Bún Gà with Lemongrass Chicken

📝 Ingredients

• 140 g dried rice vermicelli
• 300 g chicken breast (or skinless thighs)
• 2 stalks fresh lemongrass
• 2 garlic cloves and 1 small red chilli
• 3 tbsp fish sauce (nuoc mam)
• 1.5 tbsp sugar (20 g)
• 1 tbsp neutral oil
• 2 limes
• 1/2 cucumber
• 1 carrot
• 4 large lettuce leaves
• 1 small bunch of mint and 1 of coriander
• 20 g unsalted roasted peanuts, crushed

🍴 Utensils

• Frying pan
• Saucepan
• Colander
• Mixing bowl
• Cutting board and knife
• Bowl

📖 Steps

1. Remove the tough outer leaves from the lemongrass and chop the tender part (the bottom 10 cm) very finely. Chop the garlic and chilli. Cut the chicken into thin slices 1 cm thick.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the chicken with the lemongrass, half the garlic, 1 tbsp fish sauce, 1 tsp sugar and the oil. Leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 15 minutes (or up to overnight).
3. Make the nuoc cham sauce: dissolve the remaining sugar in 4 tbsp warm water, then add the remaining fish sauce, the lime juice, the rest of the garlic and the chilli. Taste: it should be salty, sour and sweet all at once.
4. Drop the noodles into a pan of boiling water for 3 to 4 minutes (or according to the packet), until tender. Drain, rinse thoroughly in cold water to remove the starch and leave to drain well.
5. Cut the cucumber and carrot into thin matchsticks, shred the lettuce and pick the mint and coriander leaves. Keep everything in the fridge while the chicken cooks so the vegetables stay crunchy.
6. Heat the frying pan over a high heat without adding any fat (the marinade already contains some). Sear the chicken for 5 to 6 minutes, turning it, until well browned, lightly caramelised and cooked through. Leave to cool.
7. Assemble the bowls: lettuce at the bottom, then cold noodles, raw vegetables, chicken, herbs and crushed peanuts. Drizzle with nuoc cham sauce just before serving and toss at the table.