This is the perfect Meal Prep and weekday lunch that is not only delicious but is super easy, quick and cheap to make. This Vietnamese Inspired Noodle Bowl includes Vermicelli noodles topped with fresh veggies, delicious lemongrass marinated chicken thigh, and drizzled with a Vietnamese inspired sauce.

Vietnamese Inspired Noodle Bowl

This dish is by no means traditional, however it is heavily inspired by the traditional Vietnamese dish called Bun Ga Nuong, which is one of my favourite meals and is such a mouth-watering traditional Vietnamese recipe. The sauce is also inspired by the traditional famous Vietnamese dipping sauce Nuoc Cham.

Vietnamese food is beautiful, super healthy, vibrant and delicious and I never want to take away from that. This is no means a new recipe, nor is it a never seen before, “new trendy” High Protein Lunch.

It is a dish I love to recreate at home as it is seriously that good, its super healthy and super filling! This is just my take on the recipe to make at home, with the ingredients I currently have, and thus I want to share it with you all so you can make it at home too!

This recipe is also inspired by my favourite food blogger ever, Recipetineats.

Air fryer Crispy Lemongrass Chicken

I am seriously obsessed with the Lemongrass chicken they serve with the Noodle Bowl at my Vietnamese take away shop at my work. Obviously I had to recreate it in my airfryer, because at the moment using my airfryer to make chicken is my faaaavourite way to do so. It’s so easy, the clean up is magnificent and it’s literally like setting and forgetting- you don’t need to constantly monitor the chicken!

Of course using an airfryer to make this Chicken isn’t the only way, i’ll list some alternatives down below.

What goes in the Lemongrass Chicken Marinade

• Lemongrass Cold Blended Paste: Fresh is always best, however I like to use a blended paste as it keeps in my fridge for a longer period of time and is super convenient. If you prefer using fresh ingredients, use about 1/4 of a lemon grass stalk (trimmed and chopped)
• Garlic: I use about 1/2 garlic clove minced, but you can use garlic powder, or even garlic paste (I would use 1/4 tsp)
• Sugar– brown sugar works best, however I like to use my zero calorie natural sweetener
• Low sodium soy: Adds a great saltiness to the chicken
• Fish sauce
• Rice wine vinegar: this is optional, however I love to add some sort of acid to enhance flavors and change surface texture (a little goes a long way!)
• Chilli Paste or chilli flakes
• Chicken stock paste/powder: optional however adds more flavour

How to cook the Lemongrass Chicken

My preferred way to cook the Lemongrass Chicken is by using an Airfryer, i’m obsessed.

I also prefer using Chicken Thigh over breast for this recipe.

Allow the chicken to sit in the fridge with the marinade for 30 minutes minimum before cooking.

Important note: If you have a meat thermometer, cooked chicken should read at least 74 degrees C (165 F)

Airfryer method: Skin side up at 190 degrees celsius (375 F) for 20 minutes, flip over and cook for an extra 5 minutes – total time = 25 minutes

Grill Method: Grill chicken on medium-high for 5-6 minutes per side, or until chicken is cooked through

Pan fried/skillet: Add chicken and cook on medium-high heat undisturbed for 3-4 minutes. Flip chicken over, cover, and reduce heat to medium. Cook approximately 3-5 more minutes (depending on thickness of chicken), or until chicken is cooked through

Oven: preheat to 220c or 425F, bake chicken in the oven for 35 minutes flipping halfway (tip: broil during last 1-3 minutes for crispier skin)

Make sure to let the chicken rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing

Sauce

The traditional sauce is Nuoc Cham

To make this sauce at home, I use:

• Boiling water
• Fish sauce
• Sugar, Traditionally white sugar is used, but I use my favourite zero calorie sweetener
• Garlic
• Chilli – I like to use Sambal Oelek ground chilli paste
• Lime juice– I usually don’t have limes in my house, so I use fresh lemon juice instead
• Low sodium soy (optional)- traditionally soy sauce isn’t used in this recipe, but I love the saltiness it adds
• Rice wine vinegar

Noodles

Vermicelli rice noodles are traditionally served with this dish.

The noodles I use are Double Phoenix Bean Vermicelli Noodles, and they come in individual bundles (which I love!)- the serving size is 40g. The pack contains 5 serves for only $1.20!

To prepare the noodles I boil them in hot water for 5-7 minutes, then rinse in cold water and drain

Toppings

The possibilities are endless, the toppings I use are:

• carrot
• cucumber
• lettuce
• red cabbage
• green onion
• chopped nuts- peanuts or cashews
• fried shallots

Some other topping ideas include:

• coriander/cilantro – I cannot stand the taste of coriander so I refuse to add it
• mint
• bean sprouts
• lime
• tofu
• chopped peanuts

How to make it

This dish is so simple to make, I just prepare all my ingredients, then put it all together:

• While chicken is marinating, I like to prep all my veggies
• While chicken is being cooked in the airfryer, I like to prepare my vermicelli noodles
• Once chicken is cooked, I let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing
• Then I assemble my meal prep bowl- start by adding the vermicelli, add toppings, sauce and garnish with crushed nuts and fried shallots
• Don’t forget a sprinkle of fresh lemon or lime juice before digging in

Storage and Meal Prep Tips

Store in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Can eat cold OR can heat up in microwave for 1 minute (does not affect veggies) OR alternatively keep the chicken separate, reheat then add it (along with the sauce) to the noodle bowl and veggies on the day of consumption.

Meal Prep Glass Bowls I use.

I like to store the dressing/sauce in separate containers so the noodles and veggies do not go soggy

You can also store the chicken separately so you can reheat it and add to your bowl when you’re ready to serve/eat.

Macros

Per Bowl (4):

Calories: 420

Carbohydrates: 43g

Protein: 35g

Fat: 10g