Vietnamese green mango & roast chook noodle salad

Servings: 4
Green mango, with its firm, sour-but-addictive flesh, is widely used interchangeably with green papaya in savoury dishes across south east Asia. Variations of this salad can be found regionally, known as Gỏi Xoài in Vietnam, Chruok Svay in Cambodia and Som Tum Mamuang in Thailand (Xoài is Vietnamese and Mamuang is Thai for mango!). You can put whatever protein you’d like in here – from cooked prawns to grilled beef or firm tofu, or last night’s roast. For the speediest version, grab a ‘Bachelor’s Handbag’ – roast chook/charcoal chicken from the shops, and shred. This makes quite a bit of dressing, as I like it to act a bit like a cold noodle soup in summer, but if you can’t find coconut water, you can always pull back on the liquid and loosen off with a little water. Swap the fish sauce for ‘fysh sauce’ and the chook for tofu for a planty alternative.
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Ingredients 

Nuoc Cham Dressing

  • 250 ml coconut water 1 can
  • Zest & juice of 2 limes approx. 4 tbsp
  • ¼ cup good quality fish sauce I like Megachef or 3 Crabs
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar or grated palm sugar, if you have it
  • 1-2 long red chillies finely sliced (or birds eye if you like heat)
  • 2-3 cloves garlic grated
  • 1 thumb’s worth ginger grated

Salad

  • ½ roast chook shredded
  • 400 g rice or mungbean vermicelli noodles
  • 1 baby cos lettuce or baby wombok shredded
  • 2 handfuls (160g) bean sprouts tailed, soaked and spun
  • 2 medium Lebanese cucumbers topped and tailed
  • 1 large carrot peeled
  • 1 firm mango green or an underripe KP
  • 2 spring onions thinly sliced on the diagonal
  • Half bunch thai basil leaves picked
  • Half bunch mint leaves picked
  • 2 tbsp crispy-fried shallots optional but excellent
  • 2 limes sliced into cheeks (to serve)

Instructions 

  • Combine dressing ingredients in the base of a large mixing bowl or in a jug. Taste for balance – some limes and coconut waters are sweeter than others. If you need to, add more sugar and/or fish sauce to taste.
  • Use a julienne peeler, mandolin or sharp knife to slice the cucumber, carrot and mango into thin matchsticks. Cook noodles according to packet instructions.
  • As soon as the recommended time has elapsed, pop them in a sieve and run under cold water to stop the cooking process, then plonk into the base of the mixing bowl to soak up the dressing. Plonk shredded chicken, shredded lettuce/wombok, bean sprouts, cucumber, carrot, mango, and spring onion atop the noodles, along with most of the herbs. Toss about to dress evenly, then distribute into serving bowls, and pour a little more dressing over the top.
  • Finish with the last of the herbs and the crispy shallots, if using.

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