Lao Chicken Salad (Lao Larb Gai)

Bowl of chicken larb loaded with fresh herbs.

Lao Chicken Salad (Lao Larb Gai)

This 15 minute chicken salad is light, fresh and filled with your favourite Southeast Asian flavours. A fragrant blend of herbs and spices give Lao Larb Gai the perfect combo of salty and sweet.

Course Salad

Cuisine Laotian

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 10

Total Time 15

Servings sides

Calories 1054kcal

Author Wandercooks

Cost $15

Equipment

Mixing Bowl(s)

Ingredients

600 g chicken mince
1 handful fresh mint leaves chopped, some reserved for garnish
1 handful fresh cilantro / coriander chopped, some reserved for garnish
2 shallots finely chopped
1 spring onion / green onion finely sliced
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp lime juice divided into 2 potions
3 tsp Thai toasted rice powder 1 tsp reserved to garnish
1/2 tsp chilli powder or fresh chillies, sliced
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp vegetable oil

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Place chicken mince in a mixing bowl. Add half the lime juice and stir through. This will tenderise the chicken.
600 g chicken mince, 2 tbsp lime juice
Meanwhile heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan or work over high heat. Add the chicken and stir fry until browned and the edges are crispy, around 5 minutes. Transfer to a clean mixing bowl.
1 tbsp vegetable oil
Add the water, fish sauce, remaining lime juice, toasted sticky rice powder, chilli powder and sugar and mix well.
1/4 cup water, 1 tbsp fish sauce, 2 tbsp lime juice, 3 tsp Thai toasted rice powder, 1/2 tsp chilli powder, 1 tsp sugar
Next, add the shallot, cilantro/coriander, spring onion and mint. Toss to combine, then transfer to serving plates.
1 handful fresh cilantro / coriander, 2 shallots, 1 spring onion / green onion, 1 handful fresh mint leaves
Garnish with extra mint, spring onion and toasted sticky rice powder.

Notes

Chicken Mince – For the best result, make your own mince by slicing the chicken as thinly as you can then chopping it up into small pieces just like we did. Of course, if you prefer to use store-bought mince to save time and effort, you can certainly do that too. Substitute with beef, pork, turkey or duck mince. It’s also a great way to use up leftover turkey or roast chicken.
Toasted Sticky Rice Powder – This amazing ingredient adds a burst of nutty flavour. Look for it at your nearest Asian grocery – we found our first batch near the spices section, so try there first. It’s very simple to make at home by toasting glutinous rice and grinding it with a mortar and pestle or spice grinder.
Fresh Ingredients – These add the refreshing, cooling, summery flavours to the salad. You can use any variety of fresh mint (peppermint or spearmint both work well), along with coriander/cilantro, finely chopped shallots (or red onion) and spring onion.
- Splurge On Fresh Herbs - They literally MAKE this salad and are essential to its bright fresh flavour.
Fish Sauce – This staple Asian ingredient has a strong smell in the bottle, but is perfect for adding savoury flavour to your cooking. You’ll find it at Asian grocers or in well-stocked supermarkets in the international foods section, or online. If you can’t find it or don’t want to use, you can substitute with soy sauce.
Other Seasonings – Along with fish sauce, lime juice, chilli and sugar team up to bring the salty, sour, spicy and sweet notes to the dish. We used chilli powder for convenience, but if you have fresh chillies feel free to use them. Thai red chillies are pretty hot, so if you're worried about heat, start with 1/2-1 and increase from there.
Use High Heat - This will sear and brown the meat, giving it a crispier edge. It will also help prevent any juices from steaming and making the meat rubbery.
Garnish - Save some toasted sticky rice powder and fresh herbs to garnish the salad once you've plated up.
Serve Hot or Cold - If serving cold, let the meat cool down completely before adding the fresh ingredients. This will help the herbs especially to stay crisp and stop them from wilting.
Amp Up the Citrus - Use fresh sliced kaffir lime leaves or kaffir lime juice instead of regular lime juice. Or swap the lime for tamarind paste and/or fresh lemongrass.
Extra Garnishes - Try it with few drops of sesame chilli oil for a nuttier zing, or add a scattering of fried shallots or white sesame seeds for extra crunchy texture.
Extra Veggies - Add capsicum, cabbage, boy choy, bean sprouts or baby spinach and cook in with the mince meat.
Make it Vegetarian - Swap the mince meat for finely diced mushrooms, tofu or tempeh, and season with soy sauce instead of fish sauce.

Nutrition