This recipe is dedicated to my good friend Laura. I visited her over the memorial day weekend, and failed to deliver larb from Lemongrass (our old place of employment), so am compensating by trying to recreate the dish for her. And then eat it for her. I guess no where in this scenario does she actually get to eat the larb. Opps.
Larb is a meat salad (chicken, pork, beef, turkey, etc.) that is very popular in Laos and parts of Thailand. I had never heard of it or tried it before waiting tables at Lemongrass. It sounds weird and not really very appetizing, but if you're anything like me and like spiciness and tanginess, you might appreciate this. During the summer, I try to "cook" as little as possible because of how darn hot it gets, so these salads are the way to go! I made mine with chicken, you can feel free to experiment on your own. I guess traditionally, the meat is minced, but I went with the ground version.
Dressing
:: 1/4 cup fish sauce
:: 1/2 cup lime juice
:: 1 tbsp sugar, or to taste
:: chili paste or chili garlic sauce to taste (I used 2 tsp)
:: 3/4 cup chicken broth :: 1 1/2 pound ground chicken
:: 1 cup scallions, chopped
:: 3 tbsp chopped lemongrass
:: 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
:: 1/3 cup mint, chopped
:: lettuce (romaine, butter, Boston) separated into leaves for wrapping
Mix the first 4 ingredients together until the sugar dissolves. Set aside.
Heat the chicken broth to boiling and cook the chicken, scallions, and lemongrass in it until the chicken is cooked through and most of the liquid has cooked off, about 10-15 minutes.
Remove from heat, toss in cilantro and mint.
Stir in sauce. Season with s&p if needed. Serve in lettuce cups!
finally! ive gotten to try one of your recipes first-hand. readers, take note: this is so delicious you will want to eat 400 pounds of it in one sitting, so prepare an adequate meal.
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