It’s been pretty warm here lately, so we’ve been planning recipes that rely heavily on grilling outdoors as to not heat up the kitchen. This grilled chicken and noodles dish was delicious, and the marinade smelled fantastic. I’m always pleasantly surprised at how little oil goes into a lot of the Vietnamese and Thai recipes we make at home. We’ll definitely be making this one again. The recipe below is adapted from Williams-Sonoma Asian Cooking, and the nuoc cham is from Authentic Vietnamese Cooking.

Vietnamese Grilled Chicken with Rice Noodles
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1.5 lb chicken breast
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
2 kaffir lime leaves, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/6 cup coconut milk
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp chinese rice wine
1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tbsp peanut oil
1/4 lb rice vermicelli, soaked in warm water for 15 minutes
Nuoc Cham (see below)
1 thai pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1/8 cup very finely julienned carrots
4 or 5 cilantro sprigs

Cut the chicken breasts into large pieces and set aside in a shallow bowl. In a mortar, combine the garlic, shallot, cilantro, lime leaves, salt, and pepper and grind together with a pestle to form a paste. Transfer the paste to a bowl and stir in the coconut milk, fish sauce, rice wine, soy sauce, and peanut oil. Pour the marinade over the chicken pieces and turn to coat evenly. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Set a grill to high heat. Remove the chicken from the marinade and place on the grill, turning until browned on both sides, about 5 minutes. Lower the grill heat to medium, cover, and continue to heat the chicken until cooked through.
Just before the chicken is ready, bring a saucepan full of water to a boil. Add the rice vermicelli and cook until tender, about 1 minute. Drain, place in a bowl, and toss with 1/8 cup of the Nuoc Cham.
Divide the noodles between two serving plates and arrange the chicken on top. Garnish with the chili pepper, carrots, and cilantro sprigs. Serve with the remaining Nuoc Cham for dipping.

Serves 2.

Nuoc Cham
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Makes about 2 cups
2 1/2 tbsps sugar
1 1/2 tbsps water
1/6 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup lime juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Thai chili, minced

Whisk together the sugar, water, fish sauce, and lime juice in a bowl until the sugar is completely dissolved. Add the garlic and chili, then let stand for 30 minutes before serving.

Makes approx. 1 cup.