Lemongrass Chicken Skewers with Rice Noodles

Ingredients

• 6 boneless chicken drumsticks
• 125 g rice noodles
• 4 tbsp unsalted peanuts
• 60 ml sweet soy sauce
• 2 lemongrass stalks
• 1 Garlic clove
• 4 tbsp light soy sauce
• 2 tbsp fish sauce (ready-made)
• 3 tbsp caramel ((150 g sugar and 4 tbsp water, at medium heat)
• 1 stalk lemongrass
• 2 lemons (juice)
• 4 tbsp sake (rice wine)
• 6 tbsp Nuoc Cham sauce
• 12 long wooden skewers
• 5 garlic cloves (very finely chopped)
• 5 red chilies (deveined and very finely chopped)
• 50 ml Vietnamese fish sauce (ready-made from the Asian store)
• 100 ml water
• 50 ml Rice vinegar
• 50 g sugar
• 1 large lemon (juice)

Instructions

1. 1.

   Cut chicken drumsticks lengthwise in half. For the marination slice lemongrass into thin strips, peel and finely chop garlic. Mix meat with lemongrass, garlic, soy sauce, fish sauce and caramel; refrigerate for 4 hours.

2. 2.

   For the lemongrass sauce slice the stalk into thin strips. Combine lemongrass in a small bowl with lemon juice, sake and Nuoc Cham; refrigerate for 4 hours.

3. 3.

   Cook noodles according to package instructions until al dente; drain.

4. 4.

   Roast peanuts in a pan without oil. Cool, place in a plastic bag, seal, roll over with a rolling pin and crush the nuts.

5. 5.

   Soak wooden skewers in water until fully soaked. Thread chicken pieces lengthwise onto them, leaving space at both ends for easy handling. Grill on a charcoal grill all around for about 2 minutes or under an oven broiler for about 3 minutes, turning once. Brush skewers with marination and grill another minute so sauce thickens on the meat.

6. 6.

   Drizzle noodles with some lemongrass sauce and let sit for about 1 minute. Arrange three skewers per plate, sprinkle crushed peanuts over them, and serve remaining lemongrass sauce on the side.

7. 7.

   Heat all Nuoc Cham ingredients except lemon juice; never bring to a boil. Remove from heat, cool, then stir in lemon juice when cold.