Larb is the answer when you’re looking for something super satisfying that comes together quickly. The meat salad is often considered the “unofficial” national dish of Laos, and it easily feeds a crowd. Serve your chicken on a large platter with plenty of fresh lettuce leaves and herbs or keep your greens separate and serve the chicken right out of the pot. It’s bright, fresh, spicy, and perfect for a lazy weeknight or a dinner party. Serve with Extraction Sauvignon Blanc.
Ingredients
For chicken:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 shallots, thinly sliced
1 pound ground chicken
1/2 cup scallions, sliced
1 clove of garlic, minced
The juice of 1 lime
2 teaspoons fresh lemongrass, chopped (remember to remove tough husk and use the soft, fleshy, inner part of your lemongrass stalk)
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 Fresno chili, sliced
Kosher salt and pepper to taste
For serving:
Large leaf lettuce such as Boston, butter, or little gem
Whole leaves of fresh Thai basil, mint, and cilantro
More Fresno chilies, sliced
More lime, cut into wedges
Directions
Add oil to a large skillet over medium high heat. Add shallots and cook until soft and slightly browned (about 5 minutes). Add chicken, break apart with back of a wooden spoon, and cook until browned (about 5 minutes). Stir in scallion, garlic, lime juice, lemon grass, fish sauce, chili, salt, and pepper to taste. Cook about 5 more minutes, then transfer to a large platter with lettuce, herbs, lime wedges, and chilis. Serve immediately.
Lee Kalpakis is a recipe developer living in Brooklyn, New York. She grew up in her family’s restaurant in the Hudson Valley and has since worked as a cook, host, producer, and writer in the food media world. She loves natural wine, summer produce, and rock and roll music.
