Larb (ลาบ) Gai - Refreshing Thai Minced Ground Chicken Salad

My very first FOOD POST!! 

I absolutely love Thai food!  For the longest time, I would enjoy my mother's authentic thai cuisine and being fortunate enough to be able to travel to Thailand regularly (for the food, the massages, the beaches, for everything!).

Now that I live in the New Jersey Suburbs, finding good thai food is so difficult.  I decided to learn how to cook my favorite dishes myself and have been enjoying them ever since (and so have my neighbors).

My favorite Summer (and all-time) dish is a northern thai minced ground chicken salad called "Larb" (ลาบ).  It's originally made with ground pork (ลาบหมู), but there are many varieties and I prefer using lean ground chicken. 

Time: About 30 minutes or less

Ingredients:

• 1 lbs lean ground chicken (or lean ground pork)  
• 2-3 limes (freshly squeezed) 
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce 
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1-2 teaspoons Ground chili powder 
• 2 mid-sized shallots 
• 1/4 cup mint leaves (whole or chopped)

optional: 

• 1/8 cup of culantro (similar to cilantro)
• 1/8 cup of roasted, ground sticky rice grains

Instructions:

1.  In a pot or wok, add 1 tablespoon of oil and cook the ground chicken. I prefer a pot that is not made of teflon, because teflon pots make the chicken grainier instead of chunky. No need to add water or anything. 

2.  Once chicken is fully cooked, add lime juice and fish sauce. For every 1 lime you squeeze, add 1 tablespoon of fish sauce. For a more sour taste, add more lime juice, for a saltier taste, add more fish sauce.  You can always add more at the end too. 

3.  Add chili powder (to your taste!) and sugar and mix everything well. If you choose to add the roasted sticky rice grains (how to roast noted below*), add them now. Let it all cool down.

4.  Add the sliced shallots, whole or chopped mint leaves and culantro (optional).  

half the shallots and then slice thinly.

I love to chop the mint instead of using whole ones.

Transfer to serving dish and enjoy!

This dish goes really well with Thai Papaya Salad and is usually served with a small side of sticky rice. 

*How to roast sticky rice grains for this dish:  in a pan or skillet, add  about 1/4 cup of whole uncooked sticky rice grains and roast it on low heat while constantly stirring it. When you get a slightly yellow color, let the rice cool down. To pound the rice, either use a mortar and pestle or food processor. It should be a coarse powder.  

Although the roasted sticky rice grains are such an essential part of this dish, I don't add it, but it does give a lovely crunchy texture to the entire dish.

This dish is a great summer dish and goes well with western BBQ as an appetizer or side salad! It's not only very healthy and lean, it's also very easy and quick to make.

xTanya

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Please leave comments if you tried the dish or made a different variety!