Sunday, October 10, 2010

Chicken Larb


















Finally a new chef is picked out over at IHCC . Don't get me wrong, I liked cooking with Mark Bittman, though Giada De Laurentiis is one of my favorite TV chefs. I know for many of you, not so much. Too much cleavage and too much over-emphasis on the italian enunciation of the ingredients. However I think she is a pretty classy lady. In any event we are welcoming Giada in with a party. Party food, that is. I went outside the box and decided to start out with something not so traditional for this Italian chef. Chicken Larb. Her version is made with turkey, which you can find here at Food Network . My picture is too blurry to appreciate this lovely lettuce wrap, but trust me we loved this recipe, as I am sure you will too.

















Ingredients for the Larb. No pics of the sauce though. Silly me!



Chicken Larb
Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients

Dressing:
1/3 cup fresh lime juice, from about 5 limes
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, from 1 large lemon
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons honey


Larb:
3 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
1/2 red onion, diced
3 shallots, thinly sliced
1 (4-inch) piece lemongrass, minced (about 1/4 cup)
1 Thai chile, such as prik kee noo, or 1 serrano chile, stemmed and thinly sliced
Kosher salt
1 1/2 pounds ground chicken
1 tablespoon toasted rice powder
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint leaves, (I used much less)
Freshly ground black pepper
1 head butter lettuce, leaves separated 

Serving suggestion: sticky or steamed white rice



Directions

Dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice, lemon juice, fish sauce and honey. Set aside.

Larb: In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, shallots, lemongrass, chile, and salt, to taste. Cook until the vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken and season with salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the meat and vegetables are cooked through, about 5 minutes. Add the toasted rice powder and toss to coat. Cook for another minute or two. Add the dressing to the pan and cook for 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the mint. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Spoon the chicken mixture onto the lettuce leaves and arrange on a serving platter. Serve with sticky rice.




This is a recipe I will make time and time again with many different ground meats. I just adore anything you can stuff into a lettuce wrap. Stop by IHCC and see what everyonehas cooked up, or better yet join us in the fun.


IHCC




Chicken Larb

Delicious Thai style lettuce wraps.

See Chicken Larb on Key Ingredient.


 
 
Thai Chicken Larb Aka Lettuce Wraps on Foodista
Carla and Michael

15 comments:

  1. I like Giada too, and I can put up with her over enthusiasm and enunciation and Italian pronunciations, and I don't really notice her cleavage. She is a lot less annoying than some others. The Neelys always seem to be yelling at you or I should say y'all, Ann Burrell says "so" all through the show(my daughter and I tried to count but just lost track there were so many "so"s) and she talks to the ingredients like they are her children.

    Anyway back to the recipe. I saw this show and I was interested in the chicken larb recipe too. It is on my list to try and I happy you did. Good to know that it was worth it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great recipe! I have been on vacation and am trying to catch up with everyone...see what I missed :-0

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mmm, sounds delish! I don't know if I have had larb, but I love Thai food.
    Giada does seem to love Asian foods too, maybe that is how she keeps her waistline!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I watch Giada often, but have never seen this recipe. I like that you started off with something unexpected/non-traditional.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have never made this and would love to taste it all...yours looks so fresh and delicious.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love Thai food and it looks like yours came out absolutely perfect.

    ReplyDelete
  7. making my tummy growl! Sounds delicious :D

    ReplyDelete
  8. YUMMMMM!! That sounds delicious, and I love that you went out side the box and chose something a little different. Definitely going to make this one.
    Sue

    ReplyDelete
  9. Larb is one of my favorite simple Thai recipes but I have yet to try Giada's version. After reading your post I am going to have to. A great pick--I look forward to cooking some of Giada's non-Italian recipes too.
    ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  10. A delicious looking dish! I would love to try too!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Mmm larb and anything Thai are a total favorite of mine. What a perfect thing to bring to our first Giada party!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Sounds Yummy, nice pick for our first week with Giada.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I really like Giada and have one of her cookbooks. Every single recipe I've made from it so far has been a hit. This sounds delicious, something different!

    ReplyDelete
  14. This looks like a great wrap!! I don't like the name though, it doesn't SOUND good! :-)

    ReplyDelete

We love hearing from our friends.