CHICKEN LARB / CHICKEN SALAD (Laj Nqaij Qaib)

Serves 1, or 3-4 if shared with other dishes.

Ingredients

  • 6 prawns
  • 200 gms. chicken mince (about 1 large chicken breast with skin removed)
  • 1 chicken stock cube or ¼ tsp. powdered stock, mixed with 2 tablespoons of hot water
  • 1 medium lime/lemon, juiced
  • 2 tbsp. burghul (Middle Eastern cracked wheat)
  • 2 kaffir lime leaves, stems removed and leaves thinly sliced
  • 1 spring onion (long green onion), thinly sliced
  • 2 French shallots, thinly sliced
  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 bunch of coriander, finely chopped
  • 2 stalks of lemon grass, white part only, thinly sliced
  • 6 large rocket (arugula) leaves, thinly sliced
  • ¼ tsp. salt
  • 1 tbsp. rice powder*
  • 1 tsp. chilli powder or fresh chilies if you like, adjust to your taste
  • 1 tsp. fish sauce (to taste)
  • 1 tsp. fried garlic**
  • 1 tsp. fried shallots**
  • Iceberg or butter lettuce (optional), to serve
starters-laos-chicken-larb

Method

  1. Put the stock, chicken mince, half the lime juice and water in a wok over low heat and keep stirring until the mince is cooked through and the liquid has been absorbed, remove from the heat and place in a bowl.
  2. Add the burghul and mix well. Add the kaffir lime leaves, spring onion, shallot, garlic, coriander, lemon grass and rocket leaves. Mix well.
  3. Add the salt, rice powder, chilli powder, fish sauce, fried garlic and fried shallot. Mix thoroughly.
  4. Finally when the salad is thoroughly mixed, pour the remainder of the lime/lemon juice over the salad, give it a quick stir through. It is important to taste at this stage to ensure the flavours are working together and you have the right balance of salty and sour. Top with a garnish of coriander leaves.

To serve

You can simply place this delicious salad on the table among other dishes or you may choose to serve it as a Starter, placing a spoonful of the salad into the cup of a lettuce leaf, bundling it up and chewing it down.

* Rice powder is used as a thickener in this recipe, you could substitute it with cornflour or subject to your taste you could leave it out.

** Fried Garlic and Fried Shallots are available in most Asian Supermarkets.