Bo bun, which originated in Vietnam and has taken Paris by storm, is an ultrafresh, healthy, flavor-packed bowlful of lemongrass beef, rice vermicelli, veggies, fresh herbs and peanuts, bathed in a tangy sauce. It is often topped with nems (mini fried spring rolls). Making it at home is a bit of a challenge, as there are many steps. But how else to enjoy this fantastically tasty salad bowl if you don’t live within range of a place that sells it?
Bo bun / Lemongrass beef and rice noodle salad bowl
The first step in making bo bun is to check the ingredient list and then head to your local Asian grocery store. Asian ingredients involved include lemongrass, nuoc mam or another Asian fish sauce, rice vinegar, red bird’s-eye pepper or sambal oelek (an Asian hot sauce), rice vermicelli and, of course, the nems. Even if you have all the other ingredients on hand, the mini spring rolls need to be purchased from an Asian restaurant or grocery store.
Once you’ve assembled all the ingredients, making the dish proceeds by steps: marinating the beef, marinating the carrots, making the sauce, preparing the other ingredients (cucumber, lettuce, mint or Thai basil, peanuts), cooking the noodles, pre-assembling the bowls, heating the nems, cooking the beef and final assembly. Most of this may be done in advance. All that needs to be done at the end is to stir-fry the beef and heat up the nems.
Bo bun has been around in Paris for decades, having arrived with the wave of Vietnamese who came here during the war years. But not until about a dozen years ago did it proliferate to the point where it seems there’s a bo bun joint around every corner. I am lucky enough to have two in my immediate neighborhood, and at least a dozen in an Asian food district just a 15-minute walk away. I go out for bo bun nearly every week.
In Vietnam, bo bun is always served with beef, as its name implies (bò = beef, bún = rice vermicelli). Here in Paris, there are many other versions: with shrimp, pork, chicken, shrimp and beef, and vegetarian. These dishes exist in Vietnam as well, but go by other names. In Paris, they seem always to be bo bun, whatever the topping.
Bo bun is a great dish for summer because of the cold-hot aspect and because it’s so fresh. Serve it with a chilled dry rosé or ice-cold beer. It does take some effort to make it, but you can take your time — and you will be rewarded when mealtime rolls around.
Meantime, if you’re into growing your own herbs, I’d like to point you in the direction of plant d’Avenir (‘plant of the future’), a nursery near France’s Atlantic coast that sells drought-tolerant plants. Here you can find Mentha x piperita ‘Chartreuse’, a spicy mint that would work well in bo bun and many other dishes. For example, mint is key in rouleaux de printemps (fresh spring rolls), which would be a delightful prelude to bo bun.
Happy cooking.
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If serving the sea bass with the tian, you’ll want to get that going first. The potatoes and finocchio are finely sliced and layered into a baking dish with minced garlic, salt, freshly ground black pepper and thyme. I highly recommend using 
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For our first collaborative foray, 
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