Larb Gai — Chicken with Lime and Fresh Herbs

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Larb Gai — Chicken with Lime and Fresh Herbs

May 13, 2011 by changingpalate

The Menu:

Larb Gai
Brown Rice
Cucumber Spears

Tasty, satisfying and you can feel virtuous eating this diet friendly dish from Southeast Asia. Go heavier on the herbs, quantities do not have to be exact.

Adapted from: Julia Moskin, The New York Times

The Ingredients:

2 tablespoons roasted rice powder (available at Asian markets or see below)
16 ounces coarsely ground or finely chopped white or dark meat chicken. (I use boneless, skinless thighs which I grind using an attachment to my mixer.)
1/2 teaspoon hot chili powder, preferably Thai or Lao. Cayenne is a fine substitute
4 tablespoons fish sauce (nam pla)
5 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 cup slivered red onions
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons sliced scallions
2 tablespoons chopped mint, more whole leaves for serving
Lettuce leaves and cucumber spears, for serving
Lime wedges, for serving
4 cups cooked brown rice, for serving

The Directions:

To cook chicken, heat a wok or skillet over medium-high heat. When very hot, add 2 tablespoons water, then add chicken, stirring constantly to break up any lumps. Cook just until cooked through, about two minutes, then transfer to mixing bowl.

Mix the pepper together with the fish sauce and lime juice. Set aside.

While chicken is just warm, add roasted rice powder. Mix gently but thoroughly. Then add half the pepper/fish sauce/lime juice mixture. Taste and adjust seasonings, adding more of the liquid mixture till it tastes good to you. Mixture should be tangy, salty and lightly spicy. I sometimes add more fish sauce.

Spoon onto serving plate and surround with mint, lettuce and cucumber. Serve with rice. Scoop larb into lettuce leaves, garnish with mint and a squeeze of lime and eat like a taco.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

The Notes:

Roasted Rice Powder: You can make roasted rice powder, but really, who has that kind of energy? To make roasted rice powder, heat a wok or skillet over high heat. Add raw rice and cook, stirring often, until rice is toasted and dark brown, but not black, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from wok and set aside to cool. Grind to a coarse powder in a mortar, blender or coffee grinder.

Rice: Larb gai is traditionally served with long-grain Thai or Lao sticky rice, sometimes labeled “glutinous.” It is not the same as Japanese short-grain rice. Brown rice works just fine. I have an amazing rice cooker with multiple cooking settings. After experimenting I found that if I cook medium grain brown rice on the sushi rice setting it comes out wonderfully.

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