Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad with Chicken

I doubled the garlic. I didn’t have the cucumber, lettuce or bean sprouts, so I put mustard greens and aerial radish pods in instead.

So so so yum! Use pre-made nuoc cham sauce

In a medium bowl, combine the chicken thighs with your marinade ingredients, and set aside at room temperature for 30 mins to 1 hour while you prepare the other salad ingredients. Combine all the nuoc cham ingredients and stir until the sugar has completely dissolved into the sauce. Taste and adjust any of the ingredients if desired. Boil the rice vermicelli noodles according to the package instructions. Drain and rinse under cold running water. Set aside in a colander. Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a cast iron skillet, grill pan, or frying pan over medium high heat. Sear the chicken for about 4 minutes per side, or until cooked through. Set aside on a plate. To assemble the salad, combine the rice noodles with bean sprouts, julienned carrots and cucumber, romaine lettuce, mint, and cilantro. Slice the chicken thighs and add to the salad. Serve with your nuoc cham sauce.

Used tofu instead of chicken, substituted rice vinegar with white wine vinegar and guessed the dressing amounts was still delicious and fresh.

Fish sauce is a must for an authentic taste.

I didn't have fish sauce and substituted soy sauce with some extra rice vinegar. Very good.