Vietnamese Chicken Salad with Rice Noodles

INSTRUCTIONS

• 1
  First, peel all 4 cloves of garlic. Crush two cloves into a sealable container and mix them with the other marinade ingredients. Place the chicken meat in the resulting mixture, seal the container, and let it rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
• 2
  While the meat is marinating, crush the remaining 2 cloves of garlic into a small bowl and mix them with the other dressing ingredients. Set the resulting mixture aside and stir occasionally to ensure the brown sugar dissolves well.
• 3
  Next, cook the rice noodles: Bring a sufficient amount of water to a boil in a small pot over high heat. Once the water boils, remove the pot from the heat, add the noodles, and let them soften in the water for 1–2 minutes. After softening, drain the noodles and rinse them under cold water.
• 4
  Then prepare the vegetables: Wash the cucumber, cut it in half, scoop out the inside, and slice it into thin half-moons. Peel the carrot and slice it into thin rounds. Cut the romaine lettuce into smaller pieces (about 2 cm × 2 cm). Remove the stems from the cilantro and mint, keeping only the leaves.
• 5
  After at least 30 minutes of marinating, remove the container with the meat from the refrigerator, prepare a large pan, and heat it dry over medium to high heat. Then place the marinated meat in the pan and fry it for 5–7 minutes on each side over medium to high heat. Then remove the pan from the heat and slice the fried meat into thinner pieces.
• 6
  Now prepare 2 bowls and divide the cooked rice noodles between them. Top each portion with sliced cucumber, carrot, romaine lettuce, cilantro, mint, and sliced chicken meat. Finally, drizzle each portion with the prepared dressing and serve.