Name: Larb gai (spicy chicken salad)
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 2 tablespoon long-grain white rice; 1 tablespoon peanut oil; 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh lemon grass; 2 fresh small red thai chillies, seeded, chopped finely; 2 clove garlic, crushed; 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh galangal; 750 gram chicken mince; 1 lebanese cucumber (130g), seeded, sliced thinly; 1 small_piece red onion (100g), sliced thinly; 100 gram bean sprouts; 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh thai basil leaves; 1 cup loosely packed fresh coriander leaves; 4 large_piece iceberg lettuce leaves; 1/3 cup (80ml) lime juice; 2 tablespoon fish sauce; 2 tablespoon kecap manis; 2 tablespoon peanut oil; 2 teaspoon grated palm sugar; 1/2 teaspoon sambal oelek

Larb is a spicy salad based on minced chicken, beef or pork. It’s popular in Vietnam and Thailand, and regarded as the national dish of Laos.

Ingredients

2 tablespoon long-grain white rice

1 tablespoon peanut oil

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh lemon grass

2 fresh small red thai chillies, seeded, chopped finely

2 clove garlic, crushed

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh galangal

750 gram chicken mince

1 lebanese cucumber (130g), seeded, sliced thinly

1 small_piece red onion (100g), sliced thinly

100 gram bean sprouts

1/2 cup loosely packed fresh thai basil leaves

1 cup loosely packed fresh coriander leaves

4 large_piece iceberg lettuce leaves

1/3 cup (80ml) lime juice

2 tablespoon fish sauce

2 tablespoon kecap manis

2 tablespoon peanut oil

2 teaspoon grated palm sugar

1/2 teaspoon sambal oelek

Method

1.Place ingredients for dressing in screw-top jar; shake well.

2.Heat dry wok; stir-fry rice until lightly browned. Blend or process (or crush using mortar and pestle) rice until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.

3.Heat oil in same wok; stir-fry lemon grass, chilli, garlic and galangal until fragrant. Remove from wok. Stir-fry chicken, in batches, until changed in colour and cooked through.

4.Return chicken and lemon grass mixture to wok with about one-third of the dressing; stir-fry about 5 minutes or until mixture thickens slightly.

5.Place remaining dressing in large bowl with chicken, cucumber, onion, sprouts and herbs; toss gently to combine. Place lettuce leaves on serving plates; divide larb salad among leaves, sprinkle with ground rice.

Although we used sambal oelek, you can use hot vietnamese chilli paste or, for less heat, a mild sweet thai chilli sauce.
Note

Women's Weekly Food

Trusted by home cooks for 90 years, The Australian Women’s Weekly’s Test Kitchen and cookbooks hold a singular place in shaping home cooking within the Australian culinary landscape. Today, the AWW Test Kitchen in Sydney is a thriving hub for food content, connected to two bustling photographic studios where a talented team of Australia’s best recipe developers, art directors, editors and photographers create our world class food content. Our recipes are thoroughly tested and tasted and given the Test Kitchen tick of approval, guaranteeing you’ll get great results in your home kitchen.

Instagram Facebook

Ingredients

Method

Related stories