Simple larb gai

Prepare: less than 30 mins
Cook: 10 to 30 mins
Serve: Serves 2

An easy and quick Thai salad to pull together for lighter evenings. Serve with the Thai fish cakes and pork satay skewers.

By Donal Skehan

From Saturday Kitchen

Ingredients

50g/1¾oz Thai sticky rice
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
thumb-sized fresh ginger, peeled
2 skinless chicken breasts (150g/5½oz each), cut into large chunks
60ml/2½fl oz chicken stock
3 tbsp fish sauce (nam pla)
1 lime, zest and juice
1 tsp caster sugar
5 spring onions, finely chopped
handful fresh mint and coriander leaves, roughly chopped reserving a few leaves for garnish
2 Little Gem lettuces, leaves separated

Method

Toast the rice in a large dry frying pan over a medium-high heat, until golden brown. Transfer to a pestle and mortar and pound the rice – you are looking for a rough texture rather than a fine powder. Set aside.
Place the garlic, chilli and ginger in a food processor and whizz until finely chopped. Add the chicken and pulse until smooth.
Heat the chicken stock in a large wok over a high heat, add the minced chicken and fry for 5 minutes, breaking the chicken up with a spatula as it cooks. Continue to cook until the chicken is cooked all the way through and is broken into small pieces.
Add the fish sauce, lime juice and sugar and stir through, frying for another minute. Remove from the heat, add the spring onions, mint, coriander, toasted rice and lime zest and fry for 1–2 minutes, until the spring onions are just tender.
Arrange the lettuce leaves on two plates and top with the chicken mixture. Garnish with extra mint and coriander leaves. Serve warm.