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A bowl of vermicelli salad with sliced chicken

Vietnamese Vermicelli Noodle Bowl with Lemongrass chicken

Light, refreshing, fragrant and so yum! This Vietnamese vermicelli bowl with lemongrass chicken (Bun Ga Nuong) is an utter delight! Perfect on a weeknight and spectacular for entertaining. This crowd-pleaser salad is flavour packed and a complete joy to eat.
4.92 from 12 votes
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Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Marinate Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 4 - 6 people
Calories: 611kcal

Equipment

  • Optional: pestle and mortar or small food processor

Ingredients

For the salad

  • 200 g / 7 ounces vermicelli rice noodles soak according to packet instructions, drained
  • 2 cucumbers cut to thin sticks
  • 1 carrot grated or finely cut to thin sticks
  • 2 cups fresh bean sprouts rinsed and drained (note 1)
  • ½ bunch fresh mint leaves only, roughly chopped
  • ½ bunch fresh coriander leaves roughly chopped, stems finely chopped
  • ¼ cup roasted peanuts salted or unsalted, roughly chopped
  • nuoc mam (Vietnamese salad dressing)
  • lemongrass chicken (below)

For the lemongrass chicken

  • 1 kg / 2 pounds chicken thighs boneless, skinless
  • 1 lemongrass
  • ¼ onion roughly chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoon brown sugar substitute: white or palm sugar
  • 1 tablespoon neutral tasting oil eg. sunflower or grapeseed oil

Instructions

To make the lemongrass chicken

  • Wash and trim lemongrass, only use the thick part of the lemongrass. (note 2)
  • If using pestle and mortar: finely slice then pound the lemongrass until fragrant. About 1 minute. Add garlic and onion. Pound for a further minute until a rough dry paste is formed.
  • If using a food processor: blend lemongrass for about 5 seconds. Add garlic and onions, blend for a further 10 seconds.
  • Finely chop method: if you have neither of the two above tools, simply finely chop the lemongrass, garlic and onions.
  • Place lemongrass mixture into a large mixing bowl. Add fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar and oil. Mix well then add in chicken thighs and coat chicken well with the marinade. Cover and marinate in the fridge for 1 hour or even better, overnight.
  • 30 minutes before cooking, take the marinated chicken out of the fridge to bring it up to room temperature for even cooking.
  • Preheat oven grill/broiler to 230°C/450°F.
  • Place chicken thighs on a foil-lined baking tray and broil/grill for 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked and lightly charred. No need to flip.

To make the vermicelli salad bowl

  • This recipe makes 4 servings as a main or 6 as a side. You can either serve it in 4 individual bowls or 1 large salad bowl. If serving in individual bowls, divide the salad ingredients evenly.
  • To make the salad, first line the serving bowl/s with vermicelli noodles then top with cucumber, carrots, mint, coriander and bean sprouts. Top each ingredient in sections around the bowl for presentation. Finally, in the middle, top thickly sliced lemongrass chicken.
  • To serve, sprinkle chopped peanuts and drizzle with nuoc mam.

Notes

1. Always use the freshest bean sprouts. If you got unlucky and the spouts have gotten a little soft and water, just exclude it from this salad. It's not worth it!
2. Trim the lemongrass. Lemongrass' aroma is strongest at the head (the thick, white part). Thus, simply cut off and discard the greener part of the lemongrass, about halfway. 
Use a julienne to grate the carrots into thin matchsticks. The thinner the sticks, the easier the salad is to eat. Otherwise, use a normal grater.
Make the nuoc mam salad dressing in advance for convenience as they last up to 1 month in the fridge. Even better, make a whole jar so you have it in the fridge whenever you like!
Store unused herbs in an airtight container wrapped in a damp teatowel so that they last longer.
Make ahead by preparing all of the salad ingredients (soak vermicelli, wash and cut vegetables and make nuoc mam dressing) then store them individually in air-tight containers. Chicken can be marinated in advance for up to 48 hours or frozen for up to 9 months. You can also cook the chicken in advance and store it in air-tight containers for up to 4 days in the fridge. 
Nutritional values below are estimates and exclude the nuoc mam dressing.
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Nutrition

Calories: 611kcal | Carbohydrates: 63.1g | Protein: 54.7g | Fat: 17.9g | Saturated Fat: 3.4g | Cholesterol: 190mg | Potassium: 644mg | Fiber: 4.7g | Sugar: 10.7g | Iron: 6mg