Cold Pan Asian Noodle Bowl

At dinnertime tonight (8:30 p.m.) it was still 106 degrees. I had stupidly agreed to make chicken-fried steak with biscuits and gravy for the kids (why, oh why would I consent to such a thing on a day like this???)  I had agreed to it this morning when it was still a nice, brisk 90 degrees--it didn't seem that unreasonable since I was feeling downright righteous after a 7 a.m. trip to the gym. But tonight, as I was red-faced and sweaty after a full day of unsuccessful heat avoidance, I couldn't even think about stuffing all that heavy, greasy, gut-bomb deliciousness down. The world was literally melting all around us. This really is not exaggeration, by the way. My poor little plants were just drooping--my cabbages looked saggy, the tomatoes a little crispy, and the lettuce bolted and limp simultaneous. No, only cool, crispy, fresh and spicy things sounded remotely appealing. So, the kids would have to survive. I informed them, and thankfully, they've had enough experience with my food-mood swings, that it just wasn't that big of a deal. (I probably wouldn't be that nice about being denied biscuits when I really wanted them.) I began pilfering the garden and my refrigerator, and the mad scientist in me got a little crazy, and this is what I came up with, and man, did it hit the spot.

Cold Pan Asian Noodle Bowl
Ingredients
Chicken & Marinade:
2 T sesame oil
2 T fish sauce
2 T honey
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 lbs chicken breast, cut into strips, about 2 inches wide

Salad:
1 bag of rice stick vermicelli
1 bunch of cilantro, finely chopped
1 C fresh mint leaves
1 C fresh basil leaves
2 C bean sprouts
1/2 English cucumber, sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
lime and Sriracha for seasoning

Salad Dressing:
1/2 C fish sauce
3 T honey
4 T rice vinegar
1 T ponzu
1 scallion, sliced
1 jalapeno, finely chopped

Combine all marinade ingredients and chicken in a bowl and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Start your coals on the BBQ. Continue to allow the chicken to marinate until the coals are ready--probably another 15 minutes. Meanwhile, make your salad dressing by combining all dressing ingredients and refrigerating.

Bring a large sauce pot of water to a boil. Add rice noodles and boil for 1 minute. Drain and rinse under cool water, placing the strained noodles into the refrigerator. Skewer the marinated chicken. I use flexible skewers, but you could use regular metal skewers or bamboo. If you choose to use wooden skewers, make sure to allow 30 minutes to soak the skewers before threading. Place skewers on a medium hot, clean grill, rotating approximately every 5 minutes until cooked through. (Grill marks are good, but full-tilt burning is not.) This took about 15 minutes on my grill, but depending on your heat and the size of your chicken strips, it could take longer or shorter. The chicken is done when it is opaque all the way through. Remove from the grill.

Assemble bowls with a bundle of noodles, salad vegetables and chicken in each. Spoon about 3 tablespoons of dressing over each salad, and finish with a squeeze of fresh lime and a few drizzles of Sriracha. Add a little extra Sriracha to up the sweat level--I swear it helps cool you down!