You’ll need the basic ingredients at hand - things I always stock like fish sauce, shriracha (a banging garlicky chilli sauce you can buy in the Asian sections of most supermarkets) brown sugar and fresh lime. For lemongrass, I often can’t be bothered chopping and pounding up the lemongrass myself, so opt for the paste you can buy in little tubes in the herb section, or a bottle of the pickled variety. The other key flavours here are the garlic and fresh herbs - Vietamese mint and coriander (cilantro to some).

An interesting fact about rice noodles:

Surprisingly, rice noodles actually have a lower glycaemic index or ‘GI’ than regular rice, which means less of a blood sugar and insulin spike - especially when combined with chicken and vegetables for protein and fibre. So they’re a good option for those with impaired glucose tolerance, diabetes or polycystic ovarian syndrome.

This salad is easy to largely pre-prepare.

You can pre marinate and pre-cook the chicken, cook and cool the noodles, and have your vegetables and herbs chopped up and ready to go for a quick dinner assembly when the time comes.

Rice noodle salad like this is also a ripper left-over option for lunches, as you can pack everything in a container and just add the dressing at the last minute.

Low fodmap tweaks

For those with IBS, you can swap in some garlic infused oil in place of the garlic (about 2 tsps should do it). Depending how careful you need to be, you might need to swap out the shriracha for a suitable tomato sauce and use some fresh chilli. Otherwise, this salad is pretty much good to go for low FODMAP option.

Balmy spring evenings, here we come!

Vietnamese Sticky Chicken Rice Noodle Salad

Serves: 3-4

Author: Marnie Nitschke

Prep time: 30 MinCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 1 Hour

Hot tip: double the portions for the chicken and marinade, so you have leftover chicken for another delicious variation like rice paper rolls or bahn mi!

Ingredients

Chicken marinade

1 tbsp minced/chopped garlic
2 tbsp finely chopped lemongrass (or pre-bought lemongrass paste)
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp lime juice
5 tsp fish sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp bbq sauce
1 tbsp Shriracha sauce
A good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 kg skinless chicken thigh fillets

Rice bowl ingredients

1 250g packet (thin) rice vermicelli noodles
2 medium carrots - thinly sliced into batons
1 large cucumber – sliced into thin rods
1/2 small iceberg or cos lettuce, shredded
1/4 red cabbage, finely shaved
Big handful of Vietnamese mint, washed and picked
Small bunch of fresh coriander, washed and picked
Crushed peanuts, to serve

Dressing

80mL hot water
2 tbsp caster sugar
1.5 tbsp fish sauce
Juice of 1 lime (50-60mL)

Instructions

Sticky chicken

Mix all the marinade ingredients together in a large bowl, then add the chicken, mix to coat thoroughly and marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes to 4 hours.
Heat a grill or barbeque, and cook for around 10 minutes each side (until it starts to get those lovely caramelised colours and the chicken is cooked through).
Alternatively, to cook in the oven, tip chicken and marinade into a large deep oven tray and bake uncovered for 40 minutes at 200 C.
Once cooked, remove chicken from heat and allow to rest, then slice or chop roughly and set aside until you’re ready to add to the salad.

To build your salad

Place the noodles in a large bowl or saucepan, pour boiling water over to cover, and sit for around 5 minutes until they are cooked but not soggy. Drain and set aside.·
Prepare the carrot, cucumber, lettuce, cabbage and herbs.
Make the dressing by combining all ingredients and stirring until sugar is dissolved.
Portion the cooked, cooled noodles into large serving bowls, add all vegetables and herbs and mix to combine evenly.
Finally, top with grilled chicken pieces, garnish with crushed peanuts and spoon on 2-3 tablespoons of dressing per bowl.
Tuck in!