Laotian Chicken Larb (Larb Gai)
User Reviews
5.0
9 reviews
Excellent
-
Prep Time
15 mins
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Cook Time
15 mins
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Total Time
30 mins
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Servings
4
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Calories
297 kcal
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Course
Side Dish, Main Course, Appetizer
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Cuisine
Thai
Laotian Chicken Larb (Larb Gai)
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Larb is an extraordinary salad, a national treasure of Laos and it’s not hard to see why. Ground chicken is seasoned to perfection with aromatics and spice - a fresh, zingy pop of flavour. Larb is a truly unique dish to make at home.
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Ingredients
For the dressing
- 2 tbsp glutinous rice (raw) or jasmine or long grain rice
- 2 tbsp fish sauce (or Padaek/Nam Pla - if you can find it)
- 2 tbsp mild chilli flakes
- 2 tbsp palm sugar (or white sugar)
- ½ lime (juice of)
- ¼ cup water
- 1 garlic clove (very finely chopped)
For the salad
- 14 oz ground chicken (400g) (minced)
- ⅓ cup shallots (sliced)
- ¼ cup cilantro (roughly chopped)
- ¼ cup mint (roughly chopped)
- 2 spring onions (sliced)
- 2 Thai chillies (finely sliced)
- 1 kaffir lime leaf (very finely shredded)
- white pepper
- ⅓ cup roasted peanuts (unsalted, chopped roughly)
- 1 romaine lettuce (optional)
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Instructions
To make the dressing
- Add the rice to a dry frying pan and toast for about 2-3 minutes, tossing to evenly brown the grains until golden. Remove from the pan and add to a pestle and mortar or spice grinder.Grind the rice into a coarse powder, like freshly ground black pepper.Set aside.
- Combine all the other dressing ingedients and whisk until the sugar dissolves. Stir in about half of the rice powder and set everything aside.
To make the salad
- Add the chicken to a pan along with about ½ cup water. Spread the chicken evenly across the pan. Turn on the heat to medium and bring to a simmer without stirring. Let is simmer for 1 minute before carefully flipping over the ground chicken. Gently break it into small chunks. You're looking for it to clump together a little and not turn into mush. Break up any large clumps with the back of a wooden spoon. After about 5 minutes, when you can see no pink from the chicken, remove from the heat and leave to cool completely.
- Once cooled, drain the excess water from the chicken. Tip the chicken into a bowl. Stir in the shallots, cilantro, mint, spring onions, chillies, kaffir lime leaf and white pepper. Pour in the dressing and stir well.
- Decant to a serving bowl or platter and scatter generously with the chopped peanuts.
- Serve at room temperature with romaine lettuce leaves (optional) to make cups with. On the side, serve lime wedges and more of the ground rice to sprinkle over each serving.Alternatively, serve with sticky or jasmine rice and crunchy raw vegetables on the side.
Notes
- Serving - Serve larb warm, straight from the pan or at room temperature.
- Toasted rice - This stage is somewhat essential for the authentic flavour, but if you can’t make that happen your larb will still be delicious without. If you can’t get hold of glutinous rice, you can use Jasmine or regular long-grain rice too for similar results.
- Storing Larb - You can make larb in advance and serve at room temperature when you’re ready. Just store in the fridge in a sealed container. It’ll stay fresh for 3-5 days
- Substitutions - Mix up the ingredients. Try other fresh herbs like Thai basil or cilantro (coriander). Try cashew nuts instead of peanuts. You can add other fresh ingredients like blanched green beans, carrots or fresh cucumber, tomatoes, radishes or beansprouts.
- Freezing - I don’t advise freezing – larb is definitely best served fresh.
Nutrition Information
Show Details
Calories
297kcal
(15%)
Carbohydrates
21g
(7%)
Protein
23g
(46%)
Fat
15g
(23%)
Saturated Fat
3g
(15%)
Polyunsaturated Fat
4g
Monounsaturated Fat
6g
Trans Fat
1g
Cholesterol
85mg
(28%)
Sodium
903mg
(38%)
Potassium
842mg
(24%)
Fiber
4g
(16%)
Sugar
7g
(14%)
Vitamin A
1457IU
(29%)
Vitamin C
10mg
(11%)
Calcium
60mg
(6%)
Iron
3mg
(17%)
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 4Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories 297 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 297kcal | 15% |
| Carbohydrates | 21g | 7% |
| Protein | 23g | 46% |
| Fat | 15g | 23% |
| Saturated Fat | 3g | 15% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 4g | 24% |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 6g | 30% |
| Trans Fat | 1g | 50% |
| Cholesterol | 85mg | 28% |
| Sodium | 903mg | 38% |
| Potassium | 842mg | 18% |
| Fiber | 4g | 16% |
| Sugar | 7g | 14% |
| Vitamin A | 1457IU | 29% |
| Vitamin C | 10mg | 11% |
| Calcium | 60mg | 6% |
| Iron | 3mg | 17% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Genuine Reviews
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5.0
9 reviews
Excellent
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