Chicken and Rice Noodle Asian Salad

Source: Fine Cooking Issue 129 (from Barbara Allen)

Ingredients

• ½ cup distilled white vinegar
• 3 tbsps sugar
• 2 fresh long red chiles, stemmed and minced (about ¼ cup)
• Kosher salt
• 2 medium carrots, coarsely grated
• 1 medium bulb fennel, trimmed (fronds reserved) cored, and thinly sliced
• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• canola oil for the grill
• freshly ground black pepper
• 4 oz thin rice noodles (vermicelli)
• 4 cups thinly sliced Napa cabbage, from ½ large head
• 1 tbsp Asian sesame oil; more to taste

Method

1. Prepare a medium-high (400 degree) gas or charcoal grill fire.

2. In a large bowl, stir the vinegar, sugar, chiles, and 1½ tsp salt until the sugar dissolves. Reserve 2 tbsp dressing in a small bowl. Add the carrots and fennel to the large bowl and toss; set aside.

3. Pat the chicken dry and generously season with salt and pepper. Oil the grill grate. Grill the chicken, turning once, until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board, and let rest for a couple of minutes.

4. Meanwhile, prepare the noodles according to package directions. Drain, rinse briefly under cold running water, and transfer to the large bowl. Add the cabbage and sesame oil, toss well, and season to taste with salt, pepper, and more sesame oil. Transfer the salad to a serving platter or plates. Slice the chicken thinly and arrange on top. Drizzle with reserved dressing, garnish with fennel fronds and serve.

Notes

We cooked chicken on a grill pan on the stove and it was dandy. There seemed a lot of dressing and I didn’t use the reserved 2 tbsp. but I might have been short on the cabbage. No matter, it was just fine.