Thai Style Chicken Larb

Whew....has it been hot enough for you in SoCal??? Talk about stewing in your own juices. It's almost too hot to eat...almost......

Here's a recipe for Thai Style Larb, that I've been making for about 8 or 9 years. I first saw it in a Food Magazine, I don't remember which publication it was. I do remember that the recipe was provided by Bo Kline who Co-Owns, along with her husband, the Typhoon chain of Thai Restaurants in the Pacific Northwest. I also recall being quite excited when we found out that Typhoon had opened in Seattle. We couldn't wait to try out the Chicken Larb. Unfortunately, we found the larb at Typhoon in Seattle to be under-flavored, dry, and severely lacking herbs, which is what makes this recipe tick. What a disappointment.....

We have found that using dark meat chicken(i.e. boneless-skinless thighs) makes for a more moist Larb. The Missus often eats this with rice, along with some Papaya Salad on the side.

Thai Style Chicken Larb

1/2 Cup Fresh Lime Juice
1/3-1/2 Cup Fish Sauce
1 Tb Palm Sugar

1/3 Cup Chicken Stock
1 1/2 Pounds Ground/Minced Dark Meat Chicken(We grind/mine our own)
1 Cup Thinly Sliced Green Onions
1/2 Cup Thinly Sliced Shallots
2-3 Tb Finely Minced Lemongrass
2-4 Thinly Sliced Thai Bird Chilies
1/2 Cup Chopped Cilantro Leaves
1/4 Cup Chopped Mint Leaves
Chili Paste
Salt if necessary.

Green Leaf, Boston, or Romain Lettuce leaves.

Whisk Lime Juice, Fish Sauce, and Lime Juice in a bowl until sugar is dissolved.

In a heavy skillet or wok, bring chicken stock to a simmer over medium heat.
Add lemongrass and simmer for about 1 minute.
Add chicken, breaking up the meat with a spoon and simmer until chicken is cooked, and most of the liquid has evaporated, about 8-10 minutes.
Add green onions, shallots, and chilies, and mix together until tender, about 2-3 minutes.
Add sauce and mix, until all items are incorporated.
Remove from heat and add Cilantro and Mint, and stir.
Taste and add Chili paste and salt if necessary.

Comments

[thess]

Yummy!! A perfect chicken larb, Kirk!

(in 3 weeks time, I can eat all larb I want, yey!)

[CharSiuBao]

yum! i can't wait to try this. but.. what type of chili paste?

[Kirk]

Hi Thess - Wow, I'm excited for you! I hope you have a great time.

Hi CSB - I use a Thai Chili paste...so long it doesn't have too much vinegar, it should be okay. You can even use red chili flakes, but put them in early on.

[Peter L]

Looks good. Try toasting some rice (sticky rice preferably), grind and sprinkle over. Also, try ground pork. A place here in SF makes duck larb (using shredded duck). It is unbelievable.

[Kirk]

Hi Peter - Yes, on occasion I put roasted rice on this. Though, I believe it's a must for Yum Nua - Beef Salad.

[Val]

Why would Larb smell overwhelmingly like raw sewage?
we asked the Thai owner of a Gresham, Oregon restaurant what spices he used, but his English wasn't good enough to answer. Truly, truly, smelled like toilet contents, with noise saying to mouth, "Don't put that in here!"
Why?

[Kirk]

Hi Val - Are you sure the owner is Thai? If so, it could be Kapi - fermented shrimp paste. Though I don't think it smells like sewage. I've also had a version that used fermented tofu, but it was sort of more Chinese-Lao than Thai.