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Chicken Larb (Larb Gai)

5 from 2 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Total Time 22 minutes
Yield 4 servings

Description

A traditional Thai dish adapted for busy weeknights. This Thai-inspired Chicken Larb (Larb Gai or Laab Gai) is loaded with fresh flavors, savory chicken, and crunchy texture.

Ingredients

  • 1 medium shallot, thinly sliced
  • ½ cup roasted unsalted peanuts, roughly chopped
  • 2 teaspoons dried onion flakes, optional
  • 1 pound ground chicken
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • Kosher salt
  • 3 scallions, thinly sliced
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • 2 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 1 jalapeno or serrano, thinly sliced*
  • ½ 6 inch stalk lemongrass, tough outer layers removed, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon honey or sugar
  • ½ cup torn mint leaves
  • ½ cup roughly chopped cilantro, leaves and tender stems
  • Flaky sea salt, optional
  • 1 head bibb or butter lettuce
  • Cooked jasmine rice

Instructions

  • Add shallots to a bowl; cover with cold water and set aside.
    sliced shallots in a glass bowl filled with water
  • In a large skillet over medium heat, toast peanuts until starting to brown, about 4 minutes. Add onion flakes, if using, and toast until brown, 1–2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and set aside. Wipe out skillet.
    peanuts and onion flakes in a skillet
  • Add oil to now-empty skillet and heat over medium, add chicken and cook, breaking meat apart with back of wooden spoon or spatula, until meat is no longer pink, but not browned, about 5 minutes; season with ½ teaspoon kosher salt.
    ground chicken in a skillet
  • Drain shallots.
  • Remove skillet from heat and stir in shallots, scallions, 3 tablespoons lime juice, fish sauce, serrano(s), lemongrass, and honey. Season with salt to taste and let cool 5 minutes.
    ground chicken, shallots and scallions in a skillet
  • Stir in half of the cilantro and half of the mint. Transfer to a serving dish and top with remaining herbs, flaky salt and a handful of reserved toasted peanut and onion flakes. Serve with green cabbage leaves, cooked long-grain rice and remaining toasted peanut mixture.
    ground chicken and herbs in a skillet

Notes

Jalapeno or Serrano: you can use either here. If you like things really spicy use a serrano (discard the seeds if you don’t want it overly spicy). We use serrano in my beef larb because beef can stand up to that heat really well. We prefer jalapeno in these chicken lettuce wraps because it’s more mild and pairs well with the chicken.

Nutrition

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