Vietnamese

This is, without doubt, the noodle salad bowl that always makes me smile. It’s just full-on flavour with every mouthful.

4 chicken thigh fillets

180g (6.3 oz) dried rice vermicelli noodles

1 tbsp vegetable oil

100g (3.5 oz) baby spinach leaves

sliced cucumber, to serve

finely julienned carrot, to serve

¼ cup roasted peanuts, crushed or finely chopped

roughly torn mint leaves, to serve

Marinade:

2 tbsp fish sauce

1 garlic clove, finely grated

1 tsp sugar

½ tsp ground black pepper

Nuoc cham dressing:

3 tbsp fish sauce

3 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp white vinegar

2 tbsp lime juice

1 long red chilli, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

In a large bowl, combine the chicken fillets with the marinade ingredients. Set aside to marinate while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
For the nuoc cham dressing, place the ingredients in a bowl and whisk until well combined. Set aside for later.
Cook the noodles in boiling water for 2-3 minutes or until just cooked. Drain and rinse until cool. Divide among serving bowls.
Heat the oil on a large grill plate or in a frying pan over high heat. Add the chicken fillets and cook 3-4 minutes on the first side or until lovely and golden. Turn the fillets over and reduce the heat to medium and continue cooking for another 3-4 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from heat and slice the chicken.
To serve, arrange the baby spinach, cucumber and carrot on top of the noodles. Top with chicken slices. Spoon over a generous amount of the nuoc cham dressing. Top with the crushed peanuts and mint leaves and serve.