Recipe: Chicken larb
Prep time: 1 hour
Cook time: 10 minutes
Serves 8
Larb is often called the national dish of Laos. Use only fresh, blemish-free herbs, and chop and slice them by hand because a food processor will bruise them. Loosely pack the herbs into the measuring cup. Although you can use ground chicken or turkey, chopping the meat yourself gives the dish a finer texture.
INGREDIENTS
2 whole boneless chicken breasts or 3 pounds of ground chicken or turkey
Juice of 2 large limes, plus 1 lime for garnish
2 tablespoons rice wine
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
1 stalk minced lemongrass, tough outer leaves, root and top several inches removed before mincing
3 teaspoons grated lemon peel
2 small hot chili peppers, minced (wear gloves), or 1 teaspoon crushed chili flakes
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
3 tablespoons toasted sticky rice flour (see recipe below)
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 heaping cup chopped, fresh mint
1 heaping cup chopped, fresh cilantro
Several additional stems of mint and cilantro for garnish
1 bunch green onions, green part chopped, white part sliced diagonally
1/2 cup chopped Thai basil
1 large head leaf lettuce (16 leaves for wrappers)
INSTRUCTIONS
On a large, clean chopping board, chop the chicken with a heavy knife or cleaver. As you chop the chicken, fold it over on itself. Continue to fold and chop until the meat is very finely chopped. Put the meat in a large bowl and squeeze the lime juice over it. Add the rice wine.
Cook the chicken mixture in a nonstick skillet (don’t use any oil) over medium-high heat, tossing and stirring constantly just until the meat turns white. Return the mixture with any accumulated juice to the bowl and allow it to cool to room temperature.
While the chicken cools, prepare the fresh herbs. Add the ginger, lemongrass, lemon peel, chili peppers (or crushed chili flakes), garlic, fish sauce, salt, white pepper and rice flour to the cooked mixture.
Break apart the chicken bouillon cube and sprinkle it on top. Toss the ingredients together until they are well mixed. Then add the mint, cilantro, green onions and Thai basil. Gently toss everything. Break lettuce leaves from the head and wash and dry them.
Scoop 1/4 cup of the larb onto each lettuce leaf and arrange the leaves on a large platter. Garnish with mint, cilantro sprigs and wedges of lime. Diners pick up a lettuce leaf and roll it up to eat. Serve larb with cool sticky rice.
Per serving using ground turkey: 380 cal.; 28 g pro.; 9 g carb.; 25 g fat (8 sat., 9 monounsat., 6 polyunsat., 2 other); 116 mg chol.; 934 mg sod.; 1 g fiber; 1 g sugar; 60 percent calories from fat.