Lemongrass chicken noodle bowl (bún gà nướng)
50 min · 44 g protein · 401 cals / serving
Chicken marinated in lemongrass, shallot, garlic and fish sauce, grilled until caramelised and smoky at the edges, then sliced over cool rice vermicelli with crisp lettuce, cucumber, bean sprouts, quick-pickled carrot and daikon and fistfuls of mint, basil and cilantro. You pour over the sweet, sour, salty nước chấm and toss: every forkful is warm and cold, soft and crunchy at once.
Ingredients
Lemongrass chicken
- 2 stalks lemongrass, tender inner part only, very finely minced
- 1 medium shallot, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 1/2 tsp brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp canola oil
- 1 1/2 lb chicken breast, halved horizontally into thin fillets
Quick pickle
- 1 large carrot, in thin matchsticks
- a 4-inch (10 cm) piece of daikon oriental radishes, in thin matchsticks
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- a pinch salt
Nước chấm
- 3 tbsp fish sauce
- 3 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup water, warm
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Thai chili red chili pepper, finely sliced
Bowls
- 3 oz (90 g) dried rice vermicelli rice noodles
- 1 small head green leaf lettuce, leaves torn
- 1 1/2 large cucumbers, in matchsticks
- 2 cups bean sprouts
- 1/2 cup leaves fresh mint
- 1 handful fresh basil, Thai basil if you can find it
- 1 handful fresh cilantro
To serve
- 1 1/2 tbsp roasted unsalted peanuts, crushed
Steps
- Mix the lemongrass, shallot, garlic, fish sauce, sugar, pepper and oil in a bowl, add the chicken and turn to coat. Leave 30 minutes, or up to a day in the fridge.
- Toss the carrot and daikon with the vinegar, sugar and salt and leave them to pickle while you do everything else.
- Stir the fish sauce, lime juice, sugar and warm water until the sugar dissolves, then add the garlic and chili. It should taste sweet, sour and salty all at once; adjust with more lime or sugar.
- Cook the noodles according to the packet (usually 3–4 minutes in boiling water), drain, rinse under cold water and leave to drain well.
- Heat a grill pan or grill to medium-high, or the broiler to high. Cook the chicken 5–6 minutes per side, until caramelised and charred at the edges and 165°F in the thickest piece. Rest 5 minutes, then slice.
- Divide the lettuce, cucumber, sprouts and herbs between four wide bowls, add a pile of noodles and the drained pickles, lay the chicken on top and scatter over the peanuts. Pour about 3 tablespoons of nước chấm over each bowl and toss at the table.
Good to know
Is it gluten-free and dairy-free?
Yes, as written: rice noodles, fish sauce and lime, with no soy sauce. A few fish sauces add wheat, so check the label.
No fresh lemongrass?
Use 2 tbsp of lemongrass paste from a tube or jar, or frozen chopped lemongrass. It is softer in flavour but still tastes right.
Make it ahead?
Marinate the chicken, make the nước chấm and pickle the vegetables a day ahead. The noodles are best cooked fresh but keep a day in the fridge; rinse them under warm water to loosen them.
Thighs instead of breast?
Boneless, skinless thighs are what most Vietnamese cooks use; they are juicier and a little richer, at about 69 instead of 76. Cook them 6–7 minutes per side.
Per
- Calories
- 75
- Protein
- (45%)
- 8 g
- Fat
- (18%)
- 1 g
- Carbohydrates
- (37%)
- 7 g
- of which sugar
- 3 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 300 mg
More meals
Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. General guidance, not medical advice. Talk to your prescriber. How
As written, 1605 kcal goes into the pot and 2350 g of ingredients comes out as about 2150 g of food: 75 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.