Vietnamese Grilled Chicken Salad - Martha Stewart Living

Categories: Chicken | Salads

Serves: 4 Servings

Ingredients:

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

Instructions:
1. Soak vermicelli, if using, in a bowl of cold water for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine chopped chile pepper or red-pepper
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 1/4 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
1/4 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
1/2-inch-thick strips and place on salads. Set out fish-sauce 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 MM-Recipes Digest V4 #037 by John Merkel on
Feb 4, 1997.

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