Chilli and Lime Noodle Stir Fry with Chicken

Just before Christmas, I bought myself a 2017 calendar by Red Tractor Designs.  Red Tractor make gorgeous teatowels with Australiana and other designs, and this calendar is an Australiana calendar.  What I love about it is that for each month, the calendar not only features a picture and a quote, but also a little blurb about the significance of that picture to Australia, and a recipe for the month.

Here is January's image, about our rural firies working to contain bushfires:

January's recipe is for a chilli and lime noodle salad.  I adored the sound of the ingredients, but not the fact that most of them were served raw.  What I did is to take those ingredients and covert the recipe from a salad to a stir fry.  And what a delicious stir fry it was - Asian flavours abound in this healthy tasty dish.

To make it my way, you will need:

120g dried vermicelli noodles
2 bunches bok choy, thinly sliced
2 fresh long red chillis, deseeded and thinly sliced
1/2 cup torn Thai basil leaves 
2 deveined kaffir lime leaves, shredded
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
zest and juice of one lime
1 barbecue chicken, shredded
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds


Soak the noodles in boiling water for 5 minutes, stir to separate the strands, drain, refresh under cold water, drain again.  Place into a bowl and snip into shorter lengths.

Heat one tablespoon olive oil in a frypan.   Warm the chicken in the oil, then add the chillis to the pan and cook for around two minutes. add the bok choy, kaffir lime leaves, Thai basil, sauces and lime zest and juice, and stir fry until cooked through.  Add to the noodles in the bowl, and stir to combine well.  Sprinkle the stir fry with sesame seeds before serving.