Thursday, July 16, 2015

C O L D, S P I C Y  C H I C K E N
& N O O D L E  S A L A D
( lazy girl's spring rolls )


Ahhh.. potlucks! There isn't anthing I love more than a huge gathering of people & FOOD!! Holy smokes. My first potluck at the new job was such a success. There were over 20+ kinds of foods/desserts & we raised over $500 to donate for a good cause. Even better, the president is matching it!  [: 

I usually love to roll up spring rolls especially in the summer but somehow this time around I thought, "Hmm.. I'm sooo busy & I really could save so much time by just making it a salad!" Poof! What a hit it was, too. 

A fellow foodie/ coworker loved it so much that he asked for the recipe twice! Uhh.. how perfect (since I haven't posted a new recipe in awhile)!

The reason why this dish is so good is because of all the fresh herbs & veggies you get. Throw in some of that sweet, spicy, fishy nước chấm sauce & I guarantee your tastebuds will be in heaven. 

This made two dishes worth of salad~ 12 servings. Try it out!

Ingredients:
1 package Rice Noodles
4 Chicken Breasts
Mint
Thai Basil
Cilantro
4 Carrots
4 Cucumbers
1 Red bell peppers
Beansprouts
Crushed peanuts
Fried Shallots

Chili-Lime Vinaigrette:
Sugar
Water
Lime juice
Fish sauce
Thai chili peppers
Garlic

Directions:
  1. Boil a pot of water & add your rice noodles. Cook until soft. Make sure to read the instructions because this depends on the size of noodle! 
  2. Drain & rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. Mix in a small amount of olive oil to separate & use kitchen shears to cut up the long bundles of noodles into smaller pieces.
  3. Prep veggies. Rinse all herbs & take leaves off of stems. Cut carrots, cucumbers, & bell peppers into bite-sized strips.  
  4. Cut your chicken (you can cook it any way you’d like- summer= grill) into nice strips.
  5. In a large serving dish or bowl mix veggies, noodles & chicken together.
  6. Optional! Top with crushed peanuts & fried shallots (this you can get at an Asian market or do yourself!) Also, I stuck some peppers in there for fun [;
To make the sauce:
  1. In a mortar add 4 garlic cloves & 1-4 thai chili peppers- muddle with pestle. Try using 1 pepper first because they can be pretty, pretttttty hot! (Another way is putting the garlic & peppers in a ziplock bag & pounding them out with a rolling pin or bottom of a bottle!)
  2. Melt 2 tbsp of sugar with 1 tbsp oil in a pot until you get a nice caramel- about 3 minutes while stirring.
  3. Add 1/2 cup of water to the caramel & stir to dissolve the sweetness.
  4. Once all the sugar is melted you get a nice brown colored sauce- let it cool for a few minutes outside or add a couple ice cubes.
  5. Add the juice of a whole lime to the sauce, 2-4 tbsp of fish sauce & the smushed up garlic & peppers.
  6. Taste! This can be as sweet or sour or as spicy as you’d like so add more of either ingredients to match your flavor. If you like it more saltier than sweet add more fish sauce. Like sweeter? Add a little sugar- or even agave!


#POTLUCKSFOREVER !!! Oh & making posters/ banners also tickle my fancy ^______^