Nem Nuong
Grilled garlicky pork sausage patties to wrap with herbs.
Ingredients
- 600 g Ground pork
- 5 cloves Garlic
- 2 Shallot
- 2 tbsp Fish sauce
- 2 tbsp Sugar
- 1 head Romaine lettuce
- 1 bunch Mint
- 1 tbsp Neutral oil
Method
- Blend the pork with the garlic, shallot, fish sauce, and sugar into a sticky paste, then chill it to firm up.
- Shape the chilled paste onto skewers or into patties.
- Grill the patties in a little oil over medium-high heat until charred and cooked through.
- Serve with lettuce and mint for wrapping.
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About Nem Nuong
Nem nuong is a Vietnamese grilled pork sausage, a fragrant, garlicky patty or skewer that's a fixture of Vietnamese cooking and often served as part of a make-your-own wrap spread. The pork is blended with garlic, shallot, fish sauce, and sugar into a sticky paste, and that emulsifying and chilling step is essential: it gives the finished sausage its characteristic springy, bouncy bite rather than a crumbly ground-meat texture. Grilled until charred, it turns savory and lightly sweet with a smoky edge, and the fish sauce lends the deep, salty umami backbone that defines so much Vietnamese food.
The joy of nem nuong is in the assembly at the table, wrapping the hot, charred pork in cool romaine and fresh mint so every bite balances rich and fresh, warm and crisp. Traditionally it's eaten with rice paper, rice noodles, pickled vegetables, and a dipping sauce, but even in this pared-down form the herbs and lettuce do the essential work of cutting the richness. It's high in protein, low in carbs, and comes together in about half an hour once the paste has firmed up. Shaping it onto skewers or into patties is a matter of preference; either way, the char is what you're after.
Nem Nuong: frequently asked questions
How many calories are in Nem Nuong?
A serving has about 452 calories — 30.1g protein, 17.5g carbs, 30.2g fat, 4.1g fiber. Figures are estimated from the ingredient amounts and will shift with your portions and brands.
Is it high in protein?
Each serving has about 30.1g of protein, roughly 27% of its calories.
Is Nem Nuong gluten-free?
Based on its ingredients, Nem Nuong has no gluten-containing components, so it's naturally gluten-free — as always, check that any packaged ingredients you use are certified gluten-free to be safe.
How long does Nem Nuong take to make?
About 30 minutes start to finish, but only around 18 of those are hands-on — the rest is largely unattended cooking time you can step away from. In the Homecooked app the timers and parallel steps are sequenced for you so the hands-on part feels even shorter.
How many servings does Nem Nuong make?
This recipe makes 4 servings. In the app you can scale it up or down and the ingredient amounts adjust automatically.