I am not sure when we first had it, but when we did, it became a favorite. Let us say that where Thai food is concerned, this dish doesn’t get much ink. The curries are certainly very popular, be it red, green or jungle, for the sautéed dishes, anything stir fried with basil will do nicely and as for the salad, Thai beef and papaya salad top the charts. But Chicken Salad, also known as Larb Gai is a winning dish.

This dish is not the usual dull typical chicken salad coated in a waxy dressing and it does not have that ‘barnyard’ smell that most chicken salads have. That is because the chicken is served warm. It is also not in the form of a huge hunk of meat prohibiting any penetration of flavor, but rather, ground crumbly chicken that is coated in a spicy sauce. Now, close your eyes and imagine opening you mouth to a citrussed-lemon grass salad with fresh onions, chili and mint, only to be slightly wilted by warm and piquant ground chicken straight from the pan. The dish is then given a final toss with fresh sprigs of coriander and sprinkled with toasted ground rice for a bit of texture. Can‘t you just taste it already?

Larb Gai

Ingredients

Ground chicken

1 lb ground chicken
1 tsp. red curry paste
1 finely sliced shallot
2 kaffir lime leaves, julienned
2 tsp. fish sauce (Nam Pla)
1 tbsp. oil
¼ cup of water
Salad
1” piece of lemongrass, finely minced
Juice of 2 limes
1 garlic clove
2 large fresh shallots
Handful of mint leaves
Handful of cilantro
2 red birdseye chilies or a green chili
Salt to taste
1 tbsp .rice

Method

Chicken

1) On medium heat, heat oil and cook the red curry paste for a minute to lose the raw taste

2) Add the ground chicken and ¼ cup of water with lime leaves, lemongrass and fish sauce and cook until done – make sure there is always enough moisture so that chicken doesn’t brown

Salad

1) Combine all salad ingredients, toss well

2) Add the chicken whilst hot, give it a final toss and serve immediately