The above will easily suffice for two people if you serve it with, say, a bowl of Tom Yam soup or something similar. By the way, you will often encounter larb under the salad category in Thai restaurants in this country, but this shouldn't stop you from ordering it as a main course -- it tastes just as good!
Ingredients
- 1 whole boned chicken breast, minced fairly finely
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/4 red onion, chopped or sliced thinly
- juice of 1-2 limes
- 1-2 Tbs fish sauce -- the vietnamese variety works just fine
- generous amount of chopped, fresh mint (dry works fine, too)
- 1/8 - 1/4 tsp red chili pepper
Directions
Saute the chicken and garlic in about 1 Tbs oil. Don't overcook it or brown it. When the chicken is cooked, transfer to a bowl and mix in the remaining ingredients. Serve on a bed of lettuce with a generous amount of steamed white rice. Typically larb comes with a side dish of raw vegetable such as cabbage, cucumber, spring onions, etc. Contrary to popular belief, the Thais do not use chopsticks for eating -- the spoon is the most common implement, with a fork used as a pusher.
Fish sauce can be found in asian grocery stores and increasingly in 'ordinary' supermarkets. Dont substitute soy sauce, whatever you do. Unless you are timid with respect to spicy food, don't be afraid to err on the generous side with respect to the ingredients.
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Submitted 6/13/05.
Source: rec.food.recipes
Submitted By: Rick Smith
rick@dragons.net
Larb Gai (Chicken Larb)