Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Salad
Liven up your lunchbox with this easy noodle salad, bold with Vietnamese flavours. Loaded with crunchy vegetables and chicken it makes for a healthy lunch option.
Introduction
Lots of crunchy fresh vegetables, juicy shredded chicken and rice noodles tossed together with a lime and chilli dressing make a megahealthy, refreshing lunch. The tangy dressing is fat-free and the veggies certainly give you a generous boost towards your five-a-day. Pack up the salad in a box and tuck into it with chopsticks if you want to be really authentic (or use pencils if you’re eating at your desk!).
Ingredients
| 500ml | water or chicken stock |
| 2 | skinless chicken breasts |
| 125g | thin rice noodles |
| ¼ | Chinese leaf/cabbage, finely shredded |
| 1 | carrot, peeled and cut into matchsticks |
| ¼ | cucumber, cut into matchsticks |
| 4 | spring onions, sliced into thin strips |
| a small handful | of coriander leaves, roughly chopped |
| a small handful | of mint leaves, roughly chopped |
| 50-100g | roasted unsalted peanuts, chopped |
| For the dressing: | |
| 2 tbsp | lime juice |
| 1 tsp | caster sugar |
| 1 tbsp | fish sauce |
| 1 | long red chilli (about the size of your index finger), deseeded and finely sliced |
Method
Bring the water or chicken stock to the boil. Add the chicken, cover with a lid and simmer for 5 minutes. Lift out the chicken with a slotted spoon and leave
to cool.
Return the liquid to the boil, turn off the heat and add the noodles. Leave to soak for about 4 minutes or until tender, and then drain. Cool under the
cold tap and place in a mixing bowl.
Shred the chicken and add to the noodles with the Chinese cabbage, carrot, cucumber, spring onion and herbs.
Mix together all the dressing ingredients until the sugar has dissolved and pour over the salad. Toss the salad and scatter over the peanuts.
PS… If you can’t get hold of roasted unsalted peanuts, buy raw shelled peanuts with reddish brown skins on. Roast in a hot, dry frying pan for 2 to 3 minutes until they start to colour. Reduce the heat and continue to roast for a further 5 minutes, tossing them in the pan. Tip on to kitchen paper and rub away their skins.
