Chicken Noodle Salad

I couldn't possibly tell you the origins of this recipe. It came from my mother via one of her friends, who had photographed a page of another friend's recipe book. So I cannot entirely call it my own. However, I have added to and tweaked it slightly.

What I do know about the original is that it comes from a famous chef in Sydney, Australia; and is a delicious fusion of Australian and Thai cooking, which the Aussies do so well.

I have also made a vegan version of this, which has been submitted to Siren Magazine, so check there if you're interested.

Ingredients (serves 4):

For the marinade

3 tablespoons fish sauce
freshly ground black pepper

3 garlic cloves
2 large red chillis
2 teaspoons sugar
8 skinless and boneless chicken thighs
2 tablespoons olive oil

For the salad
3 tablespoons lime juice
3 tablespoons caster sugar
200g rice noodles
1 cucumber

1 ripe mango
10g fresh mint
10g fresh coriander
4 shallots

2 tbsp cashew nuts

Method:

Deseed and finely chop the chillis, crush the garlic cloves then whisk the fish sauce, pepper, chillis, garlic and sugar together in a bowl. Chop the chicken thighs into 2cm strips and then place in a separate bowl. Pour half the sauce over and allow to marinade for 20 minutes to two hours in the fridge.

Finely slice the shallots and add them to the remaining marinade. Add the lime juice and caster sugar and mix well. Set aside to allow the sugar to dissolve.

Peel the cucumber, then slice in half lengthways. Scoop out the seeds using a teaspoon, then finely slice the cucumber halves into 3mm slices. Peel the mango then slice into similarly thin slithers. Cook the rice noodles - I plunged mine into just-boiled water and let sit for 15 minutes - then rinse and drain thoroughly. Add the dressing to the noodles, crush the cashew nuts and finely chop the mint and coriander. 

Using a griddle (or George Foreman grill, whichever you prefer), cook the chicken for 3 minutes each side, until cooked through.

Add the mint and coriander to the noodles and mix so they are evenly distributed throughout, then serve up the noodles onto plates, sprinkling with a small handfuls of cashews per person, and dividing up the mango and cucumber between the two plates. Place the grilled chicken on top at the end and serve. I found this delicious with a bottle of Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc.