Summer is in full swing, and that means swampy weather, sweaty commutes to and from work, and very little desire on the part of this food blogger to stand over the stove for an extended period of time. Enter: This recipe for a Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad with Chicken, or bún gà nướng.
Note: This post was originally published in July 2018. It has since been updated with clearer photos, metric measurements, and nutrition information. The recipe remains the same. Enjoy!
A Summery Meal with Minimal Stove Time!
It’s easy to understand why one would look for this refreshing, tasty Vietnamese rice noodle salad on a hot swampy day, whether you’re on the streets of Vietnam or in your stuffy city apartment.
The rice noodles cook in no time at all, and the only other stove task is searing a few chicken thighs, which can be done in less than 10 minutes.
The rest of the ingredients are served raw––crunchy bean sprouts, carrots, cucumber, lettuce, and herbs, all smothered in that ubiquitous and delicious Vietnamese condiment, nuoc cham.
What is Nuoc Cham?
If you’re unfamiliar with nuoc cham, it’s a thin sauce with salty, sweet, sour, and spicy flavors. Fish sauce, lime juice/vinegar, garlic, sugar, and chili are combined with a bit of water, and It. Is. Delicious.
It’s used as a dipping sauce or condiment for items like Vietnamese summer rolls and fried spring rolls (cha gio), but in this situation, you can think of it as your dressing for this Vietnamese noodle salad.
***
So if the summer heat is getting you down, this Vietnamese rice noodle salad recipe is guaranteed to perk you back up. Here’s how to make it!
Vietnamese Noodle Salad with Chicken: Recipe Instructions
In a medium bowl, combine the chicken thighs with all the marinade ingredients (garlic, lime juice, fish sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, and vegetable oil), and set aside at room temperature for 30 mins to 1 hour while you prepare the other salad ingredients.
Combine all the nuoc cham ingredients and stir until the sugar has completely dissolved into the sauce. Taste and adjust any of the ingredients accordingly if desired.
Boil rice vermicelli noodles according to the package instructions. Drain and rinse under cold running water. Set aside in a colander.
Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a cast iron skillet or frying pan over medium high heat. You could also heat a grill pan or grill for this.
Sear the marinated chicken for about 4 minutes per side, or until cooked through. Set aside on a plate.
To assemble the salad, combine the rice noodles with bean sprouts, julienned carrots and cucumber, romaine lettuce, mint, and cilantro. Slice the chicken thighs and add to the salad. Serve with your nuoc cham sauce.
Enjoy!
Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad with Chicken
Ingredients
For the chicken & marinade:
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 lime (juiced)
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
For the nuoc cham sauce:
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 lime (juiced)
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar or white vinegar
- 1/4 cup fish sauce
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 red chili (de-seeded and sliced, or substitute 2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce or Sriracha)
- 1/2 cup cold water
To assemble the bowls:
- 7 ounces dried rice vermicelli noodles
- Vegetable oil
- 2 cups bean sprouts
- 1 large carrot (julienned)
- 1 seedless cucumber (julienned)
- 6 leaves romaine lettuce (finely julienned)
- Mint
- Cilantro
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the chicken thighs with your marinade ingredients, and set aside at room temperature for 30 mins to 1 hour while you prepare the other salad ingredients.
- Combine all the nuoc cham ingredients and stir until the sugar has completely dissolved into the sauce. Taste and adjust any of the ingredients if desired.
- Boil the rice vermicelli noodles according to the package instructions. Drain and rinse under cold running water. Set aside in a colander.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a cast iron skillet, grill pan, or frying pan over medium high heat. Sear the chicken for about 4 minutes per side, or until cooked through. Set aside on a plate.
- To assemble the salad, combine the rice noodles with bean sprouts, julienned carrots and cucumber, romaine lettuce, mint, and cilantro. Slice the chicken thighs and add to the salad. Serve with your nuoc cham sauce.
Another great woks of life recipe. Easy to sub items within the salad part of the recipe. Everyone enjoyed the food.
So happy to hear that!
Loved it!
Thanks Kris!
There were no instructions on our vermicelli rice noodles. By the time saw that we just had to leave them out. Sigh. Otherwise delish. Will be cutting down on fish sauce for the Nuoc Cham sauce—-a lot of sodium.
Ah, sorry about that! Glad you enjoyed the recipe, though!
It looks wonderful, but is it a good idea to use the marinade as a salad dressing. I’ve always thought you shouldn’t use anything that has marinated raw chicken.
Never mind. I saw in comments further down that you should save half of the marinate to use as salad dressing.
No worries, Cynthia!
I don’t like salads, but this is DELISH! I wanted to know if I were to use shrimp or pork instead of chicken how long would I let the marinade sit for? The same amount (30m – 1hr)?
Hi Liza, we do have a pork chop version of this dish here: https://thewoksoflife.com/vietnamese-noodle-salad-pork-chops/
As for the shrimp, you could marinate it the same amount of time!
My favourite salad! Easy instructions to follow and sooooo delicious. Thank you.
You’re very welcome, Joan!
I really enjoyed this recipe but made some subtle changes which really enhanced the dish. First off in the marinade I added fresh grated ginger and let the chicken marinade for more like two hours. Then in the veggie mix I added thinly sliced onion and finished with sliced scallion. Very very good dish for summer.
Glad you enjoyed this recipe with your own tweaks, Brian!
Fantastic recipe that’s not time intensive. We used Sriracha for the heat and it was pretty tasty.
Thank you Bob!
Perfect for a hot summer day!
Thanks so much Sharon!