Vietnamese Noodles

Do you also have a hard time making a tasty stir-fry without using some kind of condiment/sauce/paste that contains copious amounts of sugar, oil, or salt? If you're a food label reader, you probably know that it is really hard find a product in the supermarket isle dedicated to Asian food without one of these featuring as one of the first 3 ingredients. Unless you want to pay $10+ for a jar labelled organic or gourmet that actually contains REAL flavours, spices, and herbs then this recipe is for you! It is flavourful and delicious without any of the nasties.

Ingredients: makes 5 - 6 large portions

1 pack rice noodles 1.5 litres boiling water 500g free-range chicken breast (cubed) 500g bean shoots 1 large carrot (julienned) 1 large bunch fresh mint (roughly chopped) 1 large bunch fresh coriander (finely chopped stalks & roots, roughly chopped leaves) 4 cm piece fresh ginger (grated or finely chopped) 2 cloves of fresh garlic (grated or finely chopped) 1 large stick of lemongrass (finely chopped) 1 large chilli (finely chopped) 2 tablespoons fish sauce 2 tablespoons salt-reduced soy sauce 1 tablespoon honey 1 tablespoon sesame oil 2 large lemons or 3 limes

Method: Add rice noodles to boiling water in a large bowl and drain after 2-3 minutes. Meanwhile, heat pan on high and add sesame oil, stalks and roots of coriander, ginger, garlic, lemongrass and chilli. Fry for 1 to 2 minutes. Add chicken and stir-fry until cooked through. Add the bean shoots and half the carrots. Stir-fry for another 2 minutes. Add the fish sauce, soy sauce, honey, and the juice of 1 large lemon and mix through. Take off heat and stir through half the mint and half the coriander leaves. Divide the rice noodles into bowls and spoon over the juice from the bottom of the pan. Cover noodles with stir-fry mix and top with fresh carrots, mint, coriander, and lemon/lime wedge.

Nutritional Information per serve: 1500 kJ (360 kcal) 43g protein 31g carbohydrate 6g fat (1g sat fat)