Larb Gai (Thai chicken salad)

Larb Gai  is my favorite dish when going out for Thai. Larb refers to minced/chopped meat and seasoned a certain way. Gai is chicken. I mean I like other Thai dishes… but as I look over the menu pondering on curries and tofu…  I start to think of all the flavor in this dish… and it pulls me in… seductive really… 

Larb Gai is typically served luke warm over lettuce or thinly sliced cabbage and is found under “Salads” on the menu… I usually ask them to leave off the lettuce because wilted lettuce in the leftovers flavors the dish negatively in my mind… I figure I will get my lettuce quota elsewhere.  Brown rice is a nice accompaniment.

I love this dish… and have been eating it in restaurants for years… literally.  So why have I never made it before? I mean it’s a perfect meal. High protein… insane flavors… get some good carbs with a little brown rice on the side… I’m making it!

Here we go… from what I have been reading… to be true to the taste of this dish… nothing can be omitted except the galangal… which I don’t have on hand… fresh ginger will have to do.

1 pound of chicken breast (boneless/skinless), pulsed/coarsely ground  in food processor

-        doing this at home is fresher and less fatty. You can also use boneless thighs… or beef, pork, duck, and even minced fish… cook in a dry non-stick pan... break apart with a spatula... keep heat low... you do not want to carmelize your meat. You also do not want to drain the liquid that comes off the chicken... I actually found the breasts on their own do not give off much liquid... and think a balance of breast and thigh will work better next time.

2 tbs toasted rice powder  

-        I was not able to find this in my quick trip to the market… but I have made my own from white jasmine rice… and then ground it up in the coffee grinder I use for flax seeds… could not be easier... toast in a non-stick pan on medium heat until caramel colored. This adds both a characteristic nuttiness and thickens... too little gives you soup... too much... congeals... so start with a tablespoon at a time.

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

3 tablespoons chopped cilantro (fresh)

2 tablespoons chopped shallots

3 tablespoons chopped mint leaves (the mint at my local grocer was amazingly fresh)

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce

*The lime juice, fish sauce and pepper flakes are a matter of personal taste…

add more or less… I like extra extra extra lime juice*

2 tbs of chopped unsalted peanut (my  own addition to this recipe)

Once the chicken is cooked... remove from the heat and add in the other ingredients... the residual heat will soften the shallots and meld the other flavors. Allow to cool to luke/room temp and serve.

Thinly sliced cabbage or lettuce for serving (if looking for roughage... and a more salady kind of dish)

-         If I include it at all I like a mixture of thinly sliced red and white cabbage in lieu of lettuce.

This is great served with rice as a main dish… jasmine, sticky, brown, or even black imperial… be careful with this rice though as the cooking water turns a beautiful cabernet color (which counters and clothing may not appreciate ).