I love thai cuisine, so I went to Sur la Table cooking school to learn how to make some familiar thai restaurant classics. One favorite of mine is the fresh thai salad with chicken or the larb gai. I like this dish because you taste all the essential thai flavors, the hot, sour, salty and sweet, all in a fresh salad!
Ingredients
1 large head butter lettuce
2 TB uncooked jasmine rice
12 oz ground chicken
2 tsp peanut or vegetable oil
3 medium garlic cloves, minced
¼ cup fresh lime juice
1 tsp grated palm sugar or brown sugar
1.4 TB fish sauce
2-3 Thai chiles, minced
1 medium shallot, thinly sliced
2 green onions, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 TB chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish
1 TB chopped thai basil, plus more for garnish
½ cup fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
Sea salt
¼ cup roasted peanuts, finely chopped
Instructions
Separate the lettuce leaves, discarding any that are bruised or damaged. Plunge leaves into a large bowl of cold water. Using kitchen shears, trim lettuce into hand-sized cups. Dry upside down on a paper towel-lined baking sheet until ready to use.
Dry roast the rice in a wok or pan over medium heat until lightly browned. Remove rice from the pan and grind in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder to a fine powder. Set aside.
Add oil to a wok over medium-high heat. When the oil is shimmering, add chicken and garlic and cook thoroughly using a wok spatula to break the chicken into small pieces. remove from the heat to cool.
In a medium bowl, add the lime juice, sugar, fish sauces and mix until well combined. Stir in the rice powder, minced chiles, shallot, scallions and herbs. Finely mince chicken and garlic and combine with sauce and herb mixture. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt.
To serve: Arrange the minced chicken on a serving platter with the lettuce leaves on the side to use as cups for the chicken. Garnish with additional herbs and chopped peanuts.
Recipe by A Day in the Bite at https://www.adayinthebite.com/larb-gai/