Vietnamese 'lasagna'

I have my second wedding dress fitting today. I ate way too much over Christmas. Yes those two statements are connected. Since I got back to Brisbane on Tuesday I've restrained myself with iron strength so I don't embarrass myself trying on my dress.

I don't think there are many brides who get bigger close to the wedding and I don't want to be one of them! Having said that, I don't like boring food. If something is bland and uninteresting I won't eat it. Vietnamese 'lasagna' grabbed my attention with its exciting name and it was far from bland.

It's a bit of a messy meal but it was so tasty and light but quite filling at the same time. You could vary the ingredients depending what you have on hand and I think individual lasagnas would be a nice change too. It's a lovely, light summer meal.

When the ingredients are all layed out it seems like this will be a very involved recipe but after the prep work is done, it's really just a case of throwing it all together and a few minutes in the wok.

Start by heating the oil in a wok and then adding the ginger and garlic. Stir-fry them together for about a minute or until the aromas start to rise. I have to thank Celia for putting me onto the Emile Henry range. I love my new wok and especially love that it can go in the dishwasher! If anyone's interested I got it from Peter's of Kensington.

The recipe calls for Chinese cabbage but I used bok choy instead. Add it along with the carrots and most of the spring onions (mine were from my garden!) to the wok and toss them through. Cook them for about 5 minutes or until the veges have softened.

Meanwhile prepare the noodles. They're meant to be vermicelli but these were the only rice noodles I had on hand. I do this to myself every time so learn from my mistake - don't put them in a metal bowl or it will get super hot and you'll have trouble picking it up! Put the noodles in a bowl that won't get hot and cover them in boiling water then leave them to sit until they soften which takes about 5 minutes. Then tip the noodles into a strainer and run them under cold water so they stop cooking.

Add the chicken, soy sauce and about ¾ of the sweet chili sauce to the wok and toss them through and cook for about 2 minutes.

For the chicken, I cooked a large chicken breast in the oven and then shredded it rather than using a BBQ chook. I also added the bit about the sweet chili sauce. Later on in the recipe it says to drizzle with the remaining sweet chili sauce but after reading it through about 10 times I couldn't find where the first bit of the sauce went. This seemed like a logical place to add it.

Remove the wok from the heat and stir through most of the peanuts and mint leaves (reserve some for decorating).

To prepare the rice paper sheets, soak them individually in boiling water for about 30 seconds each. I use a shallow plate to soak mine but it can be done in anything you like. When they have softened, lay them out in a single later on dry tea towels and then cut each one in half.

I actually prepared the filling and the noodles during the day so when dinner time came around all I had to do was re-heat the fillings and soak the rice paper. This would be a better way to do it if you were entertaining. Alternatively, I think it would be pretty good served cold although the noodles might need a little extra sauce.

To assemble the 'lasagna' first lay out a blob of the chicken and vegetable mixture on a serving plate. Top it with some noodles and then half a sheet of rice paper.

Repeat the process finishing with a sheet of rice paper. Decorate the 'lasagna' with the rest of the sweet chili sauce, mint leaves and peanuts. It's a great dish to serve in the middle of the table but I think individual stacks (if you can be bothered) would be lovely too. Serve it up nice and warm and enjoy!

What about you? Do you succumb to boring 'diet' food or do you just choose light versions of your favourites when you're balancing out a few indulgences?

Recipe

Vietnamese 'lasagna'

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Servings: 4

Author: Recipe from Real Living Magazine January/February 2012

1x2x3x

Ingredients

• 125 g 4.5oz vermicelli noodles
• 2 tablespoon peanut or vegetable oil
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger I used crushed ginger from a jar
• ½ wombok Chinese cabbage, shredded (I used bok choy)
• 2 carrots peeled and finely sliced into matchsticks or grated
• 6 spring onions sliced
• 3 tablespoon light soy sauce
• ½ bunch mint leaves
• ½ cup roasted peanuts chopped
• ½ BBQ chicken shredded (I cooked 1 large chicken breast fillet in the oven and then shredded it)
• 4 rice paper spring roll wrappers
• ½ cup sweet chili sauce

Instructions

• Place the noodles in a deep bowl and cover them with boiling water. Leave them to sit for 5 minutes, or until they are soft and then drain them and run them under cold water to cool them. Set the noodles aside.
• Heat the oil in a wok and then add the garlic and ginger and cook them until fragrant (about a minute).
• Add the carrot, wombok and most of the spring onions to the wok and cook, stirring until the vegetables have just softened (about 5 minutes).
• Pour in the soy sauce, half the sweet chili and stir through the chicken then continue to cook for 2 minutes.
• Turn off the heat and stir in the mint leaves then sit the mixture aside to cool a little.
• Soak the rice paper sheets individually in boiling water until they soften then remove them to a tea towel. I use a plate of water to make mine.
• Cut each sheet in half.
• Starting with the chicken mixture, place a blob of it onto a serving platter. Top it with some noodles and one sheet of rice paper. Repeat until everything is used up finishing with rice paper.
• Drizzle the remaining sweet chili sauce and spring onion, a few peanuts and some mint leaves over the top of the 'lasagna.'

Have you made this recipe? I'd love to hear what you think. Tag me on Instagram @clairekcreations