns. Unfortunately, I don’t know the name of this recipe in Vietnamese, so I will call it “Bun Nem with Prawns”!
The essential ingredients
For this recipe, you will need three essential ingredients to find the authentic taste of this Vietnamese salad.
Spring rolls: To save time, I bought frozen spring rolls. Depending on your tastes and your diet, you can choose either vegetarian spring rolls or with meat.
Fesh herbs: The essential ingredient in this recipe are aromatic herbs. The mint and the coriander are easy to find herbs. About the thai basil, you have to go to an Asian grocery store or supermarket to find it. You can also add other Vietnamese aromatic herbs if you find any like perilla or Vietnamese cilantro ( rau-ram ).
The fish sauce: You will find fish sauce in most supermarkets.
Find 3 other recipes inspired by Asian cuisine!
Recipe for Bun Nem with Prawns
For 2 portions, you need the following ingredients:
Ingredients
For the salad
- 200 g of rice noodles
- 3 spring rolls
- 4 large prawns
- 100 g of salad leaves
- ¼ cucumber
- 1 carrot
- 1 lime
- 1 red chili
- Fresh herbs Thai basil, fresh mint, perilla, coriander
- Neutral oil
For the dressing
- 4 tablespoons of fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon of sugar
- 1 garlic clove, cut in slices
- 1 red chili, cut in slices
- 75 ml of water
- 1 pinch of salt
Preparation
Cut the carrots and the cucumber into thin strips. Wash the salad leaves and herbs, then dry them on a paper towel. Separate the coriander, mint and Thai basil leaves from their stems.
Dip the rice noodles in hot water for 2-5 minutes until cooked. Then, rinse them under cold water immediately so they don’t stick.
For the sauce, mix the fish sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, water, salt, garlic and the red chili. Let infuse for a few minutes or 1-2 hours.
In a frying pan or wok, heat the oil then sauté the prawns until cooked. Remove them and brown the spring rolls. Cut the spring rolls into two or three pieces of equal size.
Finally, place a portion of rice noodles in a bowl, then add salad leaves, carrots, cucumber, fresh herbs. Place the prawns and spring rolls on top. Then, pour the sauce over everything and add a quarter of lime in each bowl.
Pictures
Find the steps of the recipe in pictures.
Rice noodles 
Salad 
Carrots and cucumber 
Fresh herbs 
Prawns and lime 
Spring rolls and red chilis 
Bun Nem with Prawns
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Bun Nem with Prawns
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Ingredients
For the salad
- 200 g of rice noodles
- 3 spring rolls
- 4 large prawns
- 2 large salad leaves
- ¼ cucumber
- 1 carrot
- 1 lime
- 1 red chili
- Fresh herbs Thai basil fresh mint, perilla, coriander
- Neutral oil
For the dressing
- 4 tablespoons of fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon of sugar
- 75 ml of water
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 garlic clove cut in slices
- 1 red chilo cut in slices
Instructions
- Cut the carrot and the cucumber into thin strips.
- Wash the salad leaves and herbs, then dry them on a paper towel. Separate the coriander, mint and Thai basil leaves from their stems.
- Dip the rice noodle in hot water for 2-5 minutes until cooked. Then, rinse them under cold water immediately so they don’t stick.
- For the sauce, mix the fish sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, water, salt, garlic and the red chili. Let infuse for a few minutes or 1-2 hours.
- In a frying pan or wok, heat the oil then sauté the prawns until cooked. Remove them and brown the spring rolls. Cut the spring rolls into two or three pieces of equal size.
- Finally, place a portion of rice noodles in a bowl, then add salad leaves, carrots, cucumber, fresh herbs. Place the prawns and spring rolls on top. Then, pour the sauce over everything and add a quarter of lime in each bowl.
