I make this recipe a lot at home! It's just a great summer salad packed full of flavour and texture. I love that you use the poaching liquid to make the dressing, so there's less waste. It's all about vibrancy, lots of fresh, Asian herbs and a simple dressing. Crunchy and punchy – it's great for your summer repertoire.
Place coconut milk, 250ml (1 cup) water and ¼ teaspoon salt in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to just below the boil. Add chicken and cook for 5–7 minutes or until just cooked through. Remove chicken with tongs and transfer to a bowl to cool, reserving 80ml (⅓ cup) coconut poaching liquid. Return saucepan of coconut poaching liquid to heat to use for cooking the noodles in step 3. While chicken is poaching, continue with step 2.
Juice lime. Crush garlic. Finely chop bird's-eye chilli. Place fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, garlic and chilli in a bowl and mix to combine. Set aside until ready to serve.
Top up saucepan of poaching liquid with 500ml (2 cups) boiling water from the kettle. Place vermicelli noodles in saucepan and remove from heat. Set aside for 5 minutes to soften. Drain and rinse noodles well under cool water.
Peel carrot and cut into matchsticks. Cut cucumber into matchsticks. Peel and thinly slice eschalot. Pick mint leaves and Thai basil leaves from their stems.
Once chicken has cooled enough to handle, use two forks or clean hands to shred chicken. Place in a bowl with reserved coconut poaching liquid and mix to combine.
Place chicken, vermicelli noodles, carrot, cucumber, eschalot, mint and Thai basil in a bowl with a good pinch of salt and pepper and toss to combine. Add dressing and toss to coat. Divide between bowls and top with crispy shallots to serve.