Vietnamese Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Cook Time 20 minutes

Servings 3-4

Ingredients

Fish Sauce Chicken

1kg boneless and skinless chicken thighs, cut into large strips

3 tbsp fish sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ tsp white pepper

1 chilli, minced

½ tsp anchovy salt

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

Fine Rice Vermicelli Cakes with Spring Onion Oil

½ bunch spring onions, finely chopped

½ tsp salt

½ tsp sugar

30ml neutral cooking oil

200g fine rice vermicelli cakes

1-1.5L boiling water

Nước Mắm (Vietnamese Fish Sauce)

3 birds' eye chillies, de-seeded

3 cloves of garlic

3 tbsp of sugar

5 tbsp of cold water

½ lime juice

3 tbsp of apple cider vinegar

3 tbsp of fish sauce

Other

250g rice flour

175ml neutral cooking oil

½ iceberg lettuce (cups) or baby cos lettuce, washed (twin pack)

1 bunch of mint, washed

1 bunch of Thai basil, washed

1 continental cucumber 6-7 cm batons

Method

For fish sauce chicken, in a medium bowl, marinate chicken with all ingredients for minimum 10 minutes. For best results marinate overnight. Place rice flour into a medium bowl and dredge the marinated chicken lightly in rice flour. In a large frying pan, heat cooking oil on medium heat until 180C and shallow fry chicken for 4 - 5 minutes each side or until golden, then remove and place on a cooling rack.

For spring onion oil, in a small bowl add salt and sugar to finely chopped spring onions and mix well. In a small pot or milk pan bring 30ml cooking oil to smoking point. Carefully pour oil onto the spring onions then mix well.

For fine rice vermicelli cakes, layer fine rice vermicelli into a large bowl. Pour 1 - 1.5L of boiling water into the bowl to cover. Allow to sit for 90 secs then drain well and plunge into cold water for 30 seconds then drain well. Layer the fine rice vermicelli cakes onto a medium plate and garnish each one with a teaspoon of spring onion oil, then set aside. Garnish the fried chicken with any remaining spring onion oil.

For the Nước Mắm (Vietnamese fish sauce), in mortar and pestle, crush and pound chillies and garlic into a paste then add remaining ingredients and mix well until sugar dissolves and sauce becomes slightly viscous.

To serve, on a lettuce cup, place a piece of fine rice vermicelli cake, a few mint and basil leaves, a slice of cucumber, a piece of chicken and cup together in one hand with firm pressure. Dip into fish sauce dipping sauce and enjoy!