Vietnamese Noodle Salad with Chicken

I just learned something right this second and I need to come clean about my wrong doings.

My world is shattered.

My heart, torn.

My brain is fuzzy.

My soul, worn.

Just get to it? Okay.

So you know how these little Vietnamese noodle salads are called “bun”? Yeah. Well I was locked. and. loaded. with jokes about bun. Because in my head it’s pronounced bun! Like, honeybun, bungalow, bungee cord, bunions, bunnies and debunked.

You can just flush my life right down the toilet because guess what. It’s pronounced like BOON.

Boon.

Boon.

What’s a blogger like me supposed to do with this kind of wonk-a-lonk propaganda?!

I should just give it all the boot. The boon. The but. The bun.

For the remainder of this post, I’m going to call this meal Hank, to avoid any misleading confusion and/or mental calamity.

 

Believe it or not, Hank is actually one of the quickest and easiest meals under the sun (which rhymes with bun, SEE WHAT THEY DID TO ME ON PURPOSE.) to pull together. Especially if you tag team and don’t take 147 million pictures of it. Most of it is prep work! Get your dude to slice and sear the chicken while you julienne a carrot and cucumber and boil the noodles. And the sauce takes half a millisecond because you’re just dissolving some brown sugar in a mix of fish sauce, garlic chili paste, lime juice and water. You’ll down right flip your face when you taste it.

Don’t tell my husband about this next part. I couldn’t heeeeeeeelp it.

When you order Hank at Vietnamese restaurants, they’ll often times line up all the ingredients in little rows on top of the vermicelli noodles, so I did it for you too! To be cute. Because it’s cute. Isn’t Hank so cute?

And theeeeen Hank gets a spicy bath.

And then you toss toss toss it altogether and watch as it becomes this glorious Hankified mix of veggies and herbs and chicken and glass noodles and okay, stick your face over that and take a whiff. DO IT.

I can’t wait for you to eat this.

Vietnamese Noodle Salad with Chicken:

What it took for 2:

* 2 bundles vermicelli noodles (about 2 cups cooked)
* 2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
* 2 chicken breasts, thinly sliced
* 1 large carrot, thinly sliced
* 1/2 cucumber, thinly sliced
* 1 cup fresh bean sprouts
* 1 cup fresh mint
* 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
* 2 Tbs. fish sauce
* juice from a small lime
* 1 tsp chili garlic paste
* 2 Tbs. brown sugar
* 2/3 cup water
* 1/2 cup peanuts

Boil your noodles, drain and run under cool water. Wiggle your fingers in them.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high. In batches, lightly season with salt and sear the sliced chicken until cooked through and browned on both sides, about 3 minutes per batch. Set aside and cover to keep warm.

In a small saucepan, combine the water, fish sauce, lime juice, chili paste and brown sugar. Heat to dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat.

Place the noodles in the center of a large platter. Top with chicken, carrots, cucumber, bean sprouts and mint. Pour the dressing over the dish and toss to combine.

Serve the salad garnished with peanuts and cilantro leaves!

Get Hanked!

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41 Responses to Vietnamese Noodle Salad with Chicken

