Vietnamese Chicken Salad with Noodles

1 small carrot, finely julienned

1 cup finely shredded cabbage

1 long red chilli, finely sliced

½ cup torn mint leaves, plus extra to serve

2 spring onions (scallions), finely sliced

¼ cup fried shallots

270g packet rice vermicelli noodles

Thai basil, to serve (optional)

butter lettuce leaves, to serve

¼ cup crunchy fried noodles

Dressing:

¼ cup honey

2 tbsp white vinegar

2 tbsp fish sauce

• Put a large pot of water over high heat and bring to the boil.
• In the meantime, place the chicken in a large bowl along with the carrot, cabbage, chilli, mint, spring onion and fried shallots. Set aside until ready to serve.
• For the dressing, whisk all the ingredients together. Drizzle half of the dressing over the chicken mixture, then use your hands to give everything a good toss. You want a mere whisper of dressing on everything rather than everything to be saturated. Save the remaining dressing for later.
• Cook the noodles in the boiling water for 2 minutes or until just cooked. Drain and rinse under tap water to cool. Use your hands to form little bundles of noodles and place them on a platter. Add the lettuce to the plate too, as well as the extra mint and Thai basil (if using).
• Sprinkle the crispy noodles over the dressed salad. Serve with the bundles of noodles, herbs and lettuce on the side, plus the additional dressing.