CHICKEN LETTUCE WRAPS
Chicken larb is a quick and easy meal that’s bursting with mouthwatering tastes and textures. Alternatively, you may serve them with sticky rice or lettuce cups for a lower carb option.
WHAT IS LARB?
Ground meat, herbs, chiles, fish sauce, lime juice, and toasted ground rice make up larb, a Thai meat salad. Larb is a traditional meal in parts of Thailand as well as Laos.
I can’t get enough of it.
Crispy ground pork is spiced with fish sauce, lime juice, and a slew of herbs and spices.
An added crunch and buttery flavor contrast well with the lime juice in the salad thanks to the toasting of the ground rice before adding it. Fried shallots offer a wonderful flavor dimension to this dish, and the addition of chilies gives it a nice kick.
The question is, “HOW DO YOU ENJOY LARB?”
Larb can be served with sticky rice or raw vegetables like lettuce. Flavorful coconut rice is a wonderful accompaniment to this dish.
Anyone looking to reduce their carbohydrate intake can have a delicious chicken larb lettuce cup, which pairs well with the crunchy lettuce and fragrant larb sauce.
It’s possible to grind your own pork shoulder if you’re utilizing that. For lamb shoulder, you may do the same for turkey thighs.
INGREDIENTS:
- 570g of ground chicken
- 3 shallots, thinly sliced
- 3 thinly sliced scallions
- 1-2 thinly sliced Thai bird chilies
- 1/4 cup of uncooked jasmine rice
- 1/4 cup of roughly chopped cilantro
- 1/2 cup of roughly chopped fresh mint
- 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons of fish sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon of sugar
- 2 limes, juiced
- salt
- butter or boston lettuce
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Over low heat, a dry wok or skillet should be used to toast the rice grains, stirring constantly for about 10 minutes. Using a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder, grind to a coarse powder the dried spices. Set away for a later time.
- Add 2 teaspoons of oil to a hot wok and let it heat up. In a little oil, brown half of the shallots until they are crispy. Remove the shallots from the wok, but save the oil.
- To re-heat your wok, place it back over a high heat until it begins to smoke. Add the ground chicken to the mixture. Fry the chicken in a little oil until it’s crispy and golden brown, then add the sugar, fish sauce, and lime juice.
- Fry for one more minute before adding the toasted rice powder, chiles, and the rest of the uncooked shallots. Reheat in the wok for 30 seconds or so, then taste the spice and adjust as desired with additional sugar or chili sauce and/or lime juice (if using).
- This dish can be served in lettuce cups topped with the crispy shallots you saved.