  1. Ashley September 19, 2012 at 8:43 am #
    I love all these Asian inspired recipes - now just to get some into my belly...!
  2. Hilah September 19, 2012 at 8:57 am #
    I love Hank!
  3. carrian September 19, 2012 at 9:00 am #
    Loving the Asian. I don't know why, but Asian seems to disappear at our house during the summer. So glad to bring it back
  4. Meagan @ A Zesty Bite September 19, 2012 at 9:03 am #
    Hmmmm these look delicious!
  5. Hayley @ The Domestic Rebel September 19, 2012 at 9:05 am #
    I don't think I've ever wanted Hank so badly in my life until now. Hank, I'm sorry I never bothered to give you the time of day. But I promise you, Hank. If you give me a chance, I would love to be Hankified. I can just imagine you in my mou--too much? Sorry. GAH I NEED HANK.
  6. Kathryn September 19, 2012 at 9:34 am #
    I'd love a bowl of Hank right now (I think this could catch on).
  7. Heather @ Heather's Dish September 19, 2012 at 9:58 am #
    this needs to be in my face NOW
  8. Kelsey September 19, 2012 at 10:02 am #
    I've got a hank-ering for a bowl of this... hehe. Love it, looks delicious!!
    • GingerMae September 19, 2012 at 10:14 am #
      Kelsey, that made me laugh! Love that humor :) You also have some great looking recipes that I will be trying out!
  9. Ali September 19, 2012 at 10:03 am #
    This is one of my absolute fav salads! I feel it's so healthy that it NEEDS to be accompanied by some deep fried spring rolls. Yum.
  10. Courtney @ Bake. Eat. Repeat. September 19, 2012 at 10:48 am #
    Oh Hank, you dirty little devil. Something this good just shouldn't be that easy.
  11. claire @ the realistic nutritionist September 19, 2012 at 10:52 am #
    I could NOT AT ALLLLL love this any more than i do. I have to make it.
  12. Carly @ Snack Therapy September 19, 2012 at 12:07 pm #
    My boyfriend would die over this. As in, he would eat this meal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I wish I were kidding.
  13. Angela @ AnotherBitePlease September 19, 2012 at 12:42 pm #
    we are lovin' asian inspired meals in our house right now - I've never tried those noodles...always enjoy trying something new...and now I will know how to pronounce ;-)
  14. Averie @ Averie Cooks September 19, 2012 at 1:15 pm #
    this is just gorgeous, Bev! And love that I can see the seasoning on the peanuts - now THAT is a good lens and a good photographer :)
  15. Katie @ Blonde Ambition September 19, 2012 at 1:25 pm #
    I really seriously love every Asian vinaigrette/sauce you come up with. Sodium party all up in my mouth, and I don't mind onee bit!
  16. Brian @ A Thought For Food September 19, 2012 at 2:38 pm #
    Hank looks tasty. I want to eat Hank! Don't tell my husband that I'm about to cheat on him... with Hank.
  17. Cassie September 19, 2012 at 3:14 pm #
    These are some of my favorite flavors. Right up my alley!
  18. Cookin' Canuck September 19, 2012 at 3:29 pm #
    I now have a hank-ering for Hank and will be crying into my hank-erchief if I don't make this soon. I am very tHANKful that you posted this.
    • Bev Weidner September 19, 2012 at 3:30 pm #
      Omg I love you.
  19. Erin @ Dinners, Dishes and Desserts September 19, 2012 at 4:32 pm #
    I can't wait to make this. We went to a Vietnamesse restaurant a couple weeks ago, and I ordered a "Hank". I had no idea how to eat it! HA!! They had the sauce on the side that she brought to me right after I ordered, everything was layered. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to dip or dump or what. It was good though, so this will be awesome!
  20. Debra September 19, 2012 at 5:01 pm #
    I got stuck on the photo with the mung bean sprouts. We haven't seen any sprout in TX for well over a year!!! I NEED SPROUTS....NOW. Oops...sprout rage...sorry :(
  21. Kari@Loaves and Dishes September 19, 2012 at 6:34 pm #
    Hank is one of my favorite salads. Love ya Hank!
  22. Julie @ Table for Two September 19, 2012 at 7:25 pm #
    can hank come over so I can eat him? I'M SORRY, I HAD TO. he looks delicious!
  23. Katie September 19, 2012 at 10:26 pm #
    I have a HANKering for a bun bedtime snack now. Get it?! (ps. can we still be friends after this comment?)
  24. Kelly September 19, 2012 at 11:20 pm #
    I made this recipe tonight... 100% followed the ingredients because I have never made anything like this. It was good..... it was fresh and light (although I used shrimp). The herbs were a little overwhelming... so maybe next time I will cut back.
    • Bev Weidner September 20, 2012 at 8:43 am #
      Hey, Kelly! Oooo with shrimp. I have to try that. I'm sorry the herbs were overwhelming! I pretty much like them to slap me across the face. ;) Thanks for letting me know what you thought!
  25. shelly (cookies and cups) September 20, 2012 at 7:00 am #
    SO I've been saying BUN in my head all wrong...Jesus must love me for not allowing me to ever order that out in public. Need to make.
  26. Rachel Cooks September 20, 2012 at 7:03 am #
    Bevvvv this looks SO good!
  27. DessertForTwo September 20, 2012 at 7:06 am #
    Hank is my boyfriend!
  28. Aggie September 20, 2012 at 10:35 am #
    Wonk a lonk = new favorite word!! This is the most beautiful food ever. Please bring me a bowl.
  29. Chung-Ah | Damn Delicious September 20, 2012 at 3:42 pm #
    You have seriously combined all of my favorite things into this one dish - AMAZING!
  30. Penny September 23, 2012 at 3:23 pm #
    This looks really yummy!
  31. master chef September 30, 2012 at 4:15 am #
    Simple and delicious recipes
  32. Angel August 18, 2016 at 5:55 pm #
    Great! now, I'm craving Boondocks, Hank, Boon. I must prepare for my wife tonight. Angel from The Bay
  33. Zoe October 19, 2016 at 10:20 pm #
    Everything turned out amazing, but the next time I make this I would have cut the carrots a little smaller, because there seemed to be such a huge crunch in each bite compared to the easy to chew chicken. While making the sauce I realized that I didn't have chili paste so I substituted it for sriracha sauce and while it turned out tasting pretty good when I poured it over the salad none of the ingredients really soaked up the flavor. I'm wondering if you perhaps thickened it somehow or if there's a better way for the ingredients to soak it up. I've just found your blog a few days ago and have been loving every recipe you publish. This is the second I have tried so far and can't wait to try more!

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