Think of pork neck as pork Scotch fillet and you may be more receptive to using it. Here we are marinating it and serving it with a vermicelli salad with lots of herbs. 

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS


• 2 tbsp palm sugar

• 1/4 cup fish sauce

• 2 tsp crushed garlic

• 1/2 cup very finely chopped spring onions

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil

• salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 600g pork neck, sliced very thinly

• 250g vermicelli noodles

• 1/2 cup mint leaves

• 1/2 cup coriander leaves

• 2 Lebanese cucumbers, cut lengthwise and sliced across

• 1/2 cup spring onions, extra, cut on the long diagonal

• 1/2 cup fried Asian shallots — available in the Asian section of your supermarket or make your own

• 1/2 cup salted roasted peanuts, roughly chopped


Dressing

• 2 tbsp fish sauce

• 2 tbsp white vinegar

• 1 tbsp sugar

• 1 red chilli, chopped

• 2 tbsp lime juice

 

METHOD


To make the marinade, simply combine the palm sugar, fish sauce, garlic, first lot of spring onions, oil and seasoning in a bowl. Add the thinly sliced pork and work the marinade into the meat. Place the vermicelli into a large bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave for 10 minutes to swell and soften. For the dressing, simply combine the ingredients. When the noodles have softened, drain them well and mix through the dressing. Heat a barbecue or pan to very hot and add the meat slices, cooking only briefly on each side as they are very thin. Finish the salad by mixing through the herbs, cucumber and extra spring onions. Arrange portions on plates and top with the pork slices. Finish with a scatter of shallots and peanuts.

 

© The West Australian

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