Spicy Chicken, Squid and Noodle Salad

This salad is of Burmese/Thai origin. It has all the making of a hit -- it is simple to prepare, healthy, and, exotic enough to raise a lot of interest when you bring this to the next potluck. An unusual cold and spicy dish, this makes for excellent summer fare. Makes 4-6 servings.

3 whole chicken breasts, skinned
6 ounces dressed, small squid, cut into rings
4 ounces bean threads (wun sen)
1 head Bibb lettuce
1/4 head romaine lettuce, torn
1 medium red onion, slivered
1 1/3 cups bean sprouts
1 peeled cucumber, seeded and thickly sliced.
1/2 cup chicken broth
Tomato wedges
Lime wedges
Mint or fresh basil for garnish

Marinade:
2/3 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 cup fish sauce (nam pla)
4 teaspoon minced ginger
2 large cloves garlic, pressed
1 1/2 teaspoon Thai hot sauce (sriracha chilli sauce)
5 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 tablespoon minced basil, mint or coriander.

Mix all the ingredients of the marinade well and set aside. Preheat the broiler and grill the chicken breasts till they start to get golden on the outside and are about half cooked through. Slice the chicken into strips as thin as possible. Blanch the squid in a large pot of boiling water for 1-2 minutes, until it turns completely white. Drain and rinse with cold water. Combine squid, chicken and marinade and lit it sit for 1 hour at room temperature or 3 hours in the fridge.

Soak the bean thread noodles in warm water until they are soft, about 10 minutes. Drain immediately and rinse with cold water. Set aside.

Heat the chicken broth in a skillet, add the bean threads, and cook, stirring, until they are translucent, about 1-2 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the marinated squid and chicken to the noodles in the pan and stir them into the noodles.

Line a platter with half the Bibb lettuce leaves. Tear the remaining leaves and mix them with the romaine lettuce. Layer the torn lettuce, red onion, bean sprouts, and cucumber over the Bibb lettuce. Heap the noodle mixture in the center of the vegetables and sprinkle dressing all over. Alternate wedges of tomato and lime around the edge of the mound and garnish the platter with the mint or basil.