9/02/2016

Tangy Larb with Roast Chicken



I only recently even heard of this dish, often found in Thai restaurants (though actually a Laotian specialty).  Guess I wasn't looking too closely at the menus.  Perhaps the name had something to do with that??  Anyway, I did make it last month with ground beef, but having a nice bit of left-over roast chicken, thought I'd mince that up for a quick no-cook dinner.  Always good to have something different to do with extra chicken, and a beautiful idea in this hot weather.  Usually larb has some sort of ground meat or tofu, which you then cook before adding the flavoring ingredients and lettuce leaves to dish it into.  Many larb recipes call for roasted, ground rice, which I left out, not being certain this added step is necessary.  Easy peasy dinner. 

Chicken Larb

  • 1 ¼ pounds white or dark meat chicken, finely minced with a knife  (I used left-over, cooked chicken)
  • 2 tablespoons nam pla or other fish sauce
  • 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 2or 3 kefir lime leaves, finely slivered 
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon crushed dried chili, or fresh, minced, or Sriracha Chili Sauce to taste 
  • ½ cup sliced red onion
  • 1/4 cup mint leaves 
  • ¼ cup minced scallions
  •  1/4 cup cilantro
  • 1/2 cup cabbage, shredded
  • 4 to 6 romaine lettuce leaves

Preparation

  1. Put minced chicken in a pot with water to cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. Turn heat to low, and simmer a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until done.  Or, use previously cooked chicken.  If that is the case, heat gently in a microwave, preferably with some of the pan drippings before using.
  2. In a bowl, combine chicken, with remaining seasoning ingredients, nam pla, lime juice, sugar, and chile etc.; taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. Make a bed of romaine leaves on a platter and everyone can spoon chicken mixture into middle of a leaf, to roll and eat.

I also had some breadfruit, cooked earlier in the day, which just needed to be nuked to serve alongside. Larb pops with vibrant, zingy flavors and made a lovely, light summer meal, which I'll share over at Beth Fish Reads for her Weekend Cooking event.  If you have anything food or drinks related, join in or just come and visit.

7 comments:

Katherine P said...

This looks fantastic! The flavor combination sounds delicious. I'm also super curious about breadfruit. I've heard of it but never tried it. This looks like it'd be a great thing to make at the beginning of the week to have yummy lettuce wraps for lunch for a few days.

Beth F said...

Oh wow! I'm always looking for ways to use up left over chicken when I roast one. I like this idea a lot.

Mae Travels said...

Some of those spices, fish sauce, etc. have been waiting in my pantry for me to make your recipe. Thanks for the suggestion!

best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

Carole said...

I love the taste and texture of larb. Have a great week. Cheers from Carole's Chatter

Tina said...

I've never heard of this dish, looks like something I would enjoy.

Trish @ Love, Laughter, Insanity said...

I was just talking about using roast chicken breast for casseroles but not really knowing what to do with the dark meat but this sounds perfect! I've never heard of larb before...going to pay more attention next time we head to our favorite Thai restaurant.

Cecelia said...

Mmm... any recipe that calls for fish sauce is good in my book. This sounds like a good end-of-summer dish for me to try!