Vietnamese Pork and Glass Noodle Stuffed Peppers

About This Recipe

Stuffed vegetables appear throughout Vietnamese home cooking, most commonly as ca chua nhoi thit (stuffed tomatoes) or stuffed bitter melon, simmered gently in broth rather than baked dry in an oven. This version applies that same technique to bell peppers, filled with a mixture of ground pork, softened glass noodles, and wood ear mushrooms for a distinctive chewy texture that's a hallmark of Vietnamese stuffed dishes. Wood ear mushrooms, rehydrated from their dried form, add a springy, almost cartilaginous texture that contrasts nicely with the soft glass noodles and tender pork, a textural contrast Vietnamese cooking often seeks out deliberately. The stuffed peppers simmer directly in a light tomato broth rather than baking, which keeps the filling moist and infuses the peppers with flavor from the outside in. Finished with toasted sesame seeds and fresh herbs, this dish sits somewhere between a soup and a main course, traditionally served with rice and eaten as part of a larger family-style meal.

Ingredients

Serves 3

• 6bell peppers(tops cut off, seeds removed)
• 400 gground pork
• 50 gglass noodles(soaked in warm water and chopped)
• 15 gdried wood ear mushrooms(rehydrated and finely chopped)
• 3 clovesgarlic(minced)
• 2 tbspfish sauce
• 1 tspsugar
• 0.5 tspblack pepper
• 3 cupschicken or pork broth
• 2tomatoes(quartered)
• 2 tbsptoasted sesame seeds
• 2 tbspvegetable oil
• 0.25 cupfresh cilantro(chopped)

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the filling

   In a bowl, combine ground pork, chopped glass noodles, wood ear mushrooms, garlic, fish sauce, sugar, and black pepper. Mix well until evenly combined.

2. 2

   Stuff the peppers

   Fill each hollowed pepper with the pork mixture, packing gently, up to just below the rim.

3. 3

   Build the broth

   Heat oil in a wide pot over medium heat. Add tomatoes and cook 4-5 minutes, mashing lightly, until they start to break down.

4. 4

   Add broth

   Pour in the chicken or pork broth and bring to a gentle simmer.

5. 5

   Simmer the peppers

   Carefully lower the stuffed peppers into the broth, standing upright if possible. Cover and simmer 25-30 minutes until the peppers are tender and the filling is cooked through.

6. 6

   Finish and serve

   Ladle the peppers into bowls with some of the tomato broth. Scatter toasted sesame seeds and fresh cilantro over the top before serving with rice.

Variations

• •

  Use ground chicken or shrimp instead of pork for a lighter filling.

• •

  Stuff tomatoes instead of peppers for a more traditional Vietnamese presentation.

• •

  Add a handful of bean thread noodles directly to the simmering broth for extra heartiness.

Storage

Refrigerate up to 3 days in an airtight container, peppers submerged in their broth. Reheat gently on the stovetop; the peppers continue to soften slightly with each reheat.

Frequently Asked Questions