← Nouns Cooking · Vietnamese

Ingredients

• 800 g boneless chicken thighs, opened out flat
• 2 lemongrass stalks, tender part finely minced
• 3 cloves Garlic, minced
• 2 Shallot, minced
• 1½ tbsp Fish sauce
• 1 tbsp Oyster sauce
• 2 tbsp Sugar
• ¼ tsp Chinese five-spice
• 1 tbsp Vegetable oil
• 4 tbsp Fish sauce
• 3 tbsp Sugar
• 2 Lime, juiced
• 120 ml warm water
• 1 clove Garlic, minced
• 1 Bird's eye chilli, minced
• 400 g Rice vermicelli
• 1 soft lettuce, shredded
• 1 Cucumber, cut into matchsticks
• 1 handful Mint
• 1 handful Thai basil
• 1 Carrot, julienned (or use đồ chua pickles)
• 50 g roasted peanuts, crushed
• 3 tbsp Crispy fried shallots

Method

1. Mix the lemongrass, garlic, shallots, fish sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, five-spice and oil. Rub it all over the chicken and marinate for 30 min (or overnight in the fridge).
2. Stir the nước chấm ingredients together until the sugar dissolves, then set aside.
3. Cook the noodles according to the packet, rinse in cold water and drain well.
4. Heat a barbecue or griddle pan to medium-high. Grill the chicken for 5–6 min per side, until charred in spots and cooked to 75°C (165°F) in the thickest part. Rest for 5 min, then slice.
5. Fill bowls with lettuce, cucumber, herbs, carrot and noodles. Top with the chicken, peanuts and fried shallots and pour over nước chấm to taste.

Tips

• The sugar in the marinade burns easily, so move the chicken to a cooler part of the grill if it darkens too fast.
• Contains peanuts; leave them off for nut allergies.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Vicky Pham Pups with Chopsticks Marion’s Kitchen