Vietnamese Noodle Bowls with Grilled Lemongrass Chicken

Whenever I am visiting my sister we always order these amazing Vietnamese Noodle Bowls from this little hole in the wall place near her house. I LOVE them! I dream about them when I am not there, I haven’t been able to find a place near me that makes them quite the same. 

I was really craving one so I decided to try and make them on my own. I searched the internets for the components that I knew I would need to make them just right. I kinda mashed them all together and came up with a fantastic recipe.

These bowls are just fantastic. They are so close the ones that inspired me to make them. They totally satisfied my craving!

What you need,

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For the noodle bowl,

½ pkg. rice vermicelli noodles

3 cups romaine lettuce, sliced thinly

1 English cucumber, julienned

1 large carrot, julienned

2 cups bean sprouts

6-7 basil leaves, torn into small pieces

2 green onions, sliced thinly

1 small red chili, sliced thinly

½ cup peanuts, chopped

6 Vietnamese style spring rolls (store bought is fine!)

For the Nuc Mam Sauce,

1 cup water

4 tbsp. rice wine vinegar

2 tbsp. sugar

5 tbsp. fish sauce

2 cloves garlic minced

1 small red chili, sliced thinly

1 tbsp. lime juice

For the grilled lemongrass chicken,

2 chicken breasts, trimmed of any fat

1 lemon grass stalk, cut into ¼ inch pieces

1 inch piece of ginger, grated

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 green onions, sliced

1 tbsp. honey

1 tbsp. lime juice

2 tsp. fish sauce

2 tsp. soy sauce

2 tsp. vegetable oil

¼ tsp. fresh cracked black pepper

3 tbsp. water

Start by making the Nuc Mam sauce. In a small pot over medium heat combine the water, sugar and rice wine vinegar.  Bring the mixture to a boil then remove it from the heat and let it come to room temperature.  Once the mixture has cooled stir in the fish sauce, garlic, chili and lime juice. Cover the sauce and keep in the fridge until you are ready to use.  This can easily be made up to 2 days ahead.

Next up make the marinade for the chicken.  In a large zip top bag combine the lemongrass, ginger, garlic, onions, honey, lime juice, fish sauce, soy sauce, vegetable oil, pepper and water. Shake it well to combine. Toss in the chicken breasts and massage the marinade in well. Let the chicken marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours and up to overnight.

When you are ready to eat cook the rice vermicelli noodles according to the package directions then bake the spring rolls, according to directions on the package and finally grill the chicken on the BBQ or in a grill pan until brown and crisp and cooked through.

When you are ready to assemble the noodle bowls I find it easiest to lay out all the ingredients on a large cutting board, or you could use small bowls for each ingredient if you want. This way everyone can take what they want and add it to their own bowls.

Lay out the cooked noodles, slice the chicken and slice the spring rolls into 1 inch pieces.  Place the lettuce, cucumber, bean sprouts, carrot, basil, green onion, red chili and chopped peanuts on the board or in bowls.

Once you have dished up your bowl pour a generous helping of the Nuc Man sauce over the bowl, and stuff it in your face!

These noodle bowls were to die for! The chicken, OMG it was so good. I have never had grilled chicken with so much flavor!

They do take a little time to prepare, but all the steps are simple and most if it can be prepped well in advance.

They would make a great dinner party food. The recipe makes a lot of food and everyone can choose what they want in their bowls.

Now that I know I can make these at home, I may never eat out again‼

Enjoy!

Jen

Recipe frankensteined together from a whole bunch of recipes on the interwebs.