Banh uot thit nuong sa – lemongrass-marinated pork with noodles and greens – is served at Hue Oi.BRAD A. JOHNSON, STAFF
I’ve eaten it so many times that I no longer have to look at a menu. I know before I sit down at Hue Oi in Fountain Valley that I’ll be having number H14.
I can’t pronounce the name: banh uot thit nuong sa. I’ve made a fool of myself trying to pronounce Vietnamese food names on too many occasions. So now it’s just H14, and it has become one of my favorite off-duty meals.
H14 consists of lemongrass-marinated pork, which is grilled until heavily charred around the edges but still tender, just like the pork I’ve eaten from street vendors in Hanoi and Hoi An. The pork is arranged on a plate with a pile of big, square rice noodles and a handful of seemingly random greens. A bowl of lime-chili fish sauce arrives on the side.
The pork is fragrant and slightly sweet. The noodles are soft and slippery. Sometime I mix everything together with the dressing, like a salad. Other times, I like to keep it compartmentalized – a bite of this, a bite of that.
Either way, it is always delicious.
Contact the writer:bajohnson@ocregister.com or Instagram @bradajohnson
Hue Oi
Where:
16537
Brookhurst St.,
Fountain Valley
When: Lunch and
dinner Wednesdays-Mondays
Cost: $8
Phone: 714-531-1305
Web: hueoirestaurant.com
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