Chiang Mai Salad (Larb)
It can feature chicken or beef, but what matters is the toasty aroma of the rice grains, the sharp, refreshing taste of mint and the sting of fresh chillies.
Serves 4.
Ingredients
1 cooked whole chicken breast
or 500 g/1 lb lean minced beef
90 ml/3 fl oz lime juice
60 ml/2 fl oz fish sauce
3 tablespoons finely sliced shallots
2 fresh red chillies, seeded and sliced
2 stems lemon grass
30 g/1 oz/1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh mint
3 tablespoons roasted rice powder*
lettuce leaves, mint sprigs and lime wedges
for garnish
Directions
Remove skin and bones from chicken breast and dice the flesh finely. If using minced beef, poach it in a small amount of boiling water for a minute or two, just until colour changes. Leave to cool, drain liquid. Put beef or chicken into a bowl, pour over the lime juice and fish sauce and mix. Mix in the sliced shallots and chillies. Slice very finely only the tender white portion (lower stems) of lemon grass and add together with the chopped mint and roasted rice powder. Toss together lightly. Serve on lettuce leaves, garnished with small sprigs of mint and lime wedges.
* Roasted rice powder is sold in small packets in Asian stores, but may also be made at home quite easily.
Recipe excerpted from Encyclopedia of Asian Food by Charmaine Solomon (Periplus Editions, 1998)