ASIAN CHICKEN PATTIES with VERMICELLI SALAD

If I could eat fresh Asian vermicelli salads all day every day, I would. I doubt I’d miss Western food at all. This Michelle Bridges recipe has been adapted to include red capsicum, which is an excellent source of vitamin C, vitamin B6 and magnesium. I removed snow peas from the ingredient list for convenience sake, as they needed to be cooked which added to the cooking time.

I have also replaced Bridge's favourite oil, olive oil, with rice bran oil. I do not like cooking with olive oil, due to its much lower smoking point than other oils. A smoking point is the temperature at which fats begin to break down and become smoke. When olive oil reaches its low smoking point its beneficial compounds are not only damaged but in addition harming compounds potentially form. Bridges loves to use olive oil in her recipes however I prefer to use several other oils for high temperature cooking, such as rice bran oil. Rice bran oil is removed from the germ and inner husk of rice. I love using this oil as it has a very high smoke point and is therefore a great choice for high-temperature cooking. It is a wealth of vitamin E and phytosterols, which are thought to lower cholesterol as well as being largely monounsaturated. But enough of the oil lesson- enjoy this fresh, crisp dish! 

Ingredients

• 75g rice vermicelli noodles
• 400g free range chicken mince
• 4 shallots (24g), finely chopped
• 1/3 cups fresh coriander leaves (13g), finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt reduced soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon rice bran oil (2.5ml/2.5g) 
• 120g red capsicum, thinly sliced
• 80g bean sprouts 
• 1 lime (50g), cut into wedges
• 1 tablespoon salt reduced soy sauce 

Cooking 

1. Bring a small saucepan of water to the boil and add noodles. Cook, breaking apart the noodles with a fork for a few minutes or until just tender. Remove from heat and drain under cold water. Set aside. 

2. Meanwhile, combine the mince, shallots, half of the coriander and 1 teaspoon soy sauce in a medium bowl. Shape into 6 even patties with wet hands. 

3. Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat and add the oil. Cook the patties for 4 minutes each side or until cooked through. 

4. Toss the cooked noodles, the rest of the coriander, capsicum, bean sprouts and 1 tablespoon soy sauce in a large serving bowl and then divide into 2 smaller bowls. Place three patties on top of the each noodle dish and drizzle the lime juice from the wedges on top. 

Serves / 2 

Total Preparation time / 15 minutes 

Total Cooking time / 15 minutes 

Calorie count / 495 per serve 

x Emily