Recipe - Vietnamese Grilled Chicken Salad - Martha Stewart Living

1/3 pound Rice vermicelli or somen
noodles
1 Dried red chile pepper,
coarsely chopped, OR
One fourth teaspoon Redpepper flakes
1 tablespoon Sugar
1 tablespoon Fresh lime juice
5 tablespoon Ricewine vinegar
2 tablespoon Fish sauce
2 lg Carrots
1 lg Cucumber, peeled if waxy
One half Head Chinese cabbage, leaves
separated & coarsely
chopped (about 4 C)
One half Head Boston lettuce,
coarsely chopped
(about 2 C)
One half cup Bean sprouts
2 Whole boneless and skinless
chicken breasts (4 halves)
2 teaspoon Canola or vegetable oil
Salt & freshly ground pepper
One half cup Fresh mint leaves
One half cup Cilantro leaves
One fourth cup Lightly salted roasted
peanuts, coarsely chopped

1. Soak vermicelli, if using, in a bowl of cold water for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine chopped chile pepper or redpepper
flakes, sugar, lime juice, 2 T of the vinegar, and fish sauce. Stir well to
dissolve sugar. Set aside.

2. Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Drain vermicelli and add
to boiling water; cook for 2 minutes. If using somen, add dry noodles to
boiling water and cook for 3 minutes. Drain noodles and transfer to a bowl
of cold water. Set aside.

3. Peel carrots and, using a sharp zester, cut into long, thin threads. Use
a vegetable peeler to "peel" entire cucumber into long, thin strips. Cut
strips lengthwise into thinner strips, about One fourth inch wide.

4. Combine carrots, cucumber, cabbage, lettuce, and bean sprouts in a
mixing bowl and toss with remaining vinegar. Set aside.

5. Remove tenderloin (meat attached to underside of breast) from chicken
breasts; save for another use. Place breasts between 2 pieces of plastic
wrap. Using the flat side of a meat tenderizer or cleaver, pound breasts
One fourth inch thick.

6. Heat grill or grill pan and brush with oil. Season chickcn on both sides
with salt and pepper, and grill until cooked through and juices run clear,
about 4 minutes per side. Remove from grill and allow to sit for 1 to 2
minutes.

7. Drain noodles well. Divide salad mixture among 4 plates. Top each with a
quarter of the noodles. Slice chicken breasts lengthwise into
1/2inchthick strips and place on salads. Set out fishsauce mixture, mint
and cilantro leaves, and chopped peanuts in separate bowls, for dressing
and garnishing individual salads.

Martha Stewart Living/August/94 Scanned & fixed by Di Pahl
Posted to MMRecipes Digest V4 #037 by John Merkel jmerk@doitnow.com on
Feb 4, 1997.