Rice Noodles with Chicken & Nuoc Cham

Are you single? Do you live alone? Let's bond over meals that conquer singledom.
I'm a fan of one bowl meals and an even bigger fan of meals which don't need to be prepped in huge portions resulting in leftovers lasting in the fridge forever and forever. I'm also a fan of meals which can be put together easily. Also as you know a fan of all things delicious. In my opinion, this qualifies for all of the above.

Rice noodles/ vermicelli is a favourite. I've always like thin noodles & angel haired pasta. And in my mallu rice loving mind, anything rice is always good and healthy. That's what I grew up with and that's what I go by.

One of my hunts for easy to put together meals landed me on this recipe in Bon Appetit. I subbed the parsnips and the turnips with carrots cos that's what I normally have in my kitchen. My recipe is for a single portion. If you want it for more people, simply multiply or head to the Bon Appetit recipe.

If you're not used to Vietnamese food, the fish sauce might seem a little strong. Power on I say. It does lead to delicious results. This is on my repeat list.



Ingredients

1 chicken breast
1 small onion thinly sliced
2 tbsp. oil

50g rice noodles

3 garlic cloves
4 birds eye chillis
2 tbsp. fish sauce
3 tbsp. fresh lime juice
2 tbsp. brown sugar

1 carrot thinly sliced round
7-8 basil leaves

Season chicken breast with salt and pepper and grill till cook. Cool and slice. Use half and store the rest for later use.
Gently fry onions till crisp. Drain and keep aside.
Soak noodles in boiling hot water. Cover and keep aside for 8-10 mins or till soft. Do not wait for too long or it will turn mushy. Drain.
Grate/finely chop garlic. Slice birds eye chillis fine.
Combine fish sauce, lime juice, garlic, chillis and brown sugar till sugar blends in.
Mix everything except the fried onions and half the basil leaves.
Top with fried onions and basil.

Dig in! Slurp!