Vietnamese chicken & glass noodle salad
Glass noodles and vermicelli – what’s the difference?
Glass noodles are made from mung bean thread noodles, typically a combo of mung bean and tapioca starch which means that they’re wheat free and suitable for both coeliacs and low fodmappers. Vermicelli is made with rice and may be more widely available in supermarkets. Rice vermicelli doesn’t have the transparency of glass noodles but if you don’t care about the perfect Insta pic, both are gluten-free, low fodmap and taste great in this Vietnamese chicken salad!
INGREDIENTS
200g dried mung bean thread noodles or vermicelli
2 carrots, peeled and julienned
1 medium (75g) Lebanese cucumber, julienned (fructose)
4 pods (16g) snow peas, thinly sliced (fructan, mannitol, GOS)
1 cup bean sprouts
½ medium (35g) yellow or orange capsicum (fructose)
½ medium (35g) green capsicum (fructan)
½ cup fresh coriander stems
3/4 cup red cabbage, very finely sliced (fructans)
1 long green chilli, sliced
Small bunch of Vietnamese mint
500g poached chicken, shredded
½ cup peanuts (optional)
DRESSING
2cm (3/4 inch) piece of ginger, finely grated
juice of 1 lime, including zest
2 teaspoons maple syrup
50ml garlic infused oil
salt and cayenne pepper
METHOD
Place the noodles in a large bowl and pour boiling water over to cover them. Set aside for 5-7 minutes and then strain.
While cooling, mix all of the dressing ingredients together and whisk briskly. Season to taste. If you want a little more brightness, add in 1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar and/or some extra chilli.
Once the noodles have cooled slightly, add all other ingredients to the bowl, along with the dressing and toss.
ps. Vietnamese mint is the secret ingredient of this dish that brings it to life. However if you can’t find any, combine mint leaves from your garden with Thai basil leaves for a similar taste profile.
pps. Sometimes fodmaps can get confusing. We’ve adapted this recipe to avoid stacking, but you might be feeling wary of the capsicum. But did you know that green capsicum contain fructans (at serves of 250g+) while red, orange and yellow capsicums contain fructose (at serves of 40g+)?
Serves 4